When Mary and Joseph find Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2: 41-52) after looking for him for three days he says to them, ‘Did you not know that I must be about my Father’s affairs?’ ‘Didn’t you know that I would be in my Father’s house, teaching his people?’ He claims a relationship with God that surpasses human family ties.
St. Paul in his letter to the Colossians (3: 12-21) says a Christian must put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. And above all this put on love. He uses the word agape meaning Christian love, a love beyond natural likes and dislikes, an unconditional love.
And whatever you do, do everything in the Lord. Be subordinate to your husbands, in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, in the Lord. Children, obey your parents, in the Lord. Admonish one another, in the Lord. It is a description of Christian life but now there is a new inner spirit, everything is done ‘in the Lord’ and this is what makes all the difference.
When there is no fear of God, or knowledge of God in the family it disintegrates. The family by itself, today, cannot hold itself together. Without a love for something higher, it falls into endless bickering, selfishness and distrust. The elderly are sent away, kids are few and do whatever they want. What can be done? Rediscover the Christian family by putting God back into the center. It needs to be done everyday, by prayer, by doing my Father’s work first, and by living the virtues Paul speaks about. A simple formula or novena will not work.
