Feast of Sts. Simon and Jude, Apostles
EMBRACING OUR FAMILY
At
a school waiting lounge, mothers were sharing stories about their kids.
Meg, a mother of three, said, “Oh, my three boys! They are quite
challenging. My eldest, Miggy, is hyperactive. Gio, my second child, is
so sociable. And the youngest, Paolo, prefers to be alone. They really
have different personalities.”
Tina, affirming Meg, added, “You bet! I only have two girls but they have different interests, too.”
“Why can’t we just choose the kind of children we want to have, right?
Life as a mother would be easier that way,” Shane quipped.
Much as parents want to choose the kind of children they want to have,
children also share the same dilemma. Children cannot choose their
parents. They can complain but they would still end up submitting to
their parents’ authority.
It was different for Jesus though. He had the option to be
incarnated to a powerful family. He could have shortlisted the
kindhearted, intelligent, industrious, loving, holy and whatever
positive things one could think of for His parents, to be productive in
His ministry. He could have chosen the almost perfect people as His
disciples. But Jesus didn’t.
Jesus, too, chose 12 representatives who were, in their own ways,
imperfect and definitely sinners. Yet He embraced all of them as members
of His household, as parts of His mystical body, the Church.
Jesus wants us to do the same to our family members. He wants us to
embrace them for who they are, accept them for what they are, and love
them for they, too, are capable of doing wonderful things pleasing to
God.
At the end of the day, that’s what families do and what family is all about — love. Fr. Sonny Cotiamco
REFLECTION QUESTION:
Did you ever wish you were born to a different family? In your prayer
today, lift up to God each member of your family. With God’s eyes, focus
on their goodness and thank Him for them.
Lord, thank You for my family. May I learn to love them with Your grace and compassion. Amen.
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