‘OUR FAMILIES TODAY’ (CATECHESIS FOR HOLY FAMILY (B)

Rev. Fr. David Okolie

Dearest friends, you and I can bear strong witness to the fact that the human family today is under serious ATTACK. Do you know why? Well, the reason is very simple: since the *FAMILY* is the basic unit of the society and the domestic Church, the devil and his agents believe that once the families are shattered, the entire society and the Church would be in confusion and under their control. To some extent, they are already making progress. Do you know how?

Now, in our world today, many families are abandoning the FAMILY MODEL set before us by God through the Holy Family of Nazareth (Jesus, Mary and Joseph). They have started bringing in the ERRORS introduced by the devil and his agents and we all are seeing how all these ERRORS are greatly affecting our families and by extension the society and the Church today. These ERRORS include but not limited to: Divorce, Infidelity/Adultery, Same-sex union/sexual activities, increasing quest for Single Parenthood, domestic violence, Parental irresponsibility, Laziness, Contraceptive, Abortion, Euthanasia, etc.

👉🏼Beloved friends, in all the above ERRORS and CONFUSION of our world today, God presents to us again the true FAMILY MODEL of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. If only our families today and those who intend to set up a family in the future would look up to this Holy Family of Nazareth, not only that they would be fulfilled in this world but they would really be sure of pleasing God. Thus, ‘Parents (i.e, Father and Mother) have the first responsibility for the holistic education of their children in Faith, Knowledge and Virtue. They also have grave responsibility of giving GOOD EXAMPLE to their children’ (cf. CCC nn. 2223, 2226). Parents should be hardworking in order to provide the basic needs of their children. They should also make PRAYER the centre of their family life; bearing in mind that ‘The FAMILY that PRAYS together, STAYS together’ (cf. CCC n. 2226). Children on their own part, have the grave responsibility of OBEYING their parents in things that are not MORALLY wrong. They also have the responsibility of taking good care of their parents, especially in their later years.

We pray, through the powerful intercession of the Virgin Mary, that God would restore our families to the true nature of Christian family, after the example of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Amen🙏🏼

(cf. CATECHESIS ‘NKUZI NKE OKWUKWE’ FOR THE HOLY FAMILY (B);
READINGS: R1: Gen 15:1-6;21:1-3, R2: Heb 11:8.11-12.17-19, Gosp. Lk 2:22-40)

Wishing you Merry Christmas and Prosperous New Year🌲🥰

Remain blessed🙏🏼