From the Desk of Father Martin, January 8

Praised be Jesus Christ! Leonard Sax is a psychologist and a practicing family physician. He is also a very competent author – I read his book Why Gender Matters and found it to be a fascinating tour of human nature. Recently the pastoral council read an article written by him on the deplorable state of parental authority these days. The basic thesis is that “we’re raising our children wrong.” Sax sagely points out that “the first job of the parent is to teach the children, not to consult them.” Later he cites evidence that concludes “the most effective parents, as measured by long-term outcomes, are those who are both strict and loving.” I don’t think my parents won many popularity contests when they told us “no” to some of what we took to be reasonable requests. However, hindsight being practically perfect, most of us thank God that our parents were strict enough to resist some of the cultural trends that ended up not being as liberating as we had once hoped. Sax concludes this particular article (he also has 2 other books you might like: Boys Adrift and Girls on the Edge) with some recommendations for families: “In scheduling your child’s time, make the family the highest priority. In many American families, playdates and soccer practice now routinely take precedence over the family meal together. The family meal at home is more important than piling on afterschool and social activities. Participate in a church or synagogue that teaches respect for authority. Model a culture of respect within the home. Instead of boosting self-esteem, teach humility. Fight the contemporary cultural imperative to be “awesome.” Reduce or eliminate screens when you are with your child. Put your cell phone away. No devices at the dinner table. Teach the art of face-to-face conversation.” Very good advice, I think. Please add to your daily prayers a petition for all of our families – raising children in this world is not getting any easier and our spiritual support will do great good. Speaking of support, it’s that time of year when many priests go away to get recharged in body and soul. Father Sedlacek took a week to be away right after Christmas and once he got back, well it was my turn. I am with my classmates again and I always enjoy our time together. I have a pretty famous class: just last year you met Father Leo Patalinghug, the jovial cooking priest from Baltimore. Then Father Tad Pacholcyzk came and spoke at our parish mission – he works as a bioethicist at the National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia. Bishop Greg Parkes was just installed as the new Bishop of St. Petersburg in Florida – since 2012 he had been the Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee. Monsignor Adam Parker will be consecrated an auxiliary Bishop of Baltimore on January 19th. Father Peter Harman is the Rector of the North American College in Rome; Father Brian Christensen is the Vice-Rector of the same seminary. These are my classmates and they are an amazingly gifted group. I’m reminded of the time Pope St. John XXIII was meeting a number of priests. One by one they came to the front of the line, introduced themselves and then knelt to kiss the Holy Father’s ring: the first was proud to acknowledge that he was the Vicar General of a diocese, the next was a seminary rector, the third was the president of a university and so on. Finally the last priest came forward and admitted, “I’m just a parish priest.” Pope John XXIII got up out of his chair, knelt before the humble pastor and kissed his hands. I’ve always loved this story because it shows the priestly heart of “Good Pope John” and because it reminds us of the remarkable beauty of being a pastor of souls. So don’t you worry about me being intimidated by the impressive work being done by my wonderful classmates. If you ask me, I think I’m the luckiest priest of all! 

May God help our families grow in charity and may He bless our parish family with the graces we need most! Your friend in Christ, 
​Father Martin