Holy Family

Taken from De Fide Catholica

As you know, the family is in serious danger in modern society. Family is the cornerstone of the foundation of any society because of a predisposition in the natural order desired by the Creator. Destroying family is consequently destroying society. On a practical level, almost nobody would blatantly attack the idea of family. It is a value shared by the great majority of humanity. Openly attacking the concept of family would be a great strategic error because it is repugnant to our nature. And it would create a strong public reaction, which is not good if one wants to win the elections. So, the concept of family is certainly not directly attacked, but family in its concrete reality is seriously threatened. Beyond the family, it is in fact the natural order established by God which is locked on the crosshairs. Once again, we are in the middle of the great battle between God and His old enemy: Satan.

This battle began a long time ago with the first domestic scene, which probably issued immediately after the original sin. The reaction of Adam when he tried to justify himself, makes me certain on this point: The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree. I will let you imagine the rest of the scenario. Married people probably know better than I do what this is all about. Then, you know the story. Cain killed Abel and this was the first fratricide of History. Men are so ingenious at finding different ways to harm each other, even within the same family. The root is undeniably pride. God always asks us as He did Cain: “Where is your brother?” And most of the time we have no other answers than: “ I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper? ” We don’t know where our brother is because pride causes us to be concerned only for ourselves. Is not pride the preferred vice of Satan?

With the spread of sin throughout the world, the original beauty of the Creation dissolved. Even matrimony, one of the greatest institution desired by God from the very beginning for humanity had lost its primitive radiance. Moses gave a dispensation to the Jews that allowed them to repudiate their wives. Jesus would explain the reason later: “For your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.” What a terrible statement, dear brethren! Because of the hardness of heart, God in a certain way had to change his plans. We can be glad that God is extremely patient towards us, but let it not be a pretext for us to leave our heart hardened and not try to make our hearts sweet. Hardness of heart can touch every one of us.

God’s patience and tenderness for us is now revealed by the Incarnation. We have had the occasion to meditate during the last two weeks on the love of God which shows itself in the person of the Baby Jesus.

And the Incarnation took place within a family. God has chosen a woman to be His mother. And since this woman was married to a man, this one was chosen to be the Father of Jesus. Saint Joseph was not the biological father of Jesus, but he was a true father. Saint Joseph and his mission belong to the order of the Incarnation, which makes him different of any of the other saints, the same is true for Our lady, of course. God has a great concern for family. We should have the same concern.

I would say that in a certain way God Himself is a family. There is the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, three distinct Persons. Since we have been created in the image of God, it is not surprising that our natural community of life is a family. Every family is a representation of the Holy Trinity on earth. For that reason, the attacks against family are attacks against God. The Catholic Church raises her voice in order to defend and protect family. For us, it is our duty and our honor to be Her knights in this battle.

Yes dear Brethren, we have to fight. We have to fight a battle for love, truth, beauty and purity. Our weapons are our intelligences and our wills. We must know what is good for families, which presupposes that we have read the teaching of the Church on the matter of familial politic and then apply this doctrine on a practical level. And we have to love. Love! It doesn’t need words but only requires actions. Acts like the Incarnation and the Passion. Love begins first in families, at home. If you are not able to love each other at home, then, I am afraid that all the rest is an illusion and in vain. I don’t need to remind you of the words of Saint Paul. You already know them. Charity is patient, is kind: charity envies not, deals not perversely; is not puffed up; Is not ambitious, seeks not her own, is not provoked to anger, thinks no evil; Rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices with the truth; Bears all things, believeth all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Charity never falls away!

May Our Lady help us to examine ourselves so that we may know the truth and find out if we are not patient or kind. May she help us to discover what truly are our thoughts and if there be any hint of anger or iniquity in them. May she help us to open the eyes of our souls and finally our hearts, so that we can be full of charity and full of God.