So Many Witnesses

When we are young school children, we get excited on ‘Career Day’ when we get to meet the different examples of doctors, lawyers, teachers, first responders, etc. We get inspired that one day we too will have such honorable careers, and from that early age we begin to plan our future. College choices and even which extra-curricular activities we participate in during High School all have one purpose, to help us become what inspired us so many years earlier.

The same can and should be true when it comes to our spiritual dreams. We should have ‘Saints Day’ when young children are inspired to become saints. We should have days when the Church parades in so many witnesses of the faith, holy men and women, that our children begin to plan for their future in heaven, but alas we spend too much time memorizing facts and figures about Church history. Does it really matter if our children know that our Patriarch is the 270th successor to the Apostle Andrew if they do not know about the inspiring lives of those 270 holy men?

As young children they are told they can become doctors and lawyers and first responders. Do we tell them they can become saints? Most parents fill with great pride when their children become honorable professionals, but do we even want our children to become saints? We ‘say’ we do, but what do we do to inspire our children to plan for their future in heaven?

Today is the Feast of Saint Polycarp, the Bishop of Smyrna. You can read a brief story about his life here. He was a disciple of Saint John the Theologian and lived to an old age serving God until he was martyred for refusing to deny Christ. His response in the face of his accusers was, “I have been serving Christ for eighty-six years, and He has wronged me in nothing; how can I blaspheme my King Who has saved me?” How many of our adult members, let alone our children, would respond with such love and loyalty to God?

If we are going to inspire our young people to become saints, we must begin to introduce them to the saints, and encourage them to get to know the lives of the saints. It doesn’t mean we stop preparing our children for life in the world. The difference is we must prepare our children to become saints in the world, holy lawyers, holy doctors, holy teachers, etc. A good place to begin would be to invite each child to learn about their patron saint and be able to talk about the saint to others.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could one day hear our children dream about sainthood and not just professional careers? Wouldn’t it be nice if one day our children were excited about what they could become? There are so many witnesses to share with our children. Let’s not waste another day!