Our Children Are Living in Turbulent Times. They need to give and receive God's Love.

Why is it that our Churches are usually filled on Sundays with mostly seniors, and some married couples with a couple of young children? Those that seem to be unaccounted for are the single, young men and women. Most of our Catholic seniors are focused on God and realize that their time of meeting Him will come sooner, rather than later. Young married couples with youngsters are often regulars at Mass, and therefore, obviously, provide teaching, love, and a good example to their youngsters.

Which brings us back to our single young adults, where are they? We hear much about how millennials don’t seek out marriage and commitment right away because they have seen many marriages fail. Therefore, they feel living together before marriage might tell them if they are meant to be together. It could be that something is missing in their belief and strategy. No marriage is built on the knowledge that there will never be issues between young married couples, but with the vows of marriage, we promise commitment. Love is not a feeling we get in the pit of our stomach when we look at our loved ones; it is a commitment. Without faith in our loved ones, without a willingness to be together for a future, perhaps “trying it out first” may not be necessary, as there really may not be real love between those couples, and a reluctance to remain together for better or for worse.

Attempting to “try it out first” could also lead to trying it out again, and again. To want to be respected, we are reminded to live a respectful life. This type of life precludes attending Reconciliation as it would not be a good confession, leaving the Confessional without sincerity of promise not to sin again. This also makes receiving Holy Communion a sacrilege when we know we intend to sin again and again against the Sixth Commandment. Marriage is a Sacrament, and that intimacy as we become as one is that we might go forth and bear children who will teach about God and about our faith.

I do understand how young adults feel that they have “their whole life ahead of them”; sadly, that is not true. Many people do not live long lives due to accidents, sickness, violence, or disease. We, of course, do not want our children to die in sin or without ever having gotten close to Christ. Let us continue to teach, love, and pray for our children, always explaining that we only have one day at a time, and must start our day with God.