Children Require Parents To Reorient Their Whole Lives
Helen Alavre cares about children. She writes a great deal about how, as adults, our own self-interests compete heavily with our duties to children. We are seeing a lot of this in different issues of our day. This article comes from her perspective as a family lawyer and a Catholic. She makes sense and too often I am afraid that we fear the loss of our self-interests so much that we come up for any justification of them – especially ones that mask as compassion.
Look, I understand the power of our sentient desires – the need for comfort, security, sex. Heck, I struggle constantly…CONSTANTLY. I do know, though, that when i can self discipline – when I do it – I have a new set of eyes and a new set of ears and a new tongue. That is, I see things differently. I hear things differently. At base, we must realize how much others matter and realize that our own needs – when placed first – lead us down a path of selfishness.
Funny that when the Spirit drove Jesus into the desert, the Devil first tempted him with sentient needs…hunger. These needs are huge. Jesus responds, however, that man does not live on these needs alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. To know those words we have to hunger. Now is a good time to begin feeling that hunger. Try fasting my friends.
Fast from food Feast on prayer
Fast from judging others Feast on Christ dwelling in them
Fast from apparent darkness Feast on the reality of light
Fast from pessimism Feast on Joy
Fast from thoughts of illness Feast on the healing power of God.
Fast from yourself Feast on a silent heart.
See how you feel doing some of this. Make sure you dont beat yourself up if you fail. Just get up and try again.
