By Susan Ciancio
As a Notre Dame alum, I felt encouraged and inspired by the remarks of the football team’s quarterback, Riley Leonard, after the tough loss to Ohio State in the National Championship. He said, “I want to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for giving me the opportunity to play in this game. I wrote on my hand Proverbs 27:17. ‘As iron sharpens iron, so shall one man sharpen another.’”
Football is exciting and fun, and of course it’s sad to lose a game, especially a championship game, but as most people who have become parents know, there are more important things in life. And the most important is our relationship with Christ and the salvation of our souls.
I’m sure Riley Leonard’s parents are extremely proud of his worldly accomplishments, but I am betting that they are even prouder of the fact that he courageously proclaimed his faith before millions. It’s something that we hope our children will all do, and it’s heartbreaking if they reject Christ, reject the faith, and go against all that we have taught them.
So how can we, as parents, live this Proverb in our family and in our homes? We must become strong enough in our own faith that it sets an example for our children so that they want to forge their own relationship with Christ. That means we attend Mass faithfully and joyfully, pray in public and throughout the day, allow our children to see us pray and read books that strengthen our faith, talk to them and others about God, and let them see that we are forging our own relationship with God, never being satisfied that it is enough. For we can never stop growing in our faith.
As any parent of a fallen-away Catholic knows, these efforts do not always work. But it’s part of our responsibility as parents to be like that iron—to teach the faith, to live our faith, and to be the ones who then sharpen our children in the faith.
It’s easier said than done, of course. We live in a world so obsessed by devices that they, not our faith, have become the main focus. Phones have become an almost permanent attachment to most people, and they absolutely have detrimental effects in children and teens. From the mere inability to interact with others, to problems with concentration, to decreased self-esteem, to exposure to sexually inappropriate materials, and more, these pocket-sized devices often do more harm than good.
Phones and social media are becoming what is sharpening our children, and often not in a positive way. This is true even with adults.
The other night, I was out with my son before he returned to college, and a father and son sat in a nearby booth. The father was on his phone, and at one point the little boy, who was about seven, continually called him, saying, “Dad, Dad, Dad . . .” and the man would not look up.
The man put his phone before his child. Imagine the loneliness and the rejection that that little boy felt as he was ignored by his father.
Now imagine that God is like that little boy calling to us and to our children, saying our names over and over again. But we are too distracted, too busy, and too disinterested to look up and talk to Him.
Is this what we want our children to see in us—a lackadaisical faith, a disinterest in our Heavenly Father, an inability to focus on what’s truly important?
For the sake of our souls and the souls of our children, we must become the one that sharpens them. It is not the job of a phone, of their friends, of social media, or of anyone else; it is our job. If we do not sharpen them in the way of the Lord, they will likely go astray.
That’s why it’s beneficial to have reminders like those given by Riley Leonard. And that’s why it’s a big deal when sports figures or Hollywood stars proclaim their faith. Their words serve as just one more example of the importance of faith.
So, let us prayerfully look at our lives, how we spend our days, and what we focus on. God is gently calling us to Him. Will we put away our distractions, listen to His words, and help our children grow in love for Him? Or will we simply keep our heads down and hope He stops calling us? Let’s hope it’s the former and that we, like Riley Leonard, are courageous enough to tell the world that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior.