Faith Permeates The Cycle Of Life Through Our Families

I recently baptized a great-niece, the second child of my brother’s second child, who I also baptized just a little over one year after I was ordained a priest.  I had the honor of being the best man for my brother’s wedding, just weeks before entering the seminary, and I served as lector at my sister’s wedding.  Both of my siblings, younger than me, are grandparents.  My brother has four children, and my sister has three.  My seven nieces and nephews have all been fully initiated into the Church by means of the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist.  Now they have begun to marry and start their own families, involving me in a second generation of sacramental celebrations.   My parents were present at their great-granddaughter’s baptism.  My father, who suffered a stroke last October, sat rather quietly in a pew for the celebration.  Though he has recovered quite well, he is clearly weak and somewhat feeble at age 75.  As a priest, and now as bishop, I am privileged to be in the middle of such very profound moments in the cycle of life and faith.

    Though it was not my first baptism as a great-uncle—I now have six great-nieces—this most recent baptism really impressed upon me how the faith is transmitted through families from generation to generation.  With my parents present for their great-granddaughter’s baptism, we represented four generations of family.  This is not unlike other celebrations—birthdays, weddings, holidays, etc.—but somehow I was a bit more aware of how faith permeates the cycle of life.  Will I live to witness the marriage of a great-niece or great-nephew?  If so, will I be invited to do so?  Will I have the opportunity to baptize a great-great-niece or nephew?  All this coincides with the fact that I am part of a huge extended Catholic family.  My father was one of 13 children and my mother was one of 16 children, so it should not be too surprising that I have 90 first cousins and well over 200 second cousins (I stopped counting these a long time ago).

    It doesn’t take a mental heavyweight to figure out that some of this deeper reflection on my part is influenced by Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation, Amoris Laetitia (“The Joy of Love: On Love in the Family”).  After all, if I can figure this out, it has to be rather obvious.  In light of the Holy Father’s Apostolic Exhortation, we should be profoundly aware of each and every member of our families.  By no means is my family perfect or ideal.  After all, it includes me.   Some members of both my immediate and extended family are closer than others.  Some are deeply wounded—physically, emotionally and/or spiritually.  Our family tree includes some wonderful marriages, as well as separations, divorces and various types of “irregular” unions.

    While striving to uphold the ideals of marriage and family, as Pope Francis so beautifully articulates in Amoris Laetitia, a family as large as mine is bound to have some struggles in the lived reality of such ideals.  Yet, as clearly stipulated in the tenets of our Catholic faith, each and every one of us is uniquely created in the image of God and embraced as a member of God’s holy family.   In his apostolic exhortation, the Holy Father provides a beautiful scriptural and theological overview of marriage and family.  Fortunately, he does not stop there.  With the pastoral heart of a shepherd, Pope Francis goes on to share much insight into various pastoral perspectives for consideration.  He encourages enhanced formation and education in schools, seminary formation, marriage preparation, and pastoral care for married couples and families.   The Holy Father expresses particular concern for the spiritual, emotional and physical wellbeing of children.   Not one to shy away from controversy or sensitive issues, Pope Francis writes in-depth on the need for pastoral accompanying, discerning and integrating weakness in Chapter 8 of Amoris Laetitia, the chapter that seems to be receiving the greatest scrutiny from all angles.  

    In the end, though rarely being ideal, each and every one of us is called to holiness.   Holiness is not within the grasp of mere human merit, no matter how perfect one may seem, think or feel.  To paraphrase Pope-emeritus Benedict XVI, we do not claim or seek so much to possess truth as we pray and seek to be possessed by truth.  Truth is not an object or ideal, but a person.  As Pope Francis and Pope-emeritus Benedict have insisted on multiple occasions, we must allow ourselves to be transformed by the person of Jesus Christ.  He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

    Readily acknowledging that my family, both immediate and extended, is not perfect (especially given the fact that I am a member of it), I pray daily that we grow as both individuals and as family in holiness by allowing ourselves to be transformed by actual truth, through personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  To do so, each of us must do our part.  It all begins with prayer, both individually and communally.  We must also acknowledge that there can be no authentic love of God without love of one another.  We must strive to cultivate the virtues of faith, hope, charity, courage, humility, gratitude, generosity, patience, fortitude, understanding and forgiveness.   And what is faith without works?  The hallmark of true discipleship is realized in service.  Despite whatever weakness or challenge a marriage or family must face, God’s grace is enough.  We need not fear or lose heart.  From generation to generation, may every person and family grow in knowledge and love of God whose mercy is without end.  Thus, do we realize the Joy of Love!