THE HOUSE OF THE FAMILY

The Gospel passage of today’s feast highlights three aspects, building on the model of the family of Nazareth, our families and our communities. Luke notes that every year the parents of Jesus went up to Jerusalem for Easter. What does it mean? Simple: Mary and Joseph put the Lord at the heart of their lives. Among them there is a centrality, towards which they converge: God. This primacy is then concretized in embracing the will of the Father, which Jesus reminds them of, after having anxiously sought it. A family has its vitality of faith to the extent that it knows how to discern God’s plan. A third aspect comes from Jesus himself: Luke notes that while he reiterates the will of God, he is also submissive to his parents: great frankness and humble submission. This was Jesus of Nazareth. But there is another aspect, which I would like to recall briefly. In a healthy and evangelical family everyone is a protagonist, as the prophet Joel recalls:

After this, I will pour out my spirit on all mankind, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions (Joel 3:1).

The younger generations (sons and daughters) must be prophetic, that is, critical, but in a constructive way; adults should be wise enough to listen to them. The middle generations (sons and daughters) are called to have visions, that is, to plan creatively for themselves and for others, to have goals. Elderly people also have an important role, as they dream, that is, to cultivate hopes, listening to the signs that the Spirit shows, in history. Let us make our own this beautiful prayer for the family by Mother Anna Maria Cànopi:

Let your house, Lord, be solid,
because founded on You, the Rock;
Let it be filled with light,
because illuminated by You, who are light;
Let it be serene,
because watched over by You, who are Joy;
Let it be silent, because governed by You,
who are Peace;
Let it be welcoming, because inhabited by You,
who are Love.

Let no one come to your house, O Lord,
without being welcomed;
no one grieve, without being consoled;
no one leave it, without having met You;
no one return, without finding You once more.

Amen

Commentary by b. Sandro Carotta, osb
Abbazia di Praglia (Italy)

Translation by f. Mark Hargreaves,
Prinknash Abbey