
One of the “new” problems we face is dehumanizing and addictive pornography. We priests have been hearing it for years in the confessional, but in the last ten years we hear it so much more and, heartbreakingly, even from children. Parents, you must know that if you give your child a smart phone, you are giving your child access to a whole menu of deadly toxins. We cannot expect them to carry this burden! It is hard enough for a fully-mature, battle-tested adult to handle the sophisticated techniques developed by the porn industry. How can we expect our children to have the wisdom and will power to defend themselves? Please don’t dump the weight of unlimited internet access on your own children!
When I was in Eastern Russia 20 years ago, a common danger in the streets was open manholes. Thieves would steal the covers, leaving gaping pits open to the city’s sewer system. In badly-lit streets, people would often walk into them at night, bruising and scraping themselves as they fell. Many would develop infections from contact with the filth in these sewers. Some of them would lose a limb or their eyesight and some would die. We were told to look very carefully where we walked. Your child’s phone, although a wonderful technology, is also a portal to open sewers. The manhole covers are often missing. They can develop infections that will damage them for life. Let us pray, especially this Saturday, for our children’s souls, and for Our Lady of Holy Protection to cover them with her grace.