Pope: Make the home a school of virtue

Pope Benedict XVI - Angelus
Photo: Link - WSJ

This past Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI gave a message, to those gathered to hear the midday Angelus in St. Peter's square, about making the home a place where love and virtue abound. His message was for families gathered to hear a message where the Pope's theme was: 'The Christian family, hope for Europe."

Zenit.org reports that the Pope's message centers on the family and the core of what makes the family important:

Dear brothers and sisters," the Holy Father told them, "I ask you to be strong in love and to contemplate with humility the mystery of Christmas that continues to speak to the heart and to become a school of family and fraternal life. The motherly gaze of the Virgin Mary, the loving protection of St. Joseph and the sweet presence of the Baby Jesus are a clear image of what every Christian family must be: an authentic sanctuary of fidelity, respect and understanding in which faith is passed on, hope is strengthened and love is kindled."

"Make your home a real nursery of virtues and a serene and luminous place of trust, in which, guided by God's grace, it is possible to discern wisely the call of the Lord who continues to invite people to follow him."

This may seem like a no-brainer, but the idea of making your home a 'garden of virtue' goes beyond simply making your household and family into virtuous people. The Pope said that it helps people "...discern wisely the call of the Lord..." A new study may even back this up with some evidence of the effects of having a "holy household." Lifesitenews.com has the report:

Higher levels of religiosity in adolescents dramatically increase the probability that they will remain virgins during high school and college, a new study has concluded.

The study, entitled “Religiosity, Self-Control, and Virginity Status in College Students from the ‘Bible Belt’,” and published in the September 2010 Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, found that for every unit increase on its scale of religiosity, the odds of a male remaining a virgin increased by a factor of 3.86. For a female, the odds jumped by a factor of 4.13.

This seems to show that the Pope might be right – that the home is the "nursery of virtue." So then, those of us that are parents, we are called to foster this type of place as our home. It is our job to create what the Pope calls:

"...an authentic sanctuary of fidelity, respect and understanding in which faith is passed on, hope is strengthened and love is kindled."

Links:

• MAKE HOME A VIRTUE SCHOOL, PONTIFF TELLS FAMILIES - Zenit.org
• Religious belief dramatically lowers probability of adolescent sexual activity: study - Lifesitenews.com

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