The virtue of the month for Challenge and Conquest in September is obedience. Everyone in the world needs to obey. It is a not a virtue simply for children. In some way, shape or form we all need to obey God’s laws, his will, the laws of the world, those in authority and the Church. We should obey the commandments from God because he created us and knows what we need to be happy and fulfilled . We should obey the teachings of the Church because they help us to discover God’s will for us. For example, the Church suggests we go to confession around Christmas and Easter. This will help us grow in our friendship with God. Obedience sometimes is shown by simply accepting joyfully the circumstances God sends our way in life.
We need to especially obey our parents, like Jesus obeyed Mary and Joseph. We can also look at Jesus, who was obedient to his Father and became man. Jesus was the all powerful Son of God and he became a little baby in a manger. This is humbling and an example of obedience. If anyone could say that they knew better than their parents, it would have been Jesus. But he did not. He was obedient to Mary and Joseph.St Ignatius of Loyola once wrote, “It is not hard to obey when we love the one we obey” Obedience is not just about following a bunch of rules or directions because we have to. Obedience is really obeying the one who you love and doing things that will please them. Jesus loved is Father and loved Mary and Joseph so obeying was something he did with joy.
The saint of the month is St Jacinta and when Mary appeared to the children of Fatima, she gave them specific instructions to follow and prayers to say. Once of those prayers is on the Challenge holy card this month. It is the prayer from Fatima and a good reminder to listen to what God asks of us and pray for those in need.
The Catechism number of the month is all about obedience. It is number #2217 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: As long as a child lives at home with his parents, the child should obey his parents in all that they ask of him when it is for his good or that of the family. As they grow up, children should continue to respect their parents. They should anticipate their wishes, willingly seek their advice, and accept their just admonitions. Obedience toward parents ceases with the emancipation of the children; not so respect, which is always owed to them.