Every Sunday after Christmas, the Church celebrates the feast of the Holy Family. And fittingly so because God entered our world and became one of us by way of the family. In the same manner, God also enters our life by way of our family.
It is in our family where we first come to know God. From our parents and grandparents we learn our prayers and catechism. Above all, it is in our family that we experience God in the love we receive and give each other.
Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Beleaguered by worldly concerns and burdened with all sorts of problems, many families lose sight of their reason for being.
They say that we can choose our friends but not our family. Our family is a given. It is given to us by God as a gift and a responsibility.
As we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family, it is good to take some time to reflect on the giftedness of our family which we often take for granted. There is so much goodness and grace in each family member to appreciate and cherish.
Of course, there are also warts and dysfunctions. No family is perfect, and family life is not always easy. Even Joseph and Mary encountered hardships while in Bethlehem and on the perilous road to Egypt. Today’s gospel gives us a glimpse of their own difficulty in understanding and dealing with their own adolescent son.
The family is not only a gift but also a project with a mission to proclaim and show the face of the invisible God who is Love by their love for one another. A love that knows how to accept and care, forgive and ask forgiveness. A love that does not give up on any member but is willing to sacrifice itself for the sake of the beloved. A love that is certain it will triumph because God resides in the family. As Jesus is member of the Holy Family, he is also member of every family because he is Emmanuel, God-with-us.
Today’s readings remind us of the gift of children and of the singular privilege of being parents. The barren Hannah and the virgin Mary were gifted with a child. In the fullness of time, they offered them back to God as a gift of thanksgiving.
“Your children are not your children. They are sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself… You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth. The archer sees the make upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.” (Khalil Gibran)
Every child is born in this world with a particular mission from God. The task of parents who are its appointed stewards is to assist the child in discerning God’s will and pursuing God’s plan for him.
I remember the day when I asked my father’s permission to enter the seminary. He adamantly said no, for he had plans for me. When he was called to see our school principal , an old Italian missionary, he changed his mind and reluctantly allowed me to join the seminary. It was only later I learned from my mother what the priest told him, “Mr. Buzon, your son does not belong to you. He belongs to God.”
Fourteen years later my mother gave another revelation. She told me that on the day of my ordination my father became the happiest person in the world. This in turn made my ordination doubly the happiest day of my life, knowing that my father had finally understood and valued my vocation.
Don Bosco used to say that “the greatest gift God can give to a family is a son-priest.” To which someone added that “the greatest gift a family can give to God is a son-priest.”