MODEL OF HUMAN AND CHRISTIAN FAMILIES
All of us were born in a family, have families and belong to the family, and this fact tends to influence one’s way of life in all aspects of human and spiritual life in a positive or negative way depending on how this human institution called a family is received and lived. These days, it is not a secret, it is very evident that the family and family life is being attacked from within and from without, it is under siege. True human-Christian family values are being globally questioned, rejected, contradicted and watered down by many nations and governments, organizations and individuals coming up with different destructive and disorienting ideologies, due to economic imbalances and search for “greener pastures” and due to wars and insecurity in many parts of the world. These unfortunately have brought about instability in many families than ever, separation and divorce. Many young people are no longer attracted to building families, they are afraid of the future, and they see as if there is “nothing to be desired”. “Not all that shines is gold” even is some families that seem from outside to be stable, inside there a lot is happening it is a boiling volcanic mounting waiting to erupt, marked by different forms of abuses and violence. What about refusal to generate children out of physical-financial fears arising from selfishness of one or both couples.
Amidst all these “all hope is not lost” with faith I assure you. God is alive, God is with us. We are consoled and strengthened in hope today as we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family. What is it for us today? The Holy Family of Nazareth is the true model of life “the shining example” (cf. Opening Prayer) from which our families can draw inspiration and know where to find help and comfort. It must be imitated in the practice of virtues of family life in the bonds of charity. This feast brings us to the school of the Holy Family where we learn the values of a family and family life, we enter a deeper understanding of human love and to live in peace with all men (cf. Liturgy of the Hours, Morning Prayers alternative Prayer).
In the Holy Family we find a way to live a beautiful life on the personal and familial level, although things may be challenging. The Holy Family of Nazareth “serves as a model of what the family should be, shows us the family’s holy and enduring character”. It is an example of “the family’s basic function in the society: a community of love and sharing, the perfect setting for rearing children and of this there is no substitute” (St. Paul VI, address of 5 January 1964). Nazareth reminds us of what the family is, what communion of love is, its austere and simple beauty, its sacred and inviolable character.
In the same address Paul VI qualifies the Holy Family of Nazareth as a school we begin to discover the life of Christ, we learn to realize who Christ really is. Paul VI emphasizes that the Holy Family is a profound school where close to Mary we learn “the true meaning of life, and the God’s truths”, “we learn from its silence” and to “appreciate its values” especially in today’s world that is clouded polluted by too much noise, violent noise and destructive noise due to negative use of internet, YouTube, AI and others resulting from technological advancement of our time. The silence of Nazareth “should teach us how to meditate in peace and quiet, to reflect on the deeply spiritual, and to be open to the voice of God’s inner wisdom and the council of true teachers” Amen.
~Fr. Justus