There are manifold threats to the stability of family in our times arising out of individual selfishness as well as from rapidly changing economic climate of the world commonly known as globalization. Globalization overcomes all boundaries of human interactions and geographic separation because of the incessant use of new technologies like the internet, mobile phones,space technology etc., that cannot be controlled by any particular group of people. The competition thus generated forces us to acquire excellence in whatever we do without which our very existence is at stake and we have to be at the mercy of others who are more competent. No child can be expected to achieve excellence without the regular support of a stable family in some form or other. According to a recent study, about 500,000 urban female fetuses are aborted in India every year. This is one in 25 girls and is in spite of a legal ban on selective abortion of female fetuses from the year 1994. Because the ban did not produce the desired results, the Government passed another law prohibiting prenatal scanning of fetuses to determine their sex and yet clandestine activities to destroy female fetuses still continue. We must remember that there is not enough public protest against this barbaric practice. Every civilized human being is called upon to raise a voice against this inhuman practice and thereby proclaim the sanctity of family life in its sacred and secular dimensions.
There are about 3 million homeless people in India who are condemned to die on the streets. Of this no more than 5% have a chance for using night shelters provided by voluntary agencies. They are not only homeless but also faceless as they cannot avail themselves of any Government or semi-Government benefits without any proof of residence. The people who need help most are the ones left out by the system. Not only that, keeping in mind the swindling of money by certain officials from the benefits offered to the tsunami, flood, or earthquake -affected, we know the system itself is mired in corruption and injustice for which none seems to be accountable! We are so much worried about our busy schedules that the really needy and the deprived are a nuisance to us. Can we be satisfied with the stability of our family life without facing this kind of mundane and secular realities with the aid of the sacred in our lives? There cannot be stability in family life unless the husband and wife love each other to the point of achieving communion that should be extended to the children from the day they are conceived in the mother's womb. This presupposes self-denial with a view to denying our egos besides attaining a degree of detachment from persons and things most dear to us. In this climate, the children are able to achieve excellence in whatever they do besides imbibing values that will remain as an anchor to them in the challenges of life encountered by them in future. The children will learn how to program the sacred into their secular life because they themselves are programmed with the sacred values of life by their spiritual exercises and religious practices. They will also know how to negotiate the unforeseen circumstances since they have a stable family as their backbone.
Is there a way to bring Jesus into our families in a very real sense apart from mottoes and pious words often inscribed on our doors and interiors of our homes? For Christians there are two powerful means for this purpose, namely, the Word of God in the Bible and the Holy Eucharist we celebrate in the Church. However, they do not often seem to achieve the intended purpose of transforming us into representatives of Jesus Christ in the family and in the society we live in. The reason for this kind of unfortunate turn of events in our lives lies within us. The first reason is that we do not understand the Word of God as it is meant to be understood, while the second reason is our defective participation in the sacrifice of Christ in the Holy Mass. By his sacrifice on the Cross, Jesus already made us partakers in the mystery of his death and by his resurrection he has inserted us into the path of a new life. We only have to try to become explicitly and fully what we are already implicitly and in an inchoative manner. What stands as a barrier to this kind of progress of our life is ourselves with our egos that try to demolish all attempts at communion and solidarity among people. The role that is played by the Word of God and the Holy Eucharist in building up the family in the image of Jesus Christ is very well expressed by the word 'communion'. A family becomes an abode of communion for Christians when they imbibe the idea of communion embedded in the Word of God and the Eucharist as they are paradigms of the reality of communion. Family is the unit where the inter-relationship among the members is natural and the resultant communion is the expression of of unity leading them to God. The Eucharist is celebrated in the Church where the inter-relationship among members is supernatural and their unity is but a consequence of the unity achieved with God Himself. (To be Cont'd).
There are about 3 million homeless people in India who are condemned to die on the streets. Of this no more than 5% have a chance for using night shelters provided by voluntary agencies. They are not only homeless but also faceless as they cannot avail themselves of any Government or semi-Government benefits without any proof of residence. The people who need help most are the ones left out by the system. Not only that, keeping in mind the swindling of money by certain officials from the benefits offered to the tsunami, flood, or earthquake -affected, we know the system itself is mired in corruption and injustice for which none seems to be accountable! We are so much worried about our busy schedules that the really needy and the deprived are a nuisance to us. Can we be satisfied with the stability of our family life without facing this kind of mundane and secular realities with the aid of the sacred in our lives? There cannot be stability in family life unless the husband and wife love each other to the point of achieving communion that should be extended to the children from the day they are conceived in the mother's womb. This presupposes self-denial with a view to denying our egos besides attaining a degree of detachment from persons and things most dear to us. In this climate, the children are able to achieve excellence in whatever they do besides imbibing values that will remain as an anchor to them in the challenges of life encountered by them in future. The children will learn how to program the sacred into their secular life because they themselves are programmed with the sacred values of life by their spiritual exercises and religious practices. They will also know how to negotiate the unforeseen circumstances since they have a stable family as their backbone.
Is there a way to bring Jesus into our families in a very real sense apart from mottoes and pious words often inscribed on our doors and interiors of our homes? For Christians there are two powerful means for this purpose, namely, the Word of God in the Bible and the Holy Eucharist we celebrate in the Church. However, they do not often seem to achieve the intended purpose of transforming us into representatives of Jesus Christ in the family and in the society we live in. The reason for this kind of unfortunate turn of events in our lives lies within us. The first reason is that we do not understand the Word of God as it is meant to be understood, while the second reason is our defective participation in the sacrifice of Christ in the Holy Mass. By his sacrifice on the Cross, Jesus already made us partakers in the mystery of his death and by his resurrection he has inserted us into the path of a new life. We only have to try to become explicitly and fully what we are already implicitly and in an inchoative manner. What stands as a barrier to this kind of progress of our life is ourselves with our egos that try to demolish all attempts at communion and solidarity among people. The role that is played by the Word of God and the Holy Eucharist in building up the family in the image of Jesus Christ is very well expressed by the word 'communion'. A family becomes an abode of communion for Christians when they imbibe the idea of communion embedded in the Word of God and the Eucharist as they are paradigms of the reality of communion. Family is the unit where the inter-relationship among the members is natural and the resultant communion is the expression of of unity leading them to God. The Eucharist is celebrated in the Church where the inter-relationship among members is supernatural and their unity is but a consequence of the unity achieved with God Himself. (To be Cont'd).
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