Episode 3077: Strangers and Pilgrims Suffering, Education, and Remaining in Christ - Morning Episode

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Speak Lord for your Servant is Listening
Book Recommendation of the Day
Angelo M. Fanucci, Ubaldo Baldassini novecento anni dopo
• Published to commemorate the 900th anniversary of Ubaldus's birth, this work reflects on his enduring legacy.
Opening Greeting Before I get into this morning episode I want to follow up on topic I mentioned in yesterdays episode.
Catholic Education
The Catholic Church has always taught that parents are the primary educators of their children. But what does this mean in practice?
In a world increasingly hostile to truth, beauty, and goodness, it means that parents have the grave and non-negotiable responsibility to ensure their children are formed in the Catholic Faith not just in the home, but in every arena of life, especially in their education. To fail in this duty is not simply to risk a poor academic outcome. It is to risk the eternal salvation of their children’s souls.
The Church’s Teaching on Catholic Education From the earliest days of the Church, education has been seen not as neutral, but as either a formation in truth or a deformation of the soul.
As Pope Pius XI taught in his landmark encyclical Divini Illius Magistri (1929): “It is necessary that all teaching and the whole organization of the school, and its teachers, syllabus, and textbooks in every branch, be regulated by the Christian spirit, under the direction and maternal supervision of the Church.”
Education is not just about reading and arithmetic.
It is about shaping the intellect and the will to conform to Christ. The Baltimore Catechism puts it succinctly:
“Why did God make you”?
“To know Him, love Him, and serve Him in this life, and be happy with Him forever in the next.” That is the purpose of Catholic education to teach a child what he is, why he exists, and how to live in accordance with God’s law.

The Dangers of Secular Schooling Modern public schools and even many nominally Catholic institutions are steeped in atheistic materialism, relativism, gender confusion, and ideological indoctrination. They do not merely ignore the Catholic faith; they often actively oppose it.
A child who spends six to eight hours a day in an environment that denies or distorts truth will be hardened against the Faith, no matter how many prayers are said at home.
As Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre warned: “To put children in schools that destroy their faith is to hand them over to the enemy.”
Parents will answer before God for the decisions they make about their children’s formation. This is not optional. It is a matter of duty and justice.
The Role of Traditional Catholic Schools
A true Catholic school one rooted in Tradition, the Sacraments, the Latin Mass, and sound doctrine forms the whole person:
• The mind through Catholic philosophy and scholastic reasoning
• The heart through frequent Confession and devout attendance at Holy Mass
• The will through discipline, virtue, and love of truth
Children taught in this environment are not just prepared for college or careers they are prepared for sainthood.
As St. John Bosco said: “Education is a matter of the heart.” And the heart must be shaped by grace.
A Parent’s Responsibility Before God Parents, you are not merely raising citizens of a country you are raising citizens of Heaven. Your child is a soul made in the image of God, and your first duty is to get that soul to Heaven.
To knowingly send a child into a school that contradicts the Faith is to gamble with the most precious gift God has entrusted to you.
Canon Law (1917, Canon 1113) states: “Parents are bound by a most grave obligation to see to the religious and moral education of their children.”
This means not settling for mediocrity. Not trusting that an occasional Sunday Mass will undo five days of secular indoctrination. It means sacrifice sometimes financial, sometimes social but always spiritual.

Conclusion and Encouragement
To Catholic parents: you are not alone in this battle. God’s grace is sufficient. Seek out faithful Catholic schools, or build them if they do not yet exist. Homeschool with reverence and structure if necessary. Work together with other families. But do not surrender your children to Caesar when they belong to Christ. As Our Lord said: “Let the children come to Me, and do not hinder them.” (Mark 10:14) Let no false ideology, no fear of hardship, no worldly excuse hinder them from coming to Him through a truly Catholic education.
Strangers and Pilgrims Suffering, Education, and Remaining in Christ
Epistle – 1 Peter 2:11–19
“Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, to refrain yourselves from carnal desires which war against the soul; having your conversation good among the Gentiles: that whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by the good works, which they shall behold in you, glorify God in the day of visitation. Be ye subject therefore to every human creature for God's sake: whether it be to the king as excelling; or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of the good. For so is the will of God, that by doing well you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: as free, and not as making liberty a cloak for malice, but as the servants of God. Honour all men: love the brotherhood: fear God: honour the king. Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle but also to the froward. For this is thankworthy before God: in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Reflection: St. Peter reminds us that as Christians, we are “strangers and pilgrims” in this world. This life is not our true home. Therefore, we must strive to detach ourselves from carnal desires and live virtuously, even under unjust authorities, offering up our sufferings in union with Christ. Our patient endurance becomes a silent but powerful testimony of the Faith.
Gospel – John 16:16–22 “At that time Jesus said to His disciples: A little while, and now you shall not see Me; and again a little while, and you shall see Me: because I go to the Father. Then some of His disciples said one to another: What is this that He saith to us: A little while, and you shall not see Me; and again a little while, and you shall see Me, and, because I go to the Father? They said therefore: What is this that He saith, A little while? We know not what He speaketh. And Jesus knew that they had a mind to ask Him; and He said to them: Of this do you inquire among yourselves, because I said: A little while, and you shall not see Me; and again a little while, and you shall see Me? Amen, amen, I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice; and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.”
Reflection: Our Lord prepares His disciples for His Passion, Death, and Resurrection. He acknowledges their coming sorrow but assures them that their grief will turn into joy. This passage applies to all of us: the trials of life, the seeming victories of the world over the Church, even personal sufferings all are temporary. For those who remain faithful, sorrow gives way to eternal joy.
Feast Day – May 16: St. Ubaldus (Ubald) Baldassini, Bishop and Confessor Today, we honor St. Ubaldus, Bishop of Gubbio in Italy. Known for his humility, charity, and miraculous healings, St. Ubaldus faced slander and persecution with patience, mirroring today’s Epistle. He lived as a true pilgrim, enduring earthly trials while keeping his heart fixed on heavenly things. His feast encourages us to practice humility and trust in Divine Providence, especially amid injustice.
Quotes & Themes for Meditation
• St. Teresa of Avila: “Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you; all things are passing away: God never changes. Patience obtains all things.”
• St. Alphonsus Liguori: “The past is no longer yours; the future is not yet in your power. You have only the present wherein to do good.”
• Theme 1: The Christian life is a pilgrimage a journey marked by trials that prepare us for eternal joy.
• Theme 2: Suffering in union with Christ is not wasted but becomes a path to glory.
• Theme 3: Enduring injustice with virtue converts hearts and gives silent testimony to the Truth.
Conclusionary Prayer Let us close today’s reflection with prayer:
O God, who dost gladden us by the example of Thy holy bishop and confessor, St. Ubaldus, grant us the grace to follow in his footsteps, bearing patiently the trials of this life as strangers and pilgrims upon the earth. May we never lose sight of our heavenly homeland, even amid the sorrows and injustices of this world. Strengthen us to abide in Thy love, that our sorrow may be turned into joy in the world to come. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. St. Ubaldus, pray for us. Our Lady of Sorrows, comfort us. Sacred Heart of Jesus, we place our trust in Thee. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.