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God wanted Jesus when he came into this world to have a family. Jesus also wanted it. For this reason, for years he lived with the Blessed Virgin and with St. Joseph as he grew in grace and wisdom (Lk 2,52).
The fact that Jesus was born and remained with his mother and his adoptive father demonstrates the importance, nobility and holiness of the families. This is why the Church points out in the dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, one of the most important texts of the Second Vatican Council, that “It is in the bosom of the family that parents are “by word and example . . . the first heralds of the faith with regard to their children” (LG , 11).
St. Joseph and the Virgin Mary were teachers of Jesus, educating him in love, as examples of giving their lives for the fulfillment of God’s purposes. So, must be all families. However, many families live as if God did not exist.
It is urgent, therefore, to evangelize families, Christmas is an indispensable opportunity for this. If during this date, the Church also celebrates the sanctity of families, why not rescue those who are estranged from God and seek to strengthen those who are already present in the communities?
But in what way? The process of evangelizing families can begin by exalting their role in the Church as the cradle of vocations – whether religious or matrimonial. Their importance should be indicated in the formation and moral and Christian education of the children so that they will be, in the future, conscious Christians, engaged in their community and so that they also form their families to the example of the Holy Family.
St. John Paul II said that the family is the sanctuary of life, and that is how they need to be treated and perceived (see Letter to Families, 11). Christmas is the opportunity to highlight the importance of a marriage whose journey leads its members to God.
Sources:
Holy Bible
Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium
Letter of Pope John Paul II to families – GRATISSIMAM SANE – 1994 – Year of the Family
