‘You can choose your friends but not your Family.’ So the saying goes.

Without a family to belong to, people would be rootless. They would be like ships without a rudder, especially during the formative years of childhood, when some measure of security is necessary for children to feel loved, and protected. Even at a time when family unity has broken down, when divorces are on the rise, and when youngsters are feeling the pull, for whatever reason, to break away from parental relationships, eighty per cent of them still turn to their families when in trouble.

We just celebrated Christmas, the feast of the birth of the son of God, into a human family. What better endorsement do we have of the human family than that! You don’t have to be born into a successful family or a wealthy family or a prestigious family of the community. If you belong to a decent family where love is the glue that holds everything together, count yourself lucky. Many people throughout the world, including the wealthiest of families, have not been so privileged.

The Son of God belonged to a family, a poor migrant family which had to flee for its life from Bethlehem to Egypt. Yet, it was within such a family that Our Savior was born, nurtured and protected as He matured in wisdom and grace during childhood.

Immigration is on the minds of many people today. While it is necessary to have rules of immigration in any country so people cannot game the system, it is also important to respect the rights of migrant families who are caught up, through necessity, in this terrible problem of mass migration. The bonds that unite migrant families are precious and need protection just like any other family.

The beauty of family is that it involves, not only our blood relatives, but all members of the human family. An individual family is not an island unto itself, it is part of the whole human family, the family of God. Jesus acknowledged this when He said: ” Whoever does the will of my heavenly father is brother and sister and mother to me.” In other words, if you want to be a really good mother, father, brother or sister, treat everyone with love and respect as part of the family of God..

The mother of Jesus was chosen to be the bearer of her Son, in the flesh, because of her deep faith, expressed in the words: “Thy will be done.” A family whose relationships are grounded in faith and God’s providence will be a strong family whose relationships will withstand the seductions of the world, and the all too human, selfish tendencies that drive families apart rather than unite them.

We are living in a world of social media and of new forms of virtual reality. These electronic means of communication are very helpful in spreading information and in connecting families over large distances. They do not create, however, the kinds of human and spiritual bonds that bind families together. These bonds or gifts such as faith, hope, and love, have to be nurtured and developed within the person, and the perfect place for that to happen is in the home.

The bible tells us that Jesus grew “in wisdom and grace” in the home (Luke 2:52). I think it is fair to say: if family nurturing and the home was good enough for Jesus, our model, it is good enough for us.

Family matters! You bet it does.

Let us end this blog by praying for families :

Lord God, protect all members of my family and the families of the world.
You know us all so well, and love us, one and all.
Cover us with a rainbow of Faith, Hope, and Love
That no ploy of the enemy will ever divide us or cause dissension in our
homes.
Help us to stand united, loving You and one another better than life itself.
In Jesus’s name, Amen.

—Fr. Hugh Duffy