Just a Choice… for Life
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June means many things to the world these days. It’s the official start of summer, the end of school for many, Father’s Day, Juneteenth, and since 1856 it’s been the month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Most people don’t know about June’s dedication to the Sacred Heart. Certainly, people outside the Catholic faith likely don’t know. It’s not very advertised.
What the general public does know is that June is secularly dedicated to the LGBTQ+ community. In fact, in 1999 President Obama declared it Pride Month.
What’s a Catholic mama to do?
Pride is everywhere. Rainbows, which were once only known as God’s covenant (Gen 9:11-17), represent practices outside our Catholic morals.
It’s part of our culture, our schools teach it, and it’s in the TV programs our little ones watch.
We could choose to put our children in bubbles and shelter them, but the task is difficult. At some point, those kids are going to be exposed. Better to teach your values at home first, but no matter how you choose to face the challenge, every mom (and dad) needs to decide for her (or his) own children.
For myself, I recognize that I cannot hide my children from this. They go to public school, have friends all over, and do sports… I’ll take the questions at home, so they don’t learn them somewhere else first.
Don’t rush to think I’m hateful or judgmental. I have friends and acquaintances of varying, er, tastes and types. I love them dearly. I pick and choose events, but really most are simply hangouts and completely normal. My teens have friends in those groups too and they choose likewise.
Hate the sin, love the sinner, and pray, Pray, PRAY.
Those who know me know my door is always open to anyone feeling isolated, misunderstood, or hurt. Doesn’t mean I have to condone what the rest of the world condones, but it means I truly love you.
In my love for you, I will always tell you the truth, and I will also respect your choice to ignore it. I will respect your choice, but that doesn’t mean I will celebrate it. My friends know this, and they ask for no more.
(I feel like I should mention that the majority of our friends and family are of similar values, so the above is a small portion.)
We shouldn’t treat those with differing faiths or morals with prejudice or hate. This isn’t loving our neighbor.
We shouldn’t celebrate actions or morals outside our faith with pride and acceptance. This isn’t loving our God.
Mamas! This world is hard!
Thank God for His Grace (2 Cor 12:9). God carries me through everything. Here are some examples of loving the person while not condoning the practice.
My sin is no better or worse than anyone else’s. The difference is the willingness to repent and accept God’s Mercy.
If we truly deserved Jesus’s Sacrifice, He wouldn’t have needed to die on the Cross. Read that again.
Truly, we don’t deserve His Love, and that’s why His Sacred Heart is so amazing. His Love is endless, reaching far beyond our sins and calling us home to Him.
During a month when people tout “love is love,” I challenge them and ask, “Okay, so what is love?”
God is Love (1 John 4:16).
Jesus took that Love and walked the road to Calvary, carrying His Cross out of Love for us. He didn’t condone sin. He called them out of sin. He took strikes from the whip, punctures from the crown of thorns, and nails on the Cross. He endured pain and suffering, not pride and joy, so that one day we might be in Heaven with Him.
This is Love.
I love my children enough to tell them no. I love them enough to tell them it’s bedtime or that screens are done for the day. I love them enough to make a fun vacation, let them get ice cream, and spend quality time together.
Love isn’t about instant joy and pleasure. It’s about sacrifice and commitment. It’s about putting others before self and personal desires.
In a world filled with pride, that notion gets lost.
Mamas, we can only continue to teach the next generation in front of us. We do our best and pray for God to do the rest.
God bless.
Caroline is a cradle Catholic and a Shepherd’s girl. She and her husband are raising three amazing, spunky kids. She’s a freelance writer, a life coach, a catechist, and a martial arts enthusiast. She loves the outdoors and the world of Marvel. Her goal is sainthood but her road is filled with her own blunders. Thank God for His grace! Perhaps one day she’ll be the patron saint of ADHD or procrastination… if she gets around to it.
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