A Child's Future
Feast of the Presentation of the Lord
My dear encountered couples:
Joseph and Mary brought the baby Jesus to the temple to be consecrated to God. We do the same with our children. We bring them to church to be baptized. There were two people, Simeon and Anna, who were there when Jesus was brought and who prophesied about his future. That doesn’t happen with our children. We and others might guess at their future, but we seldom really know how their lives will turn out.
Some people say they feel sorry for children born these days. For they say it looks like the country and the world are going to pot. And nobody wants a terrible world for any child. Some people don’t have children for that reason, some abort them. We must realize that no matter what the future might hold, every child, every person must be allowed to have one. And that no matter what happens, cloudy or sunny, the future when it becomes the present can be used for great good. Jesus is proof of that.
There were certainly some very happy times in the life of Jesus. But right from the start he had to put up with unpleasantries and inconveniences. Born in a stable, rushed off to Egypt, brought up in the poor town of Nazareth; you know the rest of the story. You also know that Jesus used all that happened to him for good. His sufferings and death were the greatest things he could have gone through. They resulted in resurrection and life, and not only for him but for many, including us.
Whatever happens to a child, whatever happens to you not only can be of great benefit to you, but to others. May you have many heavenly moments. Try to make the hellish ones turn out heavenly.
