Formed by Family
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
We continue our celebration of the Lord’s Nativity and, on this Sunday within the Octave of Christmas, the Church marks the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. It is not by accident that God chose to enter space and time in the context of a family. The family is the first school of love and the first school of faith. It is in the family where the human heart is formed. It is in the family where love and belonging are first experienced, and it is in the family where the virtues are nurtured.
Like many people, because of difficulty with travel and work-related demands, I was not able to spend Christmas with my biological family this year. (Fortunately, I have a local family that has adopted me and treats me like family.) It seems that the older I get, the more important family has become to me. Maybe it’s because I recognize that the opportunities for spending time together are growing fewer as we all age. I have come to appreciate that much of what I have, my personality, my faith, my values, and my mannerisms derived to a large extent from the influence and role that my family played as I was growing up. In my role as a pastor, I see so clearly how family dynamics impact the faith and worldview of children.
Spiritually and emotionally healthy families are most often evidenced in the lives of their children. So too, dysfunctional dynamics tend to impact the lives of children, as well. Sadly, there are ideologies being popularly embraced today that are hostile to the traditional family structure. All the more reason to strive to build wholesome, stable and faith-based family environments, for the health of family life is critical to the Church and to our world.
As we begin a new calendar year and as we reflect on the Holy Family as the model for all families, I invite our parish families, especially those with children still at home, to explore new ways of keeping Jesus and the truth of the Gospel at the heart of your family life.
I pray that you will have a new year filled with abundant blessings.
Sincerely yours in Christ Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life,
