THE HOLY FAMILY

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RESPECT AND OPENNESS TO GOD



A chapel called Holy Family, was renovated. The images of Jesus, Mary and Joseph used to stand together side by side in a niche on the main altar. But after the renovation, the Virgin Mary was placed at the extreme left of the altar, St. Joseph was placed at the extreme right, and the Child Jesus was enthroned in the middle. A parishioner gasped when she saw the arrangement and said: This used to be the Holy Family.  Now, they have made it a broken family!

Families today are not the same as many years ago.  Recently I talked to several young people.  One was devastated that her parents separated days before Christmas. Another expressed confusion that he and his siblings have to live some days with their father and other days with their mother. A student begged me to convince his parents to consider having their union blessed by the Church. An overseas Filipina worker came home to file for annulment after a 5 year marriage.

Once held sacred, once considered legally strong, the family and marriage itself are undergoing a dramatic evolution with sad and disastrous effects for couples and their children. How sad it is to discover that the misbehavior of young people is rooted in their frustrations with their family experiences.

As Christians, we are not immune from the difficult road travelled by members of the family who continue to envision and carve a bright future.  Our faith assures us that no family is beyond the loving gaze and warm embrace of God. There is no greater proof of this than the sending of his Only Son, Jesus our Lord, into the family of Mary and Joseph, poor, struggling and threatened individuals themselves.  Riches they did not have, but they relied on faith and commitment to each other. And so we have this beautiful icon of family life before us.

No family today is perfect and free of trouble. Our ideal family is far from the real family life we live at home. As we reflect on this family that Christmas brought together, let us pray that whatever situation we may find our families into, at least we strive to infuse two important elements in our relationships within the family.

The first one is honor and respect. Sirach (ch. 3) reminds us to honor our parents and recognize their authority in the home. Are young people still conscious that though they are entitled to seek their own independent lives, they derive great benefit in treating their parents and elderly with respect and obedience? Do parents really strive to live with dignity so as to inspire their children?

The second one is openness to God. All the readings today remind us that when we speak of the family, we cannot leave God behind.  God is the author of life and relationships.  God is the Father of all who wishes to bring all of us home to his great embrace.  The openness and obedience of Joseph and Mary to the voice of the Lord speaking to them in their family life and to the presence of Jesus among them should be our guide in welcoming the grace of God for our families today.  Amen. 

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