By Fr. Roy Cimagala
WITH the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, celebrated this year on December 28, we are once again reminded of the crucial role the family plays in our life. The Holy Family is the standard and model of every human family. A family that strays from that standard has no other way but to fail in its sacred mission of forming man as a social being into a family member of God’s family.
We can never exaggerate the importance of the family in our life. And we should be most thankful to God that, at least, in our country, we can still observe a strong sense of the family that, sad to say, seems to be disappearing in other parts of the world.
We should not be complacent, however, with what we are enjoying at the moment with regard to family life in general. There are many challenges to face nowadays in this department, and we should just tackle them and continue to learn lessons and improve the quality of our family life.
Let us entrust this concern to the Holy Family of Nazareth who will surely guide us and keep us properly grounded and rooted as we flow with the dizzying developments of our times that have serious implications insofar as family life is concerned.
First of all, we have to understand that the family environment can only be a reflection of the love between the parents. That love between husband and wife, father and mother, should always grow and develop, getting more and more purified as time goes on and as more challenges appear.
With that strong love, the proper attention and affection to their own children, especially the young ones, would be effectively nurtured. The parents should realize that the quality of their love for themselves and for their children increases in proportion to their self-surrender, their self-denial, their willingness to make sacrifices.
Given the today’s condition, we should be wary of the challenges the family faces. We cannot deny that right now the family in general is beset with all sorts of problems and difficulties. Even looking at the local scene, we can already see many dysfunctional and broken families.
The problem is aggravated by many of today’s developments that, while giving us a lot of advantages and conveniences, are also undermining the very foundations and pillars of the family. The pace and complexity of life today has taken a toll on family life and stability.
In many instances, husbands and wives do not live together because one or the other has to look for work abroad. Young couples tie the knot without a clear idea of what a lifetime commitment means and requires. They often base their love on very perishable and expirable foundations, and not on God’s love. In fact, many do not know that human love has to be rooted on divine love.
Again, with the new developments around especially in the field of technology, more division within the family, rather than greater unity, is observed. The gaps are not anymore generational, cultural or social. They are becoming more personal and individualistic.
With family life given a boost during this Christmas holidays, let’s take the time to see what we can do to reinforce family life. Let’s not waste the opportunity by spending it solely on having fun. It’s a time for discerning, anticipating, planning things for the family.
May it be that in every level of our life, this concern for the family is taken up seriously. For the Church, for example, there should be abiding diocesan and parochial efforts to help the family in some concrete way, an effort translated into continuing prayers, sacrifices and timely reminders.
Email: roycimagala@gmail.com
