During the last several months, I have found myself revisiting the same questions about our society: are we in the midst of a culture war? Even though I continue to ask the question, I know the answer is yes.
I find myself no longer asking how this happened, but rather what can be done?
How do we fight social media, friends’ influence over our children, a society where we are being told that there are now 63 genders? I can’t imagine what it must be like for our children to navigate through this society.
A dear friend reminded me recently of what St. Lucia was told by Our Lady,
“the final confrontation between the Lord and Satan will be over Family and Marriage.”
How do we win this battle?
Step One is to pray. Typically, I find myself praying for specific intentions that affect me, such as the health of my mom or the general safety of our family. But lately I find myself lately broadening that circle to include others around me and that I see or interact with on a day-to-day basis, even if I don’t know them.
But I also know our faith tells us to do more. It is time for us to fight back.
What tools are we giving our children to combat this war?
Who are these people that are trying to take over the minds of our children and what are we doing as parents to protect them and educate them on what’s right and wrong?
I want to challenge each one of us to:
- pray the rosary daily,
- create weekly prayer groups (this can be done over the phone, you can set a time with your friends/family if you can’t meet to say the rosary at a certain time/day each week).
- spend more time in Adoration,
- start preparing for Lent (now),
- evaluate how much time your family is actually spending together each week-between school, work, friends, sports, tutoring, piano lessons, social media- how much time are we really spending together as a family unit?
- do we have a copy of the 10 Commandments displayed prominently in our house?
Cyber-bullying, recreational drugs, anti-depressants/anti-anxiety medications are being prescribed at an all-time high. We blame social media, yet are we monitoring their accounts? Suicides are at an all-time high. Why?
Are we putting too much pressure on our kids to be perfect or are they involved in too many activities at one time? It’s okay to say ‘no’ to our children. I know my husband and I are guilty sometimes of saying yes to too many things.
Taking a minute to identify and admit the problem exists is a good start.
Instead of going to the internet to find all the answers why don’t we turn to the Bible? God is so amazing that he provided written instructions to help us with every aspect of our life. How many times do we reach for our phones, computers, Alexa over the Bible or other religious books? Why not start a book club or a parent group? I highly recommend reading read “Archbishop Chaput’s book: Strangers in a Strange Land and also the book Disconnected by Tom Kersting.
I think it’s imperative that we listen to St. Lucia and ask Our Lady to help us.
