Family: Become What You Are

The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph – A

Sirach 3:2-7, 12-14 / Psalm 128:1-2, 3, 4-5 / Colossians 3:12-21 / Matthew 2:13-15,19-23

Family: Become What You Are

Pope John Paul II wrote two rather involved reflections on the Christian family: Familiaris Consortio (The Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World, 1981) and A Letter to Families (in 1994, which the United Nations had declared the Year of the Family). Two of John Paul’s most significant points in these writings are: (1) the family is the school of life for all of us, and (2) if we want to find personal fulfillment, we must make a gift of ourselves to those around us, including those in our families.

John Paul reminds us that Jesus grew in wisdom, age and grace, and discovered the Father’s plan for him by belonging to the family of Mary and Joseph, by serving them, and by relying on them.  So too the Christian family ought to be a place where each member of the family is able to discover the Father’s plan for him or her, and so come to their full stature in the love of God. The Christian family holds such potential as the school of life for each of us, as the place where we are launched toward fulfillment.

Fulfillment does not come as a result of putting ourselves first, however. It is rather by becoming each other’s servants that we become our own masters.  In the give and take of family life we learn what it means to be part of something larger than ourselves. We learn that we do not always get our own way. We learn that we sometimes have to die to self so that others might come more fully to life.

John Paul urged the family: "Become what you are." Become the place of self-fulfillment through self-giving. Become the school of love for children and adults alike. Become the place where human beings grow to their fullest potential and become the very glory of the God in whose image they are created, reflecting all his splendor.

One way to gain a greater appreciation of the virtues that help the family become an effective school of life is to reflect on our passage from Colossians today. All those Pauline imperatives are the basis of self-giving that leads to self-fulfillment in family life:

   bear with one another;

   forgive one another;

   clothe yourselves in heartfelt mercy;

   put on love;

   dedicate yourselves to thankfulness;

   do everything in the name of the Lord, who is the head of every household.

Our families might do well to place this message among the pictures and to-do lists that serve as the collage on our refrigerator door – perhaps each family member could copy a line or two on fancy leaf of paper.

It would be well worth the trouble to write down these verses today and reread it repeatedly, committing it to memory and reminding ourselves what family is about so that we can become what we are!

·         Which of the qualities in Colossians do you most need to meditate on? Memorize two of the verses you most need to work on. Speak to Jesus, Mary and Joseph about them. Then make a plan to practice them with a member of your family this week.