Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
We Must Let Children Be Heroic

We Must Let Children Be Heroic

Last updated on: August 13, 2018 at 6:46 pm by Mary Pezzulo

We Must Let Children Be Heroic 2018-08-13T18:46:47-04:00 Mary Pezzulo

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I saw a sweet video online today.

For all I know it was staged, but it was sweet.

A lovely little girl my daughter’s age, wearing a headband with cat ears on it, was sitting in a restaurant with a fresh untouched plate of sausage and eggs. Her father had the cell phone camera on her because of a question she just asked. She asked again if she may give her lunch to the homeless man on the bench outside. Father said “Yeah, go ahead.” The little girl carefully carried her plate, with fork and knife balanced on it, out the front door of the restaurant and set it in front of the homeless man. They exchange a few words; he smiled and dug in. The little girl walked inside grinning, and her father told her she must’ve made his day– maybe his whole week.

I started to pick it apart as mothers do. I suppose it would’ve been better to just invite the homeless man in with you as you passed him and treat him to a lunch he picked out himself– or give him a gift card or offer to buy him takeout if he showed up after you’d already been seated. Less chance of him being shooed off the property before he finished eating, and that way the child gets lunch right away too instead of having to wait for a whole new plate. Not to mention, he might not return the dish and silverware to the restaurant if he has to eat outside. There isn’t exactly one set way to love your disadvantaged neighbor as yourself– there’s just the command that you have to do it. We can second guess each other about how, and I’m good at second-guessing.

But then I caught myself in mid-thought.

That little girl was being heroic.

Have I given my own child enough of a chance to be heroic?

Do we all offer our children enough of a chance to be heroic?

That is what’s required of them, after all: heroic virtue. Not just being a swell guy. Not just throwing a few dollars in the poor box. Heroism. Loving the Lord with your whole heart, soul, strength and mind, and loving your neighbor as yourself as the proof of that love. That’s what it is to be a follower of Christ– that’s what we’re supposed to teach them. You can’t exactly teach love and you certainly can’t force it. Demanding that your daughter give up her lunch would be cruelty. But if you raise your children to know that sharing with those who are hungry is one of the things that we as Christians are required to do, as necessary or more as Church on Sunday, and your children take that lesson to heart and want to put it into action, what do you and I do?

Do we nix that idea because we’re in a hurry and it’s the first time all day the kids have had a meal that wasn’t junk? Do we snap at them to put the plate down before they spill hot food all over and make an embarrassing mess? Do we balk at the thought that the child we love so much might suffer for doing the right thing, so we coddle them and tell them not to?

Or do we allow the Holy Ghost to direct them in love, and get out of the Holy Ghost’s way?

We have to direct children in their efforts to love, but we can never stifle them. In fact, we ought to learn from them. Childlike love is correct love; it’s grown-ups that have it wrong. We’re supposed to love our neighbor with unabashed fervor and put our love into concrete action without counting the cost for ourselves. We’re supposed to have compassion that directs us to comfort the suffering, even if we suffer as a consequence. That’s proper and just. We direct the way we act that love out through the virtue of prudence, but we must not smother the love itself. Love is the whole point– the reason we exist. Without love, we have nothing.

When was the last time that you and I gave our children the opportunity to practice heroic love?

When I saw them acting in love, did I say “Yeah, go ahead” instead of standing in the way because I was practical, or afraid they might have to be heroic?

I drag her to church, I say her prayers before bed, I teach her her Catechism. But when do I let her be heroic? Because that’s as much a part of our faith as anything.

I’m going to make sure not to stand in her way, the next time the Holy Ghost prompts my daughter to be heroic.

(image via Pixabay)

Previous Post

August 12, 2018

No One is a Bicycle: Why we Need a New Pro-Life Movement

Next Post

August 13, 2018 An End-of-Summer Request

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category abortion Abuse Advent America American Christianity angel angels Annunciation Appalachia apparition apparition chaser apparition chasers apparition culture art art review babies baby baby Jesus Bad Lip Reading bad statue contest bath beauty Bible story blog blogkeeping blood book review Brandon Sanderson breastfeeding bus Catholic catholic conspiracy alarmism Catholic Oppositional Disorder Charismatic Renewal Charlie the Cat chastity Christ Christian idenitity Christianity and Judaism Chronic Illness clean clothing COD piece comedy compassion conscience conspiracy theory conversion cop-on-black violence Crucifixion cry of the poor culture Daesh Daily Saints death death penalty devotional diaconate diaper diapers dirty disability Donald Trump Dorothy Day dream drugs Eastern Catholicism Eastern Christianity education election election update Elsewhere on Patheos empathy environment Fear feminism film review fish flashback fluffy buns food Franciscan University of Steubenville Friendship Room fun Gabriel gardening gospel hair-splitting Heaven hell heresy Hillary Clinton history Holly the Witch Holy Spirit holy war Homeschooling homosexuality horror human dignity humor Icon idol immigrants infection inter-religious dialogue Interpretation of Scripture Islam Jesus Jihad Joseph joy laity and lay vocations lamb dinner laundry lent lgbtq literature love manners Mary Medicine and Science Meditation mercy mess milk misogyny Missouri monasticism monster motherhood mourn with those mourn movies movis music mystery nature neurodiversity New Pro-Life Movement news nonsense nostalgia O antiphons obituary objectification Ohio Valley Ordinary Time ordination Ordo Amoris parable paradox Passover peanut butter personal beliefs pets philosophy Planet Charismatic poetry politics polls poop Pope Francis Pope Leo power in the Church prayer prayer request prayers preferential option for non-violence president presidential election priest primary private revelation pro-life prophecy Public face of Catholicism Pure Flix Q and A race racism random rape rape. sexuality reader's request Reckoners refugee religious trauma ressurrection Right to life Saints saints and celebrations same-sex same-sex marriage satire scandal secular feasts seder Seven Joys Seven Last Words sex sexual ethics sexuality silencing six months skid row slavery social justice Speculative fiction spiritual abuse spoon stain story suffering suffrage suffragette Sunday Gospel temple Tenebrae Responsories Terror the exorcist The Friendship Room The New Pro-Life Movement Things I Learned on the Internet tin cup traffic true story tv review Uncategorized USCCB vice and temptation violence Virtue virtue and vice war Way of the Cross whimsy whole life women's ordination work of mercy Year A

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who built the Ark of the Covenant?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Aaron Bezalel Joshua Moses