This year Christmas and New Year’s Day fall on Sundays, so the Solemnity of the Holy Family (normally the Sunday after Christmas) gets pushed back to Saturday. Most of us will not celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family this year, and we will miss the beautiful readings, prayers and homily (hopefully!) on God’s great gift of the family. So let me reflect with you on what the family means to us and to humanity throughout history.
Pope John Paul II (Karol Wojtyła) was not given much time with his family. Karol’s only sister died before he was born; he lost his mother when he was 8 and his only brother when he was 12. Karol lived alone with his father in Nazi-occupied Krakow until one day, upon returning from class, he found his father dead. Karol was 21 years old.
I think Pope John Paul understood God’s gift of the family more than most. He writes that the family’s mission is “to guard, reveal, and communicate love” — real love, God’s love. No one and nothing can bring authentic love to the human community as can the family. To the extent that the family fades from our culture, love will fade from our culture. Almost every social problem today is the consequence of the family’s demise. We have progressively rejected God’s plan for the family, and we are paying the price. Our acceptance of divorce, contraception, promiscuity and, now, same-sex arrangements have progressively disabled the American family. Nothing can replace it. Our social problems, our economic collapse and our individual alienation will only increase as we increasingly ignore the role of the family.
Here’s the good news: change, yes we can! We can restore what we have lost. For Christians, it means living the life of Jesus, Mary and Joseph as best we can. For non-Christians, it means practicing the human virtues as best we can: fidelity to our spouses, sacrificial love for our children, living an honorable and decent life in the sight of all. We can rebuild the American Family, but it means some real lifestyle changes. Let us call upon Jesus, Mary and Joseph to help us (especially us men) to do just that.
Pope John Paul II (Karol Wojtyła) was not given much time with his family. Karol’s only sister died before he was born; he lost his mother when he was 8 and his only brother when he was 12. Karol lived alone with his father in Nazi-occupied Krakow until one day, upon returning from class, he found his father dead. Karol was 21 years old.
I think Pope John Paul understood God’s gift of the family more than most. He writes that the family’s mission is “to guard, reveal, and communicate love” — real love, God’s love. No one and nothing can bring authentic love to the human community as can the family. To the extent that the family fades from our culture, love will fade from our culture. Almost every social problem today is the consequence of the family’s demise. We have progressively rejected God’s plan for the family, and we are paying the price. Our acceptance of divorce, contraception, promiscuity and, now, same-sex arrangements have progressively disabled the American family. Nothing can replace it. Our social problems, our economic collapse and our individual alienation will only increase as we increasingly ignore the role of the family.
Here’s the good news: change, yes we can! We can restore what we have lost. For Christians, it means living the life of Jesus, Mary and Joseph as best we can. For non-Christians, it means practicing the human virtues as best we can: fidelity to our spouses, sacrificial love for our children, living an honorable and decent life in the sight of all. We can rebuild the American Family, but it means some real lifestyle changes. Let us call upon Jesus, Mary and Joseph to help us (especially us men) to do just that.
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