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Hi, Anthony —
Thanks for your question.
First, I admire the zeal and love for the faith and
the Church especially at such a young age.
Your parents are to be applauded.
For an answer to your question we have to ask the
question:
Well, Our Lord was a Jew who like all other practicing
Jews obeyed and kept the Ten Commandments. The fourth commandment is: Honor thy Father and Mother.
Since Jesus, Our Ultimate Model and Lord, did this,
so should you.
At your age, it's important to:
- obey father and mother
- keep to good study habits in school.
- (for without
a good education, you can't spread the Good News
effectively.)
- do the chores around the house that are required.
- (this builds discipline and obedience.)
- keep developing a personal prayer life.
At your
age, praying the Rosary on a regular basis would be great!
- and .... have fun! . . . I'm sure as a teenager, Jesus
did!
Later when you finish basic education and can support
yourself through jobs, you may want to come back
to this question.
We can never do anything drastic that would put
our own family members in a situation where they
would be needlessly concerned about our health or
welfare.
Your possible reply: But
doesn't Matthew Chapter 10 say:
37 He who loves father or mother more than
me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or
daughter more than me is not worthy of me;" (Matthew 10:37)
We have to look at the context of this Chapter.
Jesus is talking to his hand-picked Apostles. Today's
Apostles of the Church are called Bishops. To be
an Apostle is a calling that one discerns through
prayer over time. One calling isn't better then the
other callings. Through prayer, you want
to ask the Lord what He is calling you to do for
Him as a 15-year-old teenager.
He may be calling you to a vocation as a:
- teacher
- doctor
- scientist
- philosopher
- policeman
- fireman
- solider
or
- a religious vocation to the priesthood, religious
life, or
- a Catholic missionary when you grow up!
All these are good vocations because a vocation
is a discerned calling.
The notes from my 1954 Commentary on Catholic Scriptures
for this chapter may give some insight. For verses 34 to
39 of Matthew 10 it states:
The Commentary Title for this Chapter is: The
Twelve.
The title for these verses is: The New Loyalty
and the New Affection
Our Lord introduces an important modification
into the current hope of the Messianic days: the
peace he brings is between God and man, not between
man and man as the world might give and as the
Jews expected. The dividing sword is His doctrine. Its supernatural edge cuts, if necessary, through
the natural domestic loyalties where the words
are a lament for the chaotic state of Samaria.
For Himself, personally, not for His Father only,
Our Lord boldly claims man's whole heart — it
is the claim of God. Even the grim prospect of
crucifixion (all too
familiar in Galilee since the ruthless suppression
of the recent outbreaks [from Josephus' Antiquities] must
be faced.) But again the section closes
with a word of comfort (in paradoxical form due
to the epigrammatic omission of distinctions):
He that has found his live for my sake — not
through any other considerations, as a Stoic might
sacrifice it — shall find a supernatural
one. |
The need for Catholic missionaries in the United
States is an important need of the Church these days.
Consider talking to your pastor about starting a
local evangelization and apologetics group at the parish.
Ultimately, I'd like to see mature parishioners,
who are people-friendly and can handle
tough personalities, gather in groups of 2 or 3 and
just go around their local town, asking people if
they have any questions about the Catholic faith
in a non-threatening manner.
They may get 20 No's, but they will probably get
a few Yes's. and in doing so, may be able to clarify some misperceptions about the faith.
There would have to be a good deal of studying the
faith (the Catechism) and teachings incorporated
with a daily prayer life for this to be done properly.
There could be training classes at the parish for
interested participants/parishioners.
A missionary/parishioner may knock on someone's door
to find that the person they are talking to has always
wanted to take the next step in joining the Church,
but:
- didn't know how
- didn't have the time, or
- may have just one or two issues with the Church,
that, if they can be cleared up, would allow that
person to consider becoming a Catholic.
We can't forget that as our culture grows more and
more immoral, the United States becomes a critical
fertile ground for Catholic missionary work.
Like I have told my niece and nephews, if you are
not a leader in our society, by default, you are
a follower.
Be that leader at your parish Anthony!
Hope this helps,
Mike
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