Passing Along Our Stories

This is going to be a short one.

So far, I’ve had two ‘one of those weeks’ in a row. Our youngest daughter tells me there’s been a lot of tree and grass pollen in the air lately, so that may account for it.

Anyway, a homily I heard two weeks back and posted last week asked two questions:

“…What are you doing to pass on and give to the younger generation?

“Are you going to share your life story?

“Your vocational calling of how you met and allowed God to work in your lives….”
(“Our Vocational Calling” Focus on Listening to God for Our Vocational Calling > Disciples, Then and Now > Sharing Our Stories, Fr. Mark Botzet)

Those are good questions. Teaching kids skills, telling them what to do and what to avoid; those are good ideas.

But I think sharing our stories; what we’ve experienced and how we were affected — that strikes me as a very good idea indeed.

There’s nothing wrong with teaching skills and rules. But stories — telling stories is how we show WHY the skills and rules matter.

That doesn’t mean I think concocting ‘and the moral of this story is’ narratives is necessarily a good idea.

But sharing what we’ve learned with the next generation, that does make sense:

• “Death, Birth, Baptism, and a Little Hope” (May 23, 2026)
• “Respect, Relationship, Responsibility, and Stuffed Animals” (May 16, 2026)
• “Bonding With My Dad: Our Way” (March 14, 2026)
• “Visiting a Power Plant, Learning From My Father” (February 21, 2026)
• “Sewer Repair, and Applying Ethical Principles” (February 7, 2026 )
  • Finding Morals, Within Reason