“Well, have you ever heard an Amish parent yell?”

A scholar was conducting a study of an Amish village. The Amish are a branch of the Mennonite church who live in traditional rural villages far from industrialization and technology: no computers, televisions, refrigerators and telephones.

In his study of the Amish village school, the researcher noticed that Amish children never screamed or yelled. That surprised him. So, he decided to check it out with the schoolteacher. He told the teacher that he had not once heard an Amish child yell and asked him why that was so. The teacher replied, “Well, have you ever heard an Amish parent yell?”

The inference is clear: Like the parents, so the children!

We are all familiar with Mother’s Day and Father’s Day which we celebrate every year. Why is there not a Parents’ Day where we celebrate father and mother together as a couple? Today should be a good day to focus on both parents together, as we see both parents of Jesus, Joseph and Mary, together make the long journey to Jerusalem to present their firstborn Child in the Temple as the law of God required.

In the image of Joseph and Mary presenting Jesus in the Temple, we have a wonderful model of husband and wife united in practicing the faith and in raising their child in the faith.

Submitted by Fr. Joseph Dovari