Let us grow in holiness this year

When star athletes near the end of their career, sports commentators will remark, “Father Time is undefeated.” In other words, all athletic careers will come to an end eventually as time elapses.
Time has been a fickle thing lately, as it seems like Father Time is running up the score on his way to another victory. January and February feel like a lifetime ago – remember Mardi Gras? March was memorable, while April and May must have happened, because June and July were gone in a blink. Here we are, somehow and someway, in the month of August 2020.
It’s back to school time, and we all know that this particular season will be unlike any other in terms of restarting a school routine.
Some families are opting to begin the school year remotely, while other families make the commitment to fully teach at home. Teachers and administrators prepare for adjusted schedules and new routines, all in the name of keeping all safe and healthy.
Even in the Ganucheau household, we are preparing for the great return to school. Supply lists have been checked, uniforms resized and book reports completed. As parents, the primary and first catechists of our children, we have a significant responsibility to not only form them academically, but spiritually.
How can young people and their parents prepare spiritually for the start of this new school year? How can we take advantage of this fleeting time, no matter the age of our children?
First, to our young people: God, who is above all time and space, has chosen you to be in this exact moment of human history. You could have grown up during the Renaissance or the Great Depression. Yet, for some reason only known to God, you are living in 2020 during a global pandemic, a national dialogue on race, and an election year.
You were made in the image and likeness of God. At your Baptism, you were adopted as a child of God and can participate in the priestly, prophetic, and kingly ministries of Jesus Christ. You are unique, unrepeatable, and infinitely loved by God.
All that to say – don’t let this opportunity go to waste. Young people have a tremendous chance to shape our communities, to be protagonists of change. Young people are being made into saints, and saints can lead the way in bringing us back to God and to building His Kingdom here and now. Young people can show us their resiliency in the face of fear, their courage in the face of adversity.
Now, to my fellow parents: when we become parents, we often hear to cherish the time we have with our children because it will be gone in a blink of an eye.
Over these past months of uncertainty, I have found myself drawn to embracing the time I do have with my kids, to enjoy them at their current ages, and to try and remember all the emotions that we are experiencing.
Give your young people space to explore their dreams, struggles, fears and joys. Give your children an opportunity to express how they are feeling, what they are learning, and how they are growing in faith. Now is an appropriate time to forgive freely and to love abundantly.
Most importantly, pray for your children. Pray for their teachers. Pray for yourselves as you accompany your children towards Christ. Entrust your children to the Sacred Heart and to the Blessed Mother.
We only have a limited time here on earth. Let us grow in holiness this school year. Father Time may get the best of us eventually, but we can put up a heck of a fight and in the end, become the saints God created us to be.
— Adam Ganucheau is the Director of the Office of Youth Ministry for the Archdiocese of Mobile. He may be emailed at [email protected]
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