The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1960-06-10

embrace of that unquestion-
Ing love which unites par
ents and their little ones.
When their little souls are
deeply stirred BY the ex-
perience Of God, of the won
darS Of His goodness. and the
marvel Of His presence, there
i no one TO whom they wish
to carry the fullness of their
convictions more than to their
mother and father. If either is
drifting from the friendship
Of God, the distress Of the
little child is in proportion
to its love. And the hold the
child has on the hearts of its
parentS enable it to success
where no one else could.
PERHAPS YOU HAVE
MEMORY Of such experience
III your personal recollections.
Perhaps you, IN your turn,
will know something of the
rewards of perenthood in the
returns Of vigor in your de-
yotion to God through the
faith you have shared with
your children. Every priest
with broad pastoral expert
ence treasures the accounts
he has received from parents
and penitents of the wondrous
powers of the faith of little
ones to move the coolest
hearts.
Though children retain
through the years a relation
ship of affection with their
parents, there is a special
magic in the relationship in
its earliest years. This is IN
part due no doubt 10 the
claims the child has on the
parent. Every priest could
document pretty heavily the
thesis that parents who have
wandered pretty far from God
and. altar regularly want for
their child the very things
they themselves neglect, And
their efforts to provide for
the child open a road down
which Our Lord Himself
comes 10 enter their own lives
again. An interesting eX-
change. isn't it? 1t seems to
be an evident law of Proyi-
dence that the generosity of
parenthood calls for the gen
erositv of God.
OUGHT NOT THE SMALL
CHILD, entering on its educa-
tional career be allowed TO
learn Of It's God and be guild
ed in developing a living
friendship with Him in its
prayer life and in lis particl-
patton to the fullest degree
in the sacramental life of the
Church? How can we accom-
plish this if we have the child
remote from the voice and
reach of the Church, with only
an occasional class on religion
crowded in after hours or on
a Saturday when the child can
too readily feel religion en-
tiers its life as something of
a penalty, depriying it of play
time that its neighbor has?
The overriding considera-
tion is found in this direction
however: that somehow in the
quiet of the child's soul
choices fraught with enorm-
Gus consequences for the
future are to be made. The
consensus of opinion has it
that by the age of seven
(often much earlier in prac-
=tice) the child really becomes
a moral adult. That is. il ac-
euires sufficient experience
of right and wrong that it
becomes answerable for its
moral acts and can place it.
self in the state of sanctifying
grace by choosing God as the
goal Of its life; or it can move
in the other direction and
make itself the center of its
choice and come to prefer
what is useful for its own
immediate convenience. In
this case it has lost its way
and has missed the wisdom
of the Christian faith which
hears the voice of Our Lord
renewing the words of Sinai,
"Thou shalt love the Lord thy
God with all thy heart"
is 1T ANY WONDER that
priest after priest will tell how
the people push them into a
building program long before
they feel they are ready for
it? The people have the faith.
Or to put it. better in the
words Of Plus XII the people
are the Church" And with
the sure instinct of a faith
which consults the deepest
interest of their children, our
people regularly take the