Ecclesiasticus 3:2–6, 12–14; Psalm 127(128); Colossians 3:12–21; Matthew 2:13–15, 19–23
Family: The Backbone of Society
Dear friends, today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. This feast presents to us not an idealized or problem-free family, but a real family that lived its vocation faithfully amid challenges, uncertainty, and sacrifice. The Holy Family is a model for all Christian families because each member embraced his or her God-given role with love, obedience, and trust in God’s plan. Through their faithfulness, salvation entered the world. We owe them reverence, and the best way to honor them is to imitate them in our own families. Many were blessed because of this family. Is my family a blessing to others?
Family is the first human institution designed and willed by God for the growth and development of every human person. The first reading from the Book of Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) reminds us that God establishes the family on respect, responsibility, and mutual care. Children are called to honor their parents, and parents are to nurture their children with love and wisdom. Where such values are lived, blessings follow. Where they are ignored, relationships and lives are wounded. Is your family united in love, respect, a sense of responsibility, and mutual care?
The family is where life begins, where values are learned, and where faith is first transmitted. When families are strong and stable, society and the nation benefit because they produce responsible citizens and leaders. When families are broken, society also breaks down. This truth is echoed in Psalm 127(128), which describes the blessedness of those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways. The image of children gathered around the family table shows that peace, prosperity, and stability flow from God-centered family life. Do you experience true peace in your family at this moment?
There are two main types of families: families based on blood relationships and families built upon a common faith. Blood families begin when a man and a woman freely choose to share their lives in love and commitment. God Himself instituted this union and entrusted it with the responsibility of reproducing human life. The prosperity and stability of faith-based families depend on the stability of the individual families, because what people learn and live in their homes is what they bring into society. What values did you learn in your family?
The Holy Family itself experienced hardship and displacement. In the Gospel according to Matthew, we hear how Joseph took Mary and the child Jesus and fled into Egypt to protect him from danger. This was a family on the move, a refugee family, guided not by comfort but by obedience to God. Joseph listened to God, Mary trusted God, and Jesus grew within the security of their loving care. Their example teaches us that holiness in family life does not mean the absence of suffering, but fidelity to God in the midst of it.
St. Paul, in his letter to the Colossians, gives us a practical guide for Christian family living: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, and love. He calls spouses to mutual respect, children to obedience rooted in love, and parents to responsible care that does not crush the spirit of the young. These virtues are the cement that holds families together and makes them schools of faith and humanity. Today, instead of feeling safe and protected, many children are suffering at the hands of their parents and kin. Many child-abuses are perpetrated by their own parents and kin. For instance, while girls are either sold into marriage while still very young by their parents, or put into heavy domestic labour without payment by their kin, boys are forced to work to generate wealth for their parents without establishing themselves financially until it is very late. Are you establishing the proper foundation for your children? Are you using your kin to get wealthy?
The typical family is meant to be a place of love, warmth, peace, joy, and reverence for God. It is supposed to be the most secure refuge for its members and the first school of values. Family is the core of society and cannot be replaced by any alternative without serious consequences. Yet today, this sacred institution faces many challenges. Disordered ambitions, lack of discipline, selfishness, and the loss of moral values have stripped many families of their stability and holiness. Many people suffer because they come from broken families or because their families are wounded by bad choices. Very often, women and children bear the greatest burden, though men also suffer in silence.
Disciplined and responsible love is what builds a solid family. A family does not grow automatically; it requires formation, commitment, and daily sanctification. When relationships are built without values, responsibility, or respect, they become unsustainable and chaotic. Human beings are more than creatures that simply procreate; they are endowed with intelligence and freedom to live according to God’s design. Any society that devalues family life or the dignity of women and children remains wounded and incomplete.
True Christian values help to strengthen unity and responsibility within the family. Unfortunately, some religious movements today promote an individualistic gospel that ignores family unity and even destroys families in the name of personal salvation or prosperity. My dear friends, salvation is never meant to divide families. Any gospel that seeks the salvation of one member while disregarding the rest of the family does not come from Christ, who lived, loved, and grew within a family.
As we celebrate this feast of the Holy Family, we are invited to examine how we are building our own families. Where there are weaknesses, it is never too late to seek healing, guidance, and renewal. God is always ready to restore what is broken if we turn to him with sincere motives. The devil is divisive by nature, and his main work is to destroy unity. Let us not give him that chance.
May the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph intercede for our families, protect them, and help them become places of faith, love, protection, and hope for the Church and for society.
Have a blessed family feast.
Fr. Lawrence Muthee, SVD
SVD JAMBO KENTAN 