Sunbeams stream in the window, warming my shoulder as I sit quietly, a lump growing in my throat. My memory turns to my grandmother. I, sitting in her lap, about four years old, learn my evening prayers from her. “Our Father who art in heaven…” “Glory be to the Father…”
Prayers taught to her by her parents and grandparents and now being passed down to me. As clear today as it was 63 years ago, her voice softly repeating the words of the prayers with me. She was a strong Irishwomen passing on to her grandson the beliefs and values she held in her heart.
This scene is often repeated in our families as we teach our children to be responsible members of society and to know our prayers. In our families mothers and fathers teach morals and values to their sons and daughters. An early value taught is the Golden Rule. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
A moral truth likely to be remembered throughout life. A moral truth taught and passed down from generation to generation. A rule telling us what effect our actions have on others. The Golden Rule does not give answers; it only provides consistency in action. The Golden Rule is endorsed by most cultures, a widely understood moral teaching. We all remember the Golden Rule.
Listening to the news broadcasts, we seem to be turning toward modernization and away from traditional religious and moral values. Religious values are often mocked and spoken as being out of step with society today. Religious beliefs are widely condemned as irrevelent to most discussions or an unnecessary part of our daily life. Morning and evening prayers are often forgotten and not said. Faith and value discussions within the family become infrequent or silent in our homes. We tend to embrace science as well as our personal experiences to explain life. God has no place in the evidence of the created world around us.
People form a deep respect for the individual, forgetting the Golden Rule and the common good. Instead each person is encouraged to recognize their own individual particular excellence, forgetting values aimed at the rest of society. We care little for our neighbor. We are becoming more and more isolated as we focus on “me” or the individual. We each must recall the two great commandments given to us. Love God. Love your neighbor as yourself.
Political rallies and discussions in our various forms of media today seem to have a vendetta against religious organizations. The foibles and sins of many people of faith lead others to distain people of faith and are used as excuses for not praying, not thanking God, not practicing values passed on from generation to generation and not attending church. The saying “he who has the most toys, wins” is particularly disturbing since it completely ignores the common good and the Golden Rule.
“What’s in it for me” becomes the value to attain.
Recently I read that 4.7 billion people on earth believe in a supernatural being. That is Hindu, Jew, Islamic, and Christian believers. This is encouraging because perhaps a reliance on improving life through material means may not be the value taught to this generation. Grandma’s knee may still be a powerful learning tool.
The Golden Rule is not an infallible guide on right and wrong, we do not get all the answers from this rule, but it does mean that our actions will not be out of harmony with our desires. If we violate the Golden Rule then we violate the spirit of fairness and concern that is at the heart of morality. As the world becomes smaller and more and more diverse a rule is needed to insure a moral society.
Let each of us recall our grandmother’s words and teaching. Let the words of those prayers she taught us again cross our lips. Let us find ourselves in church, worshipping with other members of the community. Let us exhibit concern for the common good and not just our own whims and desires. Recall those traditional values we learned as children, they will still serve us well.
Sit silently in the warmth of the sun, you will hear grandmother speaking.
Each month a member of the Cook County Ministerium will offer Spiritual Reflections. This month our contributor is Deacon Peter Mueller of St. John’s Catholic Church in Grand Marais.
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