Commentary on the Gospel of
Vocation to Parent
On this feast of Saints Joachim and Anne and in the context of the parable of the seeds and weeds, it is fitting to reflect on the vocation of parenting. If little Mary was born with the good seed of faith in her soul, it fell to the task of Joachim and Anne to nourish it, protect it, and tend to its growth and flowering. Weeds would always be present around us, in the world; for the world is a mixed place. However, the focus and energies of parents shall be on the seed of faith that a child naturally carries as grace, and nurture it as long as they can. Does this always mean that every child thus attended to will produce good fruits? The ultimate result is something we leave to God to judge and to harvest, at the end of times. “The family is … the domestic church. In it parents should, by their word and example, be the first preachers of the faith to their children” (Lumen Gentium, 11).
