On the second Sunday of October each year our Holy Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Christian Family to commemorate the great meaning of the family in society and in the Church of Christ.
Today, sad to say, we see the family taking a lesser and lesser role in the rearing of our children. The modern trend is to let the nursery schools, the pre-schools assume the responsibility of teaching the children. Thus, we see that all too often our dear children take their problems to guidance counselors, instead of taking them to mother and father, or to the parish priest. However, the role of the Christian family is and will continue to be of the most utmost importance in the life of every Christian.
St. Paul reminds us in his letter to the Ephesians: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother.†This means that children should obey their mothers and fathers as they would obey Christ.
We have learned in our catechism classes in the SOCL classes, and at home that we should all obey the commandments God has given us. We all know that fourth commandment is “Honor your mother and your father.†But do you honor our parents? Do you respect them? Obey them?
Being a Christian family is not the easiest way to lead our lives, but it is the most righteous. It requires TRUTH. It requires WORK. It requires STRUGGLE and sacrifice. It requires these elements if we are to succeed and have a happy Christian family. From history we see that the Christian family is responsible for the continuing existence of the Christian Church and it is responsible for the freedom that we enjoy.
Each of us surely can see its importance, so let us continually strive to strengthen our Christian families with the love of God and fear of the Lord.