August is the month the Catholic Church devotes to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. We are called to entrust our children to the care of Mary’s Immaculate Heart with each rosary we pray. This month, let’s invoke one of the great saints of August: St. Pius X, as our intercessor and guide, leading us closer to the heart of Our Blessed Mother with the way we gather with our families to pray and the way we instruct our children in the faith. August 21 is his feast day.
St. Pius X was born in 1835, was elected pope in 1903 and died in 1914. He was a brilliant and devout pope who had humble beginnings. He was the child of a seamstress and a cobbler.
Not only was he an astute teacher who fought against the errors of modernism, but he was also the gentle catechist who carried candy to distribute to children on the street, while giving them instructions on the sweetness of the faith. In keeping with his care and respect for young souls, Pope Pius X lowered the age of First Communion from 12 to the age of reason, or about 7 years of age, in his decree Quam Singulari. This is one of the many reasons Pope St. Pius X is often called “The Pope of the Eucharist.”
3 steps to peace and paradise
Here are three reflections from St. Pius X that serve as wisdom to enrich our own families and children.
1) “Once for all, beloved children ... the surest, easiest, shortest way (to heaven) is by the Eucharist … there we taste the joys of Paradise.”
In this year of Eucharistic Revival, this is a beautiful reminder from Pope Saint Pius X of the importance of the source and summit of our faith. We must teach our children from an early age that nothing is of more value and importance, and that our Eucharistic Lord gives the peace of mind the world cannot give. We teach this by demonstrating the importance of frequent Confession, that we might receive the treasure of the Eucharist in a state of grace. We teach this by never missing church on Sundays, even if sports or other worldly concerns make it challenging. On the days we can take them even to daily Mass, let us do so. Let us leave no doubt for them as they grow up, that what mom and dad value the most is the treasure in the tabernacle.
2) “Nothing would please us more than to see our beloved children form the habit of reading the Gospels ... not merely from time to time, but every day.”
One way to do this is to read the scheduled daily Mass readings of the day aloud to our children. Another way is to make reading the Children’s Bible a nightly tradition, as part of bedtime stories. Older children can join parents for nightly Scripture readings and part of this can be discussions about what is read.
3) “The Rosary is the most beautiful and the most rich in graces of all prayers; it is the prayer that touches most the Heart of the Mother of God ... and if you wish peace to reign in your homes, recite the family Rosary.”
It can be a temptation to skip the Rosary when the family is tired or busy, but in many ways, that is when we most need to pray. Why not make the Family Rosary a regular part of the routine, as essential to our children’s development as a healthy breakfast or the nightly brushing of teeth? This is a way to ensure that the Rosary is prayed daily. As Fr. Patrick Peyton said, “The family that prays together stays together.” One way to do this is to join Relevant Radio’s Family Rosary Across America with your family!
This August, let us follow the example of Pope St. Pius X as he leads us closer to Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart … and to one another, one family at a time!
