Family Roles
Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do.
And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection.
Colossians 3:12-14
On the Sunday following Christmas, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. We are invited to meditate upon the virtues each member exemplifies and to ask Mary and Joseph to intercede for us to their Son who will bring before the Father all our petitions. What the Holy Family teaches us is exactly what St. Paul tells us in his letter to the Colossians: “heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience” as well as forgiveness and love. When we do our best to live out these virtues we are slowly and surely living out our universal call to holiness.
Each member of the family plays a specific role — the father protects, the mother nurtures, and the child grows in wisdom and obedience. Of course there are also other roles, e.g. both parents govern and teach their children. But there is a common role that all members share, and that is each member is called to help one another grow in holiness, that is, to help one another get to heaven! This call is really an act of love. To love someone means to want and will their good, and what, if not heaven and eternal life with God, is the ultimate good?
For Christians, our end “goal” should be heaven and communion with God, but how often do we really think about it, let alone be intentional with everything we do with that end in mind? Do we know the role we play in the Kingdom? Our role in God’s plan of salvation? Yes, Jesus has won for us salvation, so we do not and can not “earn” it, but we must live in a manner that is consistent with that desire for salvation. If our mentality is Well, Jesus died on the Cross for me, and as long as I go to Church and try my best to live a good, Christian life, then I have nothing to worry about, then we may have some work to do. Yes, Jesus did die for us and He did win for us salvation, but what we do here on earth matters and affects where we end up when our time here comes to a close. I have always thought that the aforementioned mentality was perfectly fine and will get me into heaven, but over the years that has grown and developed, specifically the “try my best” part. How do we define “try” and “best”?
When we say we try to live a life of holiness, do we mean we pray, go to Mass weekly, make holy hours, fast, keep the commandments, and give of our time, talent, and treasure to charity or does it mean praying once in a while, going to Mass when possible, and following the Commandments I see fit, and helping those in need begrudgingly? And, when we say “our best” does that mean “at out convenience” or does it mean “my number one priority”? If God is not at the heart of all that we do, and if heaven is not our number one priority then we do not really want it that badly for either ourselves or those we love.
Brothers and sisters, we are all part of a natural family but also a part of the family of God, and our individual roles in it matter. We all play an important role in the Body of Christ and this role is guided by our living out our call to holiness. And what does this call to holiness look like? Scroll up to the top of this reflection and the two verses from St. Paul’s letter to the Colossians paint us a perfect picture of it.
Blessed Holy Family Sunday.
Watch my reflection for Holy Family Sunday below.
