By Susan Ciancio
Raising children requires time, attention, and love. Most importantly, raising children in our Catholic faith and who understand and hold pro-life values requires each of those things, plus dedication and perseverance. After all, our goal as parents is to help our children attain heaven, so our job here on earth cannot be taken lightly. For assistance, we can look to the many saints whose examples guide us. Some, like Elizabeth Ann Seton, John Bosco, and Carlo Acutis, are obvious examples. But there are other saints—those who are not as well known—whose stories resonate with us and whom we can learn from. For me, one of these saints is Fiacre.
St. Fiacre was born in Ireland in 600. From a young age, he wanted to devote his life to God. He became a monk and then a priest; he wanted to live as a hermit, spending his days in prayer. But God had other plans.
When Fiacre moved from Ireland to France, he became widely known for his faith, his ability to cure illnesses, and his kindness for the poor. People from all around the region would seek his healing, help, and wisdom, as they desired to learn more about Christ.
Fiacre loved to garden, and he grew both vegetables and herbs; he understood the importance of cultivating something so that it could not only grow but thrive. He eventually established a hermitage that included a vegetable and herb garden, a chapel, and a hospice so that the travelers who sought his help would have a roof over their heads, food to eat, a space to pray, and a place to heal.
A US Catholic article explained, “He employed his green thumb in producing food for the throngs, as well as herbs with which he healed the sick. Fiacre’s kindness to the poor soon made him a legend in the district.”
It is said that even after his death people visited the hermitage and received healing. Fiacre is now the patron saint of gardeners, and as such, he can also be someone whom parents seek when looking to cultivate the faith in their children.
Fiacre knew the toil and the labor that it required to cause something to grow. He understood that sunshine, water, and care help plants thrive. As parents, we must cultivate our children’s faith and pro-life values by giving them the light of Christ, by feeding them with His love and mercy, by educating them daily in Christ’s teachings, and by giving them the tools they need to go out into the world to truly make a difference. We are, in a sense, gardeners in our own homes.
To that end, we must consistently and lovingly teach our children about Christ’s Church and God’s love and help them see the dignity and value of all people.
We know that life can be busy, but the souls of our children are at stake. The world often inundates them with selfish ideals, materialistic thoughts, and the belief that they should put themselves first. But we see through these lies. We know that a life lived according to those tenets—a life devoid of God—will eventually give us what we ask for: eternal life without God.
Because we know that our Heavenly Father should always be our number one priority, it is our job as parents to cultivate our children’s faith so that they can grow to fill the world with the beauty of their own garden—with acts of love and kindness that speak to others of the dignity and value of every person. This is what St. Fiacre did throughout his life, it’s a lesson we must take to heart and pass on to our children, and it’s what we teach every day at the Culture of Life Studies Program.
With lesson booklets from CLSP, you can join us in this quest to build a culture of life and to create a world where pro-life values are the norm rather than an anomaly. These endeavors start at home, and they start with you. As parents, we are the gardeners, and we must plant the seeds if ever we want our children’s faith to grow and multiply. CLSP exists to help you along this journey; download some of our booklets today to see how we can help you build the culture of life that our world so desperately needs.