Posted by Word Alive — Fr. Bel San Luis, SVD December 26, 2021 / Holy Family Sunday
An elementary school teacher was telling her class about statistics which indicate that more twins are being born these days than in the past.
“Why?” asked a little boy. “Because,” replied a tiny girl, “little children are afraid to come into the world alone.”
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That is a very smart remark. With the threat to obstruct birth by means of abortion and artificial contraceptives, with the prospect of broken families, indeed children fear coming out into the world alone. * * *
Right after Christmas day, we celebrate the feast of the HOLY FAMILY — that of Joseph, Mary and Jesus. Although Son of God, Jesus became a human child; he grew up in a family.
By becoming fully human, Christ entered through the family, thus, sanctifying it.
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A friend once confided to me, “The first thing I look for in a married couple is not how successful they are as a professional but how successful as a family man or woman. If they fail in their responsibility as parents, I consider them a complete failure.” There’s some truth there. When one gets married, he or she assumes the responsibility of rearing the children they beget. That’s the couple’s vocation or God’s plan for them.
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The sacredness and stability of the Filipino family is under grave threat nowadays.
Due to the economic hardship, families are vulnerable to family break-ups and infidelities with the husband, for instance, working abroad or the mother employed as a domestic helper in various countries worldwide.
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Among affluent families, parental presence and supervision are sorely lacking. So absorbed in business and socials, parents have little time for their children. Somebody remarked, “Many homes nowadays have three shifts. Father is on the night shift; mother is on the day shift, and the children shift for themselves.” During this critical time of Covid-19 pandemic, obviously families have to stay at home.
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OBEDIENCE TO PARENTS. The vocation of children is to honor, respect, and obey their parents. The very word FAMILY signifies: “Father And Mother I Love You.” Parents are not perfect. But when parents are given to alcoholism, infidelity, and ceaseless quarreling, what can be expected of the children? Despite that, children should honor, respect and obey their parents since they are God’s representatives.
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The deepest joy that parents experience is the delicate task of bringing up their children and seeing them walk in the right path.
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THE LIGHTER SIDE. A teacher in Religious Education told her pupils to make a drawing on a sheet of paper about the Holy Family. When the teacher collected the papers, there was one particular drawing which immensely amused her.
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It was titled, “Flight to Egypt,” and the illustration was an airplane with Jesus, Mary and Joseph as passengers. “And who is that one in front of the plane”? the teacher asked. The pupil replied, “Ma’m, of course, that’s Pontious the PILOT!”
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One morning, a husband complained that their helper robbed them of a towel when she ran away.
The wife said: “People nowadays have no more moral values. Which towel did she run off?”
The husband replied: “The one with the logo ‘Holiday Inn.’” The helper got the wrong value from her master. Parents and leaders should always teach by good example.
HAPPY HOLY FAMILY!
