Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:00 <inaudible>
Speaker 1 00:00:06 The great doctrine of the church st. Bernard comments on the line from today's gospel. And he was subject to them and st. Bernard asked quote, who was subject and to whom God was subject to then indeed God, to whom angels are subject God whom the principalities and powers obey. God was subject to Mary and not only to Mary, but also to Joseph on account of Mary close quote st. Bernard Abbott and dr. And the church today is the feast of the Holy family. And so it's a good day to consider this objection by taking a quick look at the fourth commandment honor, they father nine mother Dawn may to be long lived upon the land, which the Lord that God will give to them. Although this commandment has a broader relationship to all, it applies to all the relationships between superiors and inferiors, and they underestimate today.
Speaker 1 00:01:10 At time today, we'll only look at how it applies to children. The basic reason why we honor our parents is because God says so, and naturally speaking, we can see the wisdom of this because we've received everything from them. And we also learn to love and obedience. We must pay to God, the father and the Holy mother, the church by our loving obedience to our father and our mother. But how are we supposed to honor our parents, the catechism of the concentrate, this seven or eight different ways to honor our parents. One by our sincere and beautiful love to by praying for them three, by obeying their legitimate commands for by imitating their good example, five by not only asking for, but also following their advice six, by taking care of them when they've grown old and perhaps are in trouble seven by taking care to see that they received the sacraments.
Speaker 1 00:02:13 If they're ailing or dying an aid by having masses said for them, especially after they've died. Okay? So we honor our parents by sincere and do the full of by praying for them by obeying them, but imitating their good example, asking for learn, following their advice can for them in times of trouble, ensuring they received the sacraments and having mashed and sex for them. Now that we've taken a quick look at what God commands us to do in the fourth commandment, let's take a quick look at what he prohibits. Saint Alphonsus says that children can sit against the foreign commandment by not rendering their parents. Three things love reverence and obedience of reverence and obedience. Saint Alphonsus says that children committed mortal sin against the love they owe to their parents. One, if they hate or detest their parents or hoped to grave harm might fall upon them.
Speaker 1 00:03:09 Two is without just cause that caused their parents grave trouble or heartache or treat their parents heartlessly or three. If their parents are in grave, spiritual, physical need, they don't bother to come to their aid, especially if they don't bother to get a priest to assist them at death. Saint Francis States that children commit a mortal sin against the reverence. They go to their parents. One, if they unjustly hit their parents or show themselves willing to hit their parents, if they mocked their parents by means of insulting gestures. If using curse words in serious salts, they shout at or insult seriously ridicule their parents, right to their face. St. Alphonsa says, it's not a mortal sin. If it's mild insults, or does it gun to their face, but sort of in a muttering way privately. So again, the mortal sins against reverence to the parents on Jessie, hitting them, mocking them, insulting gestures.
Speaker 1 00:04:05 Christina had her students insulting them right to their face. So, you know, fonts, it says children committed mostly against the BDM scale, their parents, if they don't obey serious and commands to their parents in a grave matter. For example, if they snuck out of the house at night, when it was forbidden, if they continued to hang out with a dangerous companion after their parents were, but then to do so in order to be a grave sin here, it has to involve intentional disobedience in a grave manner. That's been justly forbidden by dad or mom. Are there any times in love, reverence or obedience are not due to parents. Although parents, children old love and reverence to their parents throughout life, after they leave home for good, then they no longer have their parents obedience. And of course the parents ever try to command something sinful.
Speaker 1 00:04:54 They must be opposed. But besides that particular situation, Saint Alphonsus emphasizes, there's one very important area where obedience is not due to parents when considering a vocation to the priesthood or religious life quote, with regard to the choice of a state of life, a child should obey God by embracing the state, to which God calls him close. Quote, Saint Alphonsus sells to know it's. The parents would commit a mortal sin. If they tried to stop one of their children from falling vocation to the priesthood or the religious life st. Thomas says that in this matter, children are not obliged to obey their parents. And st. Thomas says that when considering a vocation religion, a person is not even necessarily bound to consult his family. As soon as it's not unusual for family members to oppose a vocation, which would make those family members, his enemies since the salvation of each individual falls upon.
Speaker 1 00:05:56 It depends upon following God's call. Now, given the children, all their parents, obedience, parents have to train their children's to obey. And so they have to exercise their authority in a proper fashion. That's a salvation issue for both the children and the parents, the catechism, the council of Trent cautious parents from falling into either of two extremes. On the one hand parents should be careful for not being overly strict or harsh and punishment, and they shouldn't nag their children so that they don't break the spirit of the child. On the other hand, parents should be careful not to be Slack or indulgent and spoil their children. The ideal is to produce virtuous young and men and women by reasonable and strict discipline, not to produce young rebels, waiting to escape home and go raise cane. Now, besides not going to extremes in enforcement or not enforcement of rules, there's another very common fault that parents need to avoid.
Speaker 1 00:06:53 If you want your children to have any real respect for your authority or any real respect for God's authority or any real suspect for the church's authority, you have to present a United front to the children. Unless one parent is actually proposing something sinful with that only one and only exception, whatever differences of opinion parents have. These absolutely must be kept behind closed doors so that the children will never, ever suspect that you're not both with one mind, otherwise giving the fallen state of man you're instantly tempting your children to play each one of you, one against the other and appeal from one decision to the other episodes, the wine and bickering that this will result in. You'll train your children by doing this to become crafty and cunning. And that's a huge danger to their salvation, besides that you won't train them to be actually obedient, which is a virtue.
Speaker 1 00:07:48 They desperately need to be safe. This means especially husbands should back up their wives. If they've been at home battling the kid all day long, do not let the kid off the hook and let him destroy wives authority. She was your wife first, before he was your kid. So you take care of her needs first, you back her up first, but that cuts both ways. Wives, that they're back up the husbands and definitely not undercut his authority. And if you have differences of opinion, settling behind closed doors, so that there's a United front for the children, let's close and he was subject to them, your young people, if God could be subject to man, if God, the creator of heaven and earth, God whom all the angels and saints of a could be 70 to Mary and Joseph, and by his grace, you can imitate him and be subject to your parents. And that would really help your family become a Holy family.
