There are so many beautiful things to say about the family. Let us begin by recalling that the family is first and foremost a human and social reality. The family as a community of life, including parent (s) and child (ren) has always existed. The couple and the family sprang from the heart of God as the foundation, the basic unit of society. In Over the ages, societies and religions have recognized the value and necessity of the family and have taken legal means to protect religious and value.
If we look carefully at the Holy Family, we must admit that this is not a typical family. Despite this, we can find models. Joseph is a man devoted to his wife and son, a wise man, which hosts the divine inspiration to guide hard choices. Mary, as the mothers of all countries and all ages, focuses on the needs of her child. As the women in her society, she is submissive to her husband. Worldwide Today, she probably would try to help her Joseph to take responsibility by giving her confidence and by communicating their needs. The baby Jesus is a baby like everyone else, which leaves carry around with abandon while his parents are upset. It will grow like other children, learning about life in the school of his father and mother.
Jesus probably knew the text of the First Reading (Year A), from the book of Sirach, which invites children to honor and support their parents, especially their elderly parents. It's a great comment of the fourth commandment of God: "Honor thy father and thy mother so extend your days on earth that gives you the Lord your God. "Sirach is also highlighting not only the children's homework, but the rewards attached to them by implication.
The second reading from the Letter of Paul to the Colossians, is an invitation to live the family and social virtues: tenderness, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, mutual support. This is surely the atmosphere in the Holy family. St. Paul insists on forgiveness and then he concludes by summarizing: "Above all this there is love: he is the bond of perfection."
In creating man and woman, woman and man in his image, God made us creatures of relationship, of communion of beings, and when our union of love bears fruit in the coming of a child, we produce a kind of earthly image of the mystery of the Holy Trinity, where the Holy Spirit springs eternal for the eternal love that unites the Father and the Son.
When a man and a woman joined two lives connected by marriage, he should no longer be room for individualism among them. Since everything that happens to one will affect the other, individual choices must always take into consideration the needs of others. This is the model of any successful human relationship, including relationships within a Christian community. In the family of God, as in our own families, there may be a tension and conflict, but God's plan is that one day we can combine our differences and our differences into wealth and power.
It would be good to reread the "Charter of Rights of the Family" (1983) available online.
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