Remember the Sabbath day—keep it holy. (Exodus 20:8 NABRE)
For thousands of years now, we've held onto this tradition which was established by God himself through Moses. The Sabbath is a day of rest each week which is set aside and dedicated to the Lord. On the Sabbath, we refrain from work performed for our own gain so that the day remains dedicated to the Lord rather than ourselves. And when Jesus, at the Last Supper, gave us a new way to keep holy the Sabbath day, we see the origin of our celebration of the Mass.
It has become increasingly difficult in our society to set aside the Sabbath day as a day of rest dedicated to God. The pressures of life, cost of living, lure of "double time" pay, and even social conventions all conspire to minimize the importance of the day, turning our thoughts from God back to ourselves.
Beyond all that, consider the utterly devastating impact to the faith of our youth at the time: The 1998 Presidential scandal, the emotional trauma of September 11, 2001 and the Catholic priest sex abuse scandal we began hearing about in 2002. These events literally stole the trust of our youth, and honestly our adults, at the time. Although it isn't talked about much these days, we as a community are still trying to heal.
There are always challenges to faith, but these events seemed to align and hurt a staggering percentage of a generation of young believers who still struggle to this day with justifiable anger, disillusionment and, in the end, a soul-deep disinterest in established institutions of religion and government.
For those who experienced these things as children, we need to be especially dedicated in prayer, example and understanding.
Today, I will pray for healing among our young people, for a lifting of the pain, anger and indifference heaped upon them, and mostly for their return to a faithful God who loves them in every circumstance of this life.
Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, patron of teenagers, pray for us.
Saint Nicholas, patron of children, pray for us.
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