I am concerned

First, I would like to apologize for the length of time between blogs.  I am sure many of you are getting frustrated checking my site, and finding no change.  I know what it is like to check over and over to no avail.  I have been overwhelmed, lately, and I have had no real time to share my thoughts.

Second, I would like to wish all of you a wonderful and happy Thanksgiving holiday.  I hope you get to spend quality time with family and friends, and watch some good football games as well.  And now the topic of the week(should probably say month).

Today, I was reading one of my many blogs.  This one, titled the Deacon's Bench, has a copy of the message from Pope Benedict XVI that he shared with the youth in preparation for the upcoming World Youth Day, in Brazil, in July 2013.  The very beginning of the letter brings me great pause.

"Dear friends, open your eyes and look around you. So many young people no longer see any meaning in their lives."
 

Now I am not sure if I am in a funk, or just need a break from work, but I have had my eyes opened, recently, and I could not agree more with the above statement.  Many of our young people are looking for meaning in their lives.  More and more we hear of the drama and pressure teenagers go through and we look upon them in awe(and not the good kind).

Teenagers are violently beating up each other on camera, and posting the videos to YouTube.  We hear of the many teenagers that are overdosing on drugs and alcohol.  We have heard the horror stories of kids trying to commit suicide.  Or what about the children that are looking for someone to listen to them and they go to chat rooms on the Internet, instead.

What do you suppose is the reason for this violence?  Many would blame the parents, some the schools, some the television shows, some the video games, the list could go on and on.  I have a different approach I would like you to think about.  I wonder if it is because we have pushed Christ out of our culture.

There it is, Christ.  Ever since I was a child, it has been pounded into our heads that Christ is for church only, and today it is more prevent than ever.  With the separation of Church and State movement, Christ is shoved more and more out of our lives.  Schools cannot talk about it, unless it is a World Religions class, stores are being ostracized for playing religious Christmas Carols, our government is continually trying to infringe our right to practice and even our Church got a large amount of criticism for putting 3,315 crosses on our front lawn, for the number of abortions that take place, daily.  I truly believe that we have been misinformed as a society.  We have let those that scream the loudest change our thoughts and ideas.

The perfect quote to bring this home is as follows:

 "Isn't it ironic, that we give our prisoners a Bible, and not our children." anonymous

 

Is that the chicken egg scenario?

Pope Benedict continues his letter to our youth by saying:

"Go forth! Christ needs you too. Let yourselves be caught up and drawn along by His love. Be at the service of this immense love, so it can reach out to everyone, especially to those “far away”."
 

I think this statement says a lot.  Go forth young people and be allowed to draw God into your every day life.  Allow every second of your life be of service to God.  Reach out to those that are struggling and let them know your love and appreciation of God.  Stand up and be proud to know that God is in your life the moment you wake up, at meals, at work, in your dreams, every second.  Do it in a loving and kind way.  As my mother always said, "hate the sin, not the sinner."

I can speak from experience, that once I realized that God is willing to work in my life, if I let Him, He will do wondrous things.  Let's not be afraid to share God and all the wonders of His love with our children, even when it is difficult.  Let's give our children a chance to get to know God, for He is waiting for them.