Posted on 09/19/2007 1:23:46 PM PDT by NYer
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Young children must be guided from a very early age with moral law so that they will have direction as they weather life's storms and resist its temptations, Pope Benedict XVI said.
"God's law must be impressed on the soul from the beginning 'like on a piece of wax,'" the pope said, citing the teachings of St. John Chrysostom at his Sept. 19 weekly general audience.
Early infancy "is in fact the age that is the most important" because it marks the time when "the great directives that point to the right course to (take in) life" really take hold in a person, he said.
Pope Benedict returned briefly to the Vatican from his papal summer villa south of Rome for the weekly audience in St. Peter's Square.
The pope dedicated his talk to the life and writings of St. John Chrysostom, the fourth-century doctor of the church and archbishop of Constantinople, now Istanbul, Turkey. The 1,600th anniversary of his death is being celebrated this year.
The saint saw that humanity must strive to first accurately know "true doctrine" and then translate it into one's own life by following moral principles and virtues, the pope said.
He said St. John Chrysostom urged people to provide children early on with the "spiritual weapons" they would need to protect themselves later during adolescence and the teen years from "the violent winds" of lust and other strong desires.
Aided by the virtue of temperance and a solid Christian formation, "well-prepared married couples thus block off the road to divorce," he said.
Everything in life will unfold "with joy and (parents) can teach their children the virtues," the pope said.
With the birth of a child, "the three become just one flesh" as the child is the bridge that connects the two parents creating "a tiny church" -- a domestic church, he said, quoting St. John Chrysostom.
St. John Chrysostom also reminded the lay faithful that they are responsible for the salvation of others, the pope said.
St. John Chrysostom said that as social beings people are not meant to just be interested in themselves, said the pope. Through baptism, every Christian becomes "king, priest, and prophet" who is responsible for bringing the truth of Christ to the world, the pope said.
Among the 15,000 faithful gathered in the square were Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley of Boston and Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Methodios of Boston. The two leaders were heading a 100-member Catholic-Orthodox ecumenical pilgrimage from the United States to Rome, then Istanbul, Turkey, and ending in St. Petersburg, Russia.
St. John Chrysostom, whose Western feast day was Sept. 13, led the church of Constantinople before the split between the Christian East and West and is venerated as a doctor of the church by Catholics and Orthodox.
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Editor's Note: The Vatican text of the pope's remarks in English can be found online at: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2007/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20070919_en.html.
The text of his remarks in Spanish can be found online at: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2007/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20070919_sp.html.
He is so right!! I know far too many people who are raising their young children with no religious education. It works for a while when they are very young but leaves them defenseless once they leave the nest.
ML/NJ
Our kids study Saints, Scripture and the Catechism on a daily basis. There is so much they don’t know!! It is a huge responsibility!!
Mazel tov !!
ML/NJ
May I ask, are your children older or younger?
+BXVI is right. You have your children until they are 12; you have 12 years to teach them what they need to know. After that they belong to the world, at least that what the old people from the old country always said.
And here is a new world person who totally agrees :-)
The Ten Commandments.
That's it? What about, "Love your neighbor as yourself," and other stuff like that?
ML/NJ
That's it? What about, "Love your neighbor as yourself," and other stuff like that?
ML/NJ
Since you know, why ask, other than to seem self-righteous?
It drives me nuts whenever I hear someone say, “I don’t want to force anything on them. They’ll make their decision when they get older.” What a load of bunk!
Don't you know? That's what the last seven of the ten commandments sum to.
**Young children must be guided from a very early age with moral law so that they will have direction as they weather life’s storms and resist its temptations, Pope Benedict XVI said.**
BTTT!
Love our Pope!
**It drives me nuts whenever I hear someone say, “I don’t want to force anything on them. They’ll make their decision when they get older.” What a load of bunk!**
Bugs me too, especially for my grandchildren. My daughter is attending an alliance church and did a dedication.
My two grandsons are not baptized.
I know some grandmas have done it on the sly. LOL!
I agree with that, before liberals could brainwash children with unethical ideas, and thoughts against our tradition. These days, certain schools and media are full of evil, the liberal propaganda.
I really don't mean to offend. I have great respect for the Church and believe it to be one of the few, or maybe the only, large organization that advocates for morality in the World. Certainly we Jews have none. (And some of our small organizations advocate immorality!)
But doesn't the Pope begin to get into trouble when he speaks of G-d's Law? You know all the "His yoke is easy and His burden is light," stuff? The "yoke" is what some Jews might consider "G-d's Law." I just wondered what specifically the Pope and/or Catholic Doctrine meant by that phrase.
ML/NJ
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