THE RESPONSIBILITY OF PARENTS REGARDING THE PURITY OF THEIR CHILDREN

Parents must watch over and foster the purity of their children from a very early age, so that they acquire modesty and integrity, so that they are modest in speech, manners, and dress. It is up to parents to prevent their children from acquiring bad habits in this area, even if the children do not understand the evil of what they are doing, because later they will not be able to free themselves from the addiction.

Beware, parents, beware of children. Let's see what His Holiness says.  Pius XII: “Unfortunately, it sometimes happens that Christian parents, who are so concerned about raising a son or daughter that they are always away from dangerous pleasures and bad company, suddenly see their children, at 18 or 20 years old, victims of miserable and scandalous falls: the good seed they sowed was ruined by weeds.

Who was the enemy of man who did so much evil? What happened, the Pope continues, was that into the home itself, into that little paradise, the tempter, the cunning enemy, crept in and found there the corrupting fruit to offer it to innocent hands. A book accidentally left on the father's desk is what destroyed the son's baptismal faith; a novel abandoned on the sofa or in the bedroom by the mother is what eclipsed the purity of her first communion in the daughter.”

Weeds can enter by leafing through news magazines or newspapers found in the home;  on television, or from a TV news clip the child happened to see. Be vigilant, parents, watch over your children's souls. Keep them away from the internet, tablets, and iPads, where they can really access anything. They already see so much evil outside the home. Let them at least find purity and virtue there, following the example of their parents.

What good is it to gain the whole world if we lose our soul? What is the value of an instant, fleeting gratification that makes us lose heaven, deserve hell, and offends our Lord? Trusting in God, distrusting ourselves, with a very firm determination, let us be chaste and pure according to our state of life. Let us be an example and watch over the purity and salvation of our children's souls. Example, good advice, and care are essential for them to remain pure.