God intended a family
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.”
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!
From the beginning, God intended that there be a place for parental love, care, and affection beginning with infancy when an individual is helpless, a place where he finds warmth and security, where he can make mistakes, where he can grow, where he can be accepted.
In short, God intended a family.
Four days after Christmas, 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. Thus, did God SANCTIFY the human family.
The family, as the basic unit of society, ought to be the origin of change in society.
If you cannot find the Christian values of honesty, justice, kindness, charity there, you cannot expect to find these outside. For the family is a microcosm of society.
Despite their human frailties, parents should constantly strive to show good example.
Today the sacredness and stability of the Filipino family is under grave threat.
Due to economic hardship, families are vulnerable to family break-ups and infidelities, with the husband, for instance, working abroad or the mother employed as domestic helper in Hong Kong or Italy.
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.
Parents should always remember their primary task of raising a good Christian family. That is their vocation or God’s plan for them. PARENTS, ASK YOURSELVES: Do you have quality time for your children and have bonding? In one family recollection I facilitated, a young participant said in the group sharing, “The happiest moment in our family is when we are together and happy.” The deepest joy that parents should experience is the delicate task of bringing up their children and seeing them walk the road confidently after they have shown them the right way. TOO BUSY FATHER. There is the story of the little boy whose religion teacher was talking about God as “Father.”
In a very serious tone, the little boy blurted out, “I hope He’s not like my father. He’s too busy.” CHRISTMAS SHARING. In the spirit of Christmas, let’s support our seminarians. We cannot have priests, bishops, and popes, if we don’t have and nurture seminarians.
Chip in an amount or sponsor a seminarian’s schooling for one year.
GOD BLESS… the latest donors to our “Adopt-A-Seminarian” scholarship program: MARIE ROSE NAVARRO, JO VALENCIA, ELMER VILORIA, WILLYLINA ONG.
Many homes nowadays have three shifts. Father is on the night shift; mother is on the day shift, and the children shift for themselves.