Embedded Files
Fr. Pinto Paul is the International Director of the Boston-based Holy Cross Family Ministries. In this role, he oversees the programs and services at centers in 17 countries.
This month, I would like to invite you to make your families more alive by living a life of holiness in families. Who is a Holy Person? What is a Holy Family? How can we grow in holiness as a family? In the Old Testament, holiness of a person was measured by the level of one’s obedience to the religious law which regulated their life. The New Testament tells us that we become holy by imitating Jesus who is the incarnation of holiness. Our families become holy by turning all things to God who is the source of holiness.
In other words, Holiness is the art of doing God’s will.
In other words, Holiness is the art of doing God’s will.
The Joyful Mystery
The Joyful Mystery
During my flight back to Boston from India, I watched a Malayalam movie “Santhoshathinte Onnam Rahasyam”. The film depicts the life of Maria, a journalist and Jithin, an aspiring actor, who are in a live-in relationship, but their parents do not know. Doubting that the woman is pregnant before marriage, the conversation between the two and the reactions caught my attention. The movie reminded me of the typical attitude and some of the challenges that we face in marriage and relationship in the society today. One such challenge is lack of openness to commitment and fidelity in marriage.
The Holy Family at Nazareth teaches us how to live a life of Holiness. Particularly in this year of St. Joseph, let us reflect the role played by Joseph as a father in building a holy family and how can we live a life of holiness in our families.
It is hard to appreciate how he feels upon learning that his fiancé is with child! It is also hard to imagine the exhilaration he experiences upon realizing that he, from among all the men who ever lived or ever will live, is chosen by God. It is equally difficult to appreciate how he feels when he discovers that the Eternal Father, God, chooses him not only to be the spouse of the mother of God, but also to be the teacher, guardian, and foster father of God’s Only Begotten Son. Like Mary, who exclaims, “My being proclaims the greatness of the Lord...” he must rejoice in saying, “Who am I that God chooses me to protect his Son, to protect the Holy Family? Who am I that the Father trusts me to teach Jesus how to walk, work, play, talk and pray?” My whole being shouts in Joy to God the Father, “Who am I to be so blessed by You? Thank You, Dear Lord and Father!”
It is beyond imagination to comprehend how he feels when he learns that this Baby will save his people from their sins. Being a devout Jew, he must make the connection: This Baby, whose name is to be Jesus, will be the Messiah the Jews longed for down through the centuries. Becoming the foster father of the Messiah must be an overwhelming thought to Joseph. However, he does know that the Messiah was prophesied to come from the tribe of Judah, and he knows that he is from that tribe. But, like Mary, he accepts God’s role for him with ready obedience and places all his trust in Him.
He could not foresee the birth of the baby in a stable. He probably envisioned the birth taking place in a bed in his home in Nazareth with an experienced midwife in attendance. When he finally realizes that his wife will give birth on the road in Bethlehem, he hopes, even then, for a room in an inn with a woman, maybe the innkeeper’s wife, in attendance. But, he finds himself in a stable alone with his wife giving birth.
Wow! And then, imagine his astonishment when the stillness of midnight is suddenly broken by the joyful, reverent, boisterous arrival of shepherds bowing before the babe and sharing the wonder of heavenly choirs of angels singing, “Glory to God in the highest.” This is all so much more than humble, manly, loving Joseph could have imagined even in his wildest dreams.
He could not foresee a sojourn in Egypt to save the baby’s life. Just when he and Mary think that they are taking their Baby home to Nazareth, an angel informs Joseph in a dream that he must take the Child and His Mother and flee to Egypt to escape the murderous King Herod. We can only imagine the challenges they face fleeing to Egypt. What do they eat? Do they find water? Where do they sleep? They have enough funds for the trip home to Nazareth, but do they have enough for a stay in Egypt?
By the time the little family returns to Bethlehem, Joseph has done a lot of dreaming about how he will raise his son in his carpenter’s shop. First, he will whittle some little objects for the baby to hold and then something to teethe on. Then he will make a little stool for the boy to sit on followed by some steps to enable the growing boy to reach higher places. As the boy watches him work and ask: “What is that, and what’s it for? He will teach him the names and uses of tools. When Jesus is old enough, he will teach Him to use the tools, and Jesus will be able to make some toys for Himself, slowly learning the trade. Eventually, Jesus will enter his father’s trade as a carpenter.
Today most fathers do not work in their own shops at home where children can play and ask questions and learn. Many fathers work long hours and spend several hours commuting each day. Some work away from home during the week, and some go home to a different house each day because their marriage has been broken
To follow Joseph’s example, fathers must make time intentionally for the kinds of interactions Joseph and Jesus would have had in the home and in the carpenter shop. They need to participate in family prayer when they can and take their families to Mass regularly. Children need to experience their fathers’ faith by seeing and hearing them pray at home and in church.
Fathers need to demonstrate their love and care for their children and their mother as Joseph did when his wife’s reputation was in jeopardy and his baby’s life was threatened. They need to provide safe shelter in peaceful neighborhoods. They need to provide adequate income and teach children that families must spend with care the money ‘Daddy’ brings home. Within the home fathers need to model respect by complementing the mother and children on the tasks they perform and using traditional forms of etiquette like “please,” “thank you,” “excuse me,” and “I’m sorry,” and best of all, “I love you.” They need to teach their sons to open and hold doors for girls and women, and girls need to learn to accept these gestures graciously, followed by a “thank you.” And, of course, they should require obedience from children.
Today, we see many children growing up without spending much time with a father or a father figure. Therefore, fathers must plan for quality time with them: time to play, time to help with homework, time to talk about the day’s activities and time to perfect diverse types of skills. Some fathers make appointments to have lunch with each growing child and each teen once a month: a time to make the child or teen feel special, a time to catch up and a time to dream about the future.
Like the Virgin Mary, St. Joseph accepted God’s vocation and trusted that the future was secure in God’s hands. Let us pray that all fathers and mothers will embrace their vocations in the family to live a life of holiness with joy and place all their trust in God. May St. Joseph intercede for all fathers and mothers.
Just as Mary said, “all generations will call me blessed,” Joseph too is called ‘blessed’ by many generations because he is an amazing saint and model for fathers for all ages.
“Go to Joseph with extreme confidence because I do not remember having asked anything from St. Joseph, without having obtained it readily.”
“Go to Joseph with extreme confidence because I do not remember having asked anything from St. Joseph, without having obtained it readily.”
St. Padre Pio
Family Activities
Family Activities
Pray
Pray
Prayer of Children for Parents
(Parents are then invited to sit in the center of the room with the children around them.
Each child extends a right hand over the parents as they pray the following)
Dear God,
Thank you for giving us loving, kind, and caring parents. Thank you for the life they gave us with your help.
Thank you, Lord, to our grandparents, for the wisdom, love, faith, and care they show us.
Give our parents and grandparents long lives and keep them happy, healthy, and holy.
Bless them with success as they strive to provide for us.
Help us fill their lives with happiness and joy. Help us to be our best for You, Lord, our family, and others by always giving life, love, and care to all we meet.
With your help, Lord, we can make our home a haven and a heaven for our parents and others.
Please open our hearts and minds to work, share, play and pray together as a family.
Thank you for making us the best family we can be today, tomorrow, and always! Amen!
Prayer of Parents for Children
(Parents extend their right hands over the children and pray this prayer)
Dear God,
You know how deeply and warmly we love our children.
We ask St. Joseph to help us care for and protect them.
We pledge our time, talent, and treasure to help our children grow strong and faithful in loving and serving you.
Help us to remember that we are never alone in fulfilling our responsibility as parents.
Through the intercession of St. Joseph make us the parents you want us to be.
Help us to be worthy role models and blessings for our children.
Help us to make our home a haven and a heaven for our children and others.
Please open our hearts as a family to work, talk, play, and pray together.
Thank you for the gift of parenthood!
Google Sites
Report abuse