During the last days of the Lenten saison and Easter Holidays, I experienced again, what it means to have a family. Especially as an expatriate living together with a Philippine family. What a blessing for me!
In his divine wisdom, God intended the family atmosphere where there should be parental love so that every toddling, helpless, fragile child that comes into the world finds warmth, care and security. Family life is, therefore, the first and foremost calling of every married couple.
The first thing one should look for in a married couple, is not how successful they are as lawyers or businessmen or professionals, but how successful they are as family couples and family members. For me, if they fail as a family man or woman, I consider them complete failures in life. Strong words, I know!
According to modern evolutionary biology, all living beings could be descendants of a unique ancestor commonly referred to as the last universal common ancestor (LUCA) of all life on Earth. Common descent is an effect of speciation, in which multiple species derive from a single ancestral population.
Again, strong words! Though a bit exaggerated, there’s a lot of truth there. When one gets married, he/she assumes the grave and sacred task and responsibility of begetting and rearing children for God. And if they fail as parents, they fail in his first and foremost obligation to God.
The human family is a sacrament. As such, it is a sign, a witness, that should point to a mirror of unity and love. Of course, the so-called human family is a very imperfect reflection of the so-called “Holy Family”, what with all the problems, trials and difficulties. Believe me, also in “my” family, there’s a lot of impatience, anger, cruelty, many times NO TIME for one another, lack of communication, callousness or insensitivity to the other’s needs.
When my wife and I were newly-married, after coming home from a hard day’s work, our dogs would bark and meet me, while my wife brought my slippers. Time changed. My dog will bring the slippers now…! Joke lang!
Let’s keep in mind: there’s no stressing enough the value and importance of the family. If the basic unit of society is weak, fragmented, decadent, so is the whole country. For as the family, so the country. The Philippines!
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