Knowing the word NO

Children can not go about doing whatever they please.  Learning to obey and learning how to accept the word “no” is valuable in living out life in relationships and for gaurding against danger.  Saying “no” develops a healthy sense of what is right and what is wrong.  It develops self control and excellent self mastery.  Saying ‘no” helps children  see the value in priority setting.  Saying no in a big family is a necessity.  I am glad there is limited time and resources that require us to say “no” often.  You will have heard this word many times in your childhood.  Saying “no” develops patience.  Saying “no” makes you appreciate the word “yes.”  I rarely feel sorry about saying no and work hard at keeping this word abundant in my vocabulary. 

Materially, we are here to provide for your basic needs. We are obligated to provide food, clothing, education, and shelter.  Spiritually, we are obligated by our oaths to God in marriage and in baptism to bring you up in the ways of Christ.  This includes developing the virtues  which makes for contributing, loving, Christian adults.  Because we love you and want the very best for you, we provide you with the very best we can afford in these areas.  We don’t feed you with dog food, we feed you with the best foods to give you good nutrition to fuel your bodies.  We give you a nice home to live in but not too much space where the family unit becomes disconnected.  We willingly and lovingly sacrifice a great deal so that you can incorporate God in your education experience.  Your Catholic faith is our biggest priority because it is the one area that makes sense of all other areas in your life.  We make these sacrifices to give you the best education we can afford.  We also don’t let you indulge in dog food when it comes to your spiritual life.  We will feed your souls with the best we have to offer.  A Catholic education reinforces the virtues we are trying to establish.  We do not want you feeding in the dumpster of ideals marketed on TV, movies and books. We want you to have the best faith formation we can give you.  We want you to be able to pray at school.  We want you to see that what we are doing at home  is important enough to be reinforced at school.  There is consistancy and commitment to this goal.  You will also be among children whose parents believe in the same things we believe in.  As a community, we help each other by reinforcing the same ideals in recreation, friendships and team sports.  We know the burden of your formation comes from within our 4 walls, but we reinforce this foundation with the values found in recieving a Catholic education.  Though this goal requires great financial sacrifice, we believe it is an investment in our most precious God given asset- our children.

We also realize the importance of balance in our lives.  Even if we could afford more...we say no to emphasize what is truly important.  We are not here to take care of your every whim.  I’ve seen this in families and the results are disasterous.  Things quickly become disordered and children see themselves as the center of the universe.  They are impatient, spoiled and do not get along well with others.  They can easily become depressed when their life is not filled with material possessions.  Their wants become an overwhelming burden they can not maneuver through.  There is an obvious disorder in their lives.  They can not find meaning and purpose aside from the quest of constant material aquisitions.  Their souls are full of themselves and the material.  This  leaves no room for God and the love of others.  As Mother Theresa said beautifully, “God cannot fill which is already full.”