Year Of Family

Rev. Fr. Paul Lelen Haokip *

INTRODUCTION:

Though one may not candidly tell of the inner desire to have a Good or Holy Family, nonetheless, each person doesn't want to be from a troubled family. The home is an institution of divine origin, instituted long before the Church. Our Divine Saviour Himself gave the home a special consecration by gracing the humble home of Nazareth with His presence during thirty long years; and He thereby gave us also the first and the supreme model of the truly Christian home.

The Holy Family is truly the "prototype" of every Christian family that, united in the sacrament of marriage and nourished by the Word and the Eucharist, is called to carry out the marvellous vocation and mission of being a living cell not only of society but of the Church, sign and instrument of unity for the whole human race.

The family is the centre of our lives. It is our beginning, youth, and adulthood, a place in which vocations are nourished, and what we leave behind when we pass from this world. God, knowing the importance and power the family has, sent his only begotten Son into this world to be born and raised in a family.

The home is the basic unit of society, and the foundation upon which civilization is built. The same love, compassion, devotion, understanding, and loyalty which exists between Christ and the Church, should exist between husband and wife, parents and children, and brothers and sisters in the Christian home. Therefore, every Christian home should be a reflection of the Church, a refuge from the stormy winds that trouble the sea of life, and a place where the members of the family renew their strength and courage for the daily tasks. The United Nations (UN) has declared 2014 as the: International Year of Family Farming (IYFF 2014) with the theme "Feeding the earth, caring for the world". Certainly, we can feed the earth and care the world through good and holy families around the world.

FAMILY AT CHRISTMAS:

The miracle of Christmas, centered on the birth of Christ, reminds the faithful of the beauty and holiness of the Holy Family: Mary and Joseph adore the Christ Child. The importance of the Holy Family's example of faith and love is essential for families, as the feast of the Holy Family — which is celebrated on the Sunday following Christmas — reminds us. As Blessed John Paul II said, the Holy Family is "the prototype and example for all Christian families."

The Holy Family was holy because they always sought to do God's will. Every family that wants to be holy is called to do the same. In his homily, the Holy Father affirmed that, following the example of Mary, Joseph and Jesus, "we come to appreciate even more fully the sacredness of the family, which in God's plan is based on the lifelong fidelity of a man and a woman consecrated by the marriage covenant and accepting of God's gift of new life.

"How much the men and women of our time need to re-appropriate this fundamental truth, which stands at the foundation of society, and how important is the witness of married couples for the formation of sound consciences and the building of a civilisation of love", he added.

He also noted how from St. Joseph's "strong and fatherly example" Jesus "learned the virtues of a manly piety, fidelity to one's word, integrity and hard work. In the carpenter of Nazareth he saw how authority placed at the service of love is infinitely more fruitful than the power which seeks to dominate. How much our world needs the example, guidance and quiet strength of men like Joseph!"

WHAT DOES GOD SHOW US THROUGH THE HOLY FAMILY?

We have many family (families) but rare "Holy Family (families)". God shows us many things, but probably the most important and the most incredible is that God not only wanted to dwell with us, He wanted to be a part of a family just like us. "The feast of the Holy Family… makes it clear that when the Son of God came into the world, he wanted to be part of a family group like every other man…When he became man, he wanted to be like all other men: to have a country and an earthly family: a family so simple and humble as not to be distinguishable exteriorly in any way from other Jewish families."

Tradition tells us that Saint Joseph died prior to Jesus, with both our Lord and Lady at his side. This was the first death the Holy Family encountered. The second was the death of Jesus, in which Mother and Child, Mary and Jesus were physically separated from each other and suffered great loss. The Holy Family and our own families can only deal with such loss and difficulties through Christian love.

While the Holy Family was in many ways like any other family, they also faced troubles and tribulations unlike any other family. "In the spirit the holy pair will embrace all the tribulations of their never easy life: the discomforts of the sudden flight to Egypt, the uncertainty attendant on settling in a strange country, the fatigues of hard work, the privation of a life of poverty, and later the anguish of losing their Son on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem." Mary and Joseph lived with perfect faith and obedience to God's will. Pope Benedict XVI said, "The family is the privileged setting where every person learns to give and receive love..." The Holy Family had God himself, Love Incarnate in their presence. By their humility and obedience, they show us how to obtain that perfect love.

VARIETY OF FAMILY MEMBERS:

Differences are all for the service of the common good. Different graces and gifts are to be oriented towards social welfare. Uniqueness makes us wanted and useful at various points of time and place. Variety in creation is a glorious reflection of the infinity of the all-perfect God. No one creature, no ten thousand times ten thousand creatures, could adequately manifest the ocean of attributes in the all-perfect God. And to further dramatize it as scientists tell us, did you know not even two snowflakes out of the millions that fall on a winter's night are the same? Did you know that? God wants us to be different. He made us that way.

ROAD TO HEAVEN:

Would you like to miss your family members in heaven? You may answer me "there is no more concept of family members in heaven, all are alike". Vocation of the Family is "To Support Each Other on the Road to Heaven". In the Gospel we do not find speeches on the family but an event that is worth more than any word: God willed to be born and to grow up in a human family. In this way, He has consecrated the family as the first and ordinary way of His encounter with humanity.

PARENTS TO CHILDREN:

The first and longest school of life is the family. What the children are is a replica of the parents – biologically, emotionally, morally and religiously. During His life in Nazareth, Jesus honored the Virgin Mary and righteous Joseph, being subject to their authority during the whole time of His infancy and adolescence (Luke 2:51-52). In this way, He made evident the primary value of the family in the education of a person. Jesus was introduced to the religious community by Mary and Joseph, frequenting the synagogue of Nazareth. "Teach them young and let them grow up maturely" be the criteria for upbringing of children towards social, religious and emotional maturity.

CLEAR STRATEGY FOR FAMILY:

No one begins a journey without knowing where he/she is going. I believe no one starts a family without proper strategy to go about in that marital bond. Each one should sit down and wrestle the future and armour himself/herself with every good decision and vision for a new family. In this regard, the state, society, family and well wishers are support systems to ensure a smooth sailing of a new family. Family is the beginning of good and also bad.

MALADIES OF OUR TIME:

1. Insufficient preparation before assuming the sacrament of marriage/civil marriage or shying away from learning the realities of life.
2. Dreaming of unrealistic promises and appreciations in the social networks, magazines and TV shows.
3. The disappearance of the seriousness of entering into married life that ultimately affects the social, religious and public domain of life.

GLUES OF FAMILY:

1. Regular and devout family prayer.
2. Use of inclusive words like 'we' rather than 'I', 'ours' rather than 'mine' etc.
3. More sacrifices than self will.
4. More forgiveness than record of wrongs.
5. Competition on goodness than vileness.

CONCLUSION:

We all want good society but how many of us take care of the seed of society that is 'family'? This is a home work for all and the marks obtained in this work will be the real picture of our society. Save the society through the family. The home is the basic unit of society, and the foundation upon which civilization is built. The same love, compassion, devotion, understanding, and loyalty which exists between Christ and the Church, should exist between husband and wife, parents and children, and brothers and sisters in every home.