Sunday Meditation: Be Irrelevant to the Modern World, It's the Duty of a Good Catholic!

Fathers, love your children!

I've know Fr. Jerry Pokorsky for years.  I first met him when he headed the Pro-Life office in the Diocese of Arlington and was meeting individually with the chairmen of parish committees. He took me out to lunch. 

That, in itself, was unusual, and I later returned the favor. His articles at The Catholic Thing are always informative and wise. So if you want a mentor to give you some good advice in Catholic living, check him out. Here's the advice portion of his article, Dare to Be Irrelevant:

• Men, be faithful to your wives in marriage. Be kind and considerate. If you are involved with porn, give it up. Just do it.

• Ladies, this is from the Book of Proverbs: “It is better to sit in a corner of the housetop than with a quarrelsome wife and an unruly household.” (Prov. 25:24)
• Fathers, your kids don’t need you as a friend. They need you as a father. Expect their respect. Discipline them in charity and justice.

• If you have kids in public schools and are oblivious to the family-life education program, you are bad parents. Never allow that brood of vipers to corrupt your kids. Begin by making principals cringe at the sound of your voice.

• Speaking of broods of vipers, do not allow Catholic authorities who dissent from the Church’s teaching on human sexuality to ruin your life. They risk the fires of Hell and threaten to take you with them.

• You never pray as a family outside of church and neglect their religious education? Shame on you!

• Do not allow misbehaving children to manipulate you. If they are leading immoral lives, don’t be shy in measuring their actions against the Ten Commandments. They are not rejecting you. They are rejecting God.

• Kids, if you’re spending countless hours in the basement with video games, get a life. Do your chores, study hard, pray.

• If your smartphone is in your hand or in front of you at the dinner table, you are rude and disrespectful.

• You are not a victim. Christians in Africa and the Middle East who die violently because of their faith are victims. Grow up. Take responsibility for your life and keep working.

• Lousy job? Be honest and hardworking until you find a new one. Don’t whine. Support your family. “Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Cor. 10:31)

• Have you ever heard of “Catholic guilt” – a form of whining and complaining about the burdens of the faith? Get over it. Guilt is usually good. It’s part of the nervous system of the soul.

• Don’t make Jesus sick. “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth.” (Rev. 3:15-16) Practice your faith with increasing fervor.

Afraid that you won’t practice what you preach? Go to Confession often – it won’t disqualify you from preaching the Gospel. Invite critics to join you. There is always room for one more sinner who is confident in the truth but not confident in himself. But please don’t ask us to change the Gospel and abandon common sense in order to be “relevant.”

Good solid advice and a check list to see how you're doing. Thank you, Fr. Pokorsky, and may your tribe among those in roman collars increase!