Another Christmas has come and gone. The gifts have been opened, the meals eaten, the visitors vanished, and quiet has descended upon us as we remember that Jesus is here with us now and forever. He is involved with us, and remembering his presence in our lives allows us to live within families built on hope and love. Pope Paul VI called the human family “a kind of school where we may begin to discover what Christ’s life was like and even to understand his Gospel. Here we can observe and ponder the simple appeal of the way God’s Son came to be known, profound yet full of hidden meaning. And gradually we may even learn to imitate him.” Family becomes a “school of life called the domestic church,” where we learn to grow in wisdom, age and grace. This is the gift of family, the gift we celebrate today.
Families are the first teachers of our faith and can be our best teachers. It is within family that the love of Jesus is first experienced and so often sustained. It is within family that we are most powerfully motivated, changed, strengthened, and nurtured. And it is within family that we first experience both sadness and joy. Both are inevitable, but the way we learn to deal with them makes all the difference.
The characteristics of love, kindness, and forgiveness nurtured by prayerfulness, are key in maintaining and strengthening family life. Treating family members with love and kindness allows them to become all they can be and nurtures and strengthens family relationships. Prayerfulness and forgiveness are the bonds that hold families together, especially during difficult times. These characteristics allowed family life to flourish for the Holy Family over 2000 years ago and these same characteristics will sustain family life today. The following beatitudes that reflect the image of the Holy Family may also prove inspirational to your family:
“Blessed are those humble enough to remain human; they will thrive with healthy family bonds.
Blessed are those who have genuine sorrow; the family will console and support them,
Blessed are those who say, ‘I’m sorry’; the same will be said to them.
Blessed are those who hunger to forgive; the family will offer them many opportunities.
Blessed are those families who practice generous forgiveness; they will know God’s forgiveness of them.”
Blessed are those who work for family peace; they will be counted as members of God’s family.
Blessed are those we are willing to overcome misunderstanding; they will be given a deeper understanding of God’s forgiving love.”
As part of the universal human family, each of us represents a unique facet of God’s nurturing and forgiving love. Whether it is the traditional nuclear family, the single parent household, or a community composed of caregivers and receivers, the family is the “nesting ground of our faith and the proving ground for our discipleship.”
----Deacon Wilson Shierk