Hoping Against All Hope

Opening Prayer: (PS 33:20-22)

Our soul waits for the LORD,

who is our help and our shield.

May your mercy, O LORD, be upon us

who have put our hope in you. Amen. 

Greetings!

Childlovers may often find themselves at a loss in their lives because they may be resigned to be without a partner, without children, and without even a young friend, due to the condition of being a Childlover. This is especially true for those who find themselves to be exclusively attracted to children, which obviously may cause one to be lonely or to give up all hope. The Christian Childlover should always be able to discern hope even when no hope is offered, whether from the world or from the condition we find ourselves in. What scripture can help give us assurance in these "dry spells" of loneliness, when God's mercy seems so distant? 

Readings and Homily:

"By faith [Abraham] received power to generate, even though he was past the normal age —and Sarah herself was sterile—for he thought that the One who had made the promise was trustworthy. So it was that there came forth from one man, himself as good as dead, descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sands on the seashore." HEB 11:1-2, 8-19

Even if we are unable to have our own children for whatever reason, just as Abraham was in his old age and wed to a sterile wife, we ought to (like him) "hope against hope" that God who provides all blessing will be "trustworthy" to us. Young friends are blessings from God, and it may seem easy to give God all thanksgiving when and if that blessing comes into our lives, but remember the true test of faith is in giving all TRUST to God even in those times when we aren't blessed with the presence of a young friend to care for and nurture. Knowing that our God (the one who called us to this life of chastity and charity with this attraction) will be faithful to us, we need to realize that we are also called according to his purpose and for his time, which is the only thing that will truly give us every reason to hope if we have faith that it will, even if it takes a long time or things don't pan out the way we thought they would. Remember, Abraham waited faithfully for decades! 

Therefore we should count as a blessing even our long bouts of loneliness that we may struggle with as Childlovers. We have been entrusted with a greater burden than most. Not everyone has to go through their lives resigned to celibacy, devoid of the prospect of children, and yet be constantly weighed down by an often intense desire and attraction towards them. The burden we have is whether we count it as light and regard it as a gift to bring glory to God (by doing what is right and never inappropriately undermining a child's dignity), or if we count it as heavy and use it to cause children to stumble and therefore damn ourselves. Not doing anything to hurt or defile children is our calling, and one that we feel stronger than most just because the temptation to do so is stronger in us than it would be for most people. "Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more" (LK 12:48). We ought to count even this great burden as light, and offer it up in union with the burden of Christ's cross with patience.  

Just as God promises to be faithful to us, he also asks that we remain faithful to him, not for his benefit (for he profits nothing by our allegiance and loses nothing from our disobedience), but for our own benefit. It is for our own good, our own prosperity, and our own happiness that he asks us to be faithful to him, so that he has every reason to bestow on us faithful servants all that is due to us for enduring the unique trials that we are entrusted to bear for his good purposes, which is that we enjoy his mercy and his blessings: 

“Gird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival. Truly, I say to you, the master will put the servant in charge of all his property." LK 12:35-37, 44

What will the Lord entrust in your charge if you submit yourself to his charge first? What property of his will he give you in your life to have charge over if you delight in him? How about the desire of your heart: "Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart" (PS 37:4). Do you, a pedophile, desire that you should have a young friend in your life, to give you something to care about, nurture, and give your all for? All God asks for is your trust. If he can be trustworthy enough to bring an elderly Abraham more children than there are "stars in the sky" from a sterile wife... how much more can he be trusted to secure for you even just one child out there in need of a good adult role model in his or her life? Just trust in him first:

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:33). 

There's no need for anyone faithful enough to be lonely. 

Closing Prayer:

See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,

upon those who hope for his kindness,

To deliver them from death

and preserve them in spite of famine. Amen. 

PS 33:18-19

Go in peace and love children as the Lord loves them.