Asking the Clergy: What faith lessons did your parents teach you?

July 23 is Parents’ Day, a national observance established by a 1994 U.S. Congressional resolution to “recognize outstanding parents, celebrate the teamwork in raising children, and support the role of parental guidance in building a strong, stable society,” according to parentsday.com. This week’s clergy members discuss how their own parents helped guide their faith journeys.

NITIN AJMERA

Chairperson of the board of trustees, Parliament of World’s Religions

Growing up as a Jain in India, I was fortunate to have a tight-knit family that included not just my parents as role models, but also my grandparents, uncles and aunts. These family members were always present to cultivate my faith and instill good values in me. I remember that my mother would often tell us to not harm anybody, to walk through life conscious that all life is precious — including ants or other crawling animals. When told to avoid stepping on an ant, I would often ask, “Why?” And she would say, “They have the same right to live that you have.”

Such were my earliest introductions to Ahimsa, the doctrine of non-violence followed by Jains such as myself. Over the years, my dad and my mom were kind enough to help me fight multiple issues of faith and religion with a very simple Sanskrit verse. Translated into English, it says: Serving others is the best virtue while hurting others is the biggest sin. And when you serve, serve with all your energy. And when you avoid hurting others, do so not just in your actions, but also in your thoughts and speech.

SISTER TESA FITZGERALD

President, Sisters of St. Joseph, Brentwood

For my parents, faith and kindness were synonymous. Born in the early 20th century in an Ireland that was rural and poor, but beautiful, they first came to faith amid farm fields, green hills and the wild ocean, which spoke to them of a loving God who looks with kindness upon all creation. Leaving home and family was hard, but like so many immigrants, they did it to support those they loved, to work to send much-needed money home.

After meeting and marrying, they settled in Hewlett, where they worked hard to give my sister, my brothers and me a good life, putting us through Catholic schools and college. My parents treasured their Catholic faith. Each week, they were nourished by the Eucharist to practice kindness. They preached the Gospel by speaking about others without judgment or criticism. They never ignored a person in need. They extended themselves and whatever they had to our neighbors, and they had deep respect for people of all faiths. My mother and father lived their faith simply and profoundly. They worked hard for those they loved and, by their words and actions, put kindness into the world. Each day, I try to do as they did.

RABBI ART VERNON

Congregation Shaaray Shalom, West Hempstead

I once asked my father, a general surgeon, if he ever reached a point in a procedure when he did not know what to do. He shared with me a time when a patient’s anatomy was not as it should be, and he could not find the organ on which he needed to operate. He tried to visualize the anatomy in his mind, moved something out of the way and found the organ he needed to work on. Asked how he understood that experience, he said he believed that God was with him in the operating room. He also told me that while serving as a doctor in the Pacific in World War II, there were cases where patients survived although his medical knowledge told him they shouldn’t have.

Dad was not a pious man, although we went to Shabbat services regularly as a family. But our conversations demonstrated that he was a person of deep faith, and that made a very strong impression on me. In my rabbinate, I have encouraged parents and grandparents to share moments with their children and grandchildren similar to what my father shared with me. God is always present and available, even though we may not be aware of it.