Our Family, The Saints

During autumn, in many ways we turn our attention to family.  This is true during the secular holidays of Halloween and Thanksgiving, but it is especially true for us within the Church as we celebrate the Solemnity of the Christian Family in October.

During this Solemnity we hear in the readings the importance of our treatment of each other as one great family of faith.  During the entrance rite of the Mass we hear quotes from two sections of Scripture, both of which speak to our responsibility in the faith.  “And whoever does not provide for relatives, and especially family members, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” (1 Timothy 5:8)  “So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith.” (Galatians 6:10)

We see within this Scripture that our faith has responsibilities attached to it, and these responsibilities are especially to family members.  We also see in these quotes an  expansion of our love and concern beyond our immediate family to the family of faith.  The Solemnity of the Christian Family encourages us to consider all members of our local parish community and then ultimately all members of the Christian Church as our true brothers and sisters.  In fact, we should certainly give some thought to the fact that when we call each other brothers and sisters in Christ that these words really mean something.  Are these just words that we say because they are expected of us, or do they really reflect our thinking about those who surround us each Sunday morning?

I hope that as we have now all celebrated the Solemnity of the Christian Family we can give this aspect of our Christian life some thought and concern in the weeks and months to come.  It is something that we must make a conscious effort to hold onto.  It is often so easy to hear a message on any given Sunday and then, once the middle of the next week comes, it will be gone from our thoughts; and by the next Sunday we go on to another subject forgetting about what came before.

This autumn season is an excellent opportunity to put together a number of the teachings of the Church during several Sundays and holidays, and realize that the Church encourages us to play an active role in the love and concern that we share with those members of our families and then actively work to spread this area of concern ever wider, ultimately to all of  humanity.

An important part of this family view is also expressed during the Solemnity of All Saints that we celebrate on November 1^st and the Commemoration of All Souls on November 2^nd.  While these celebrations are certainly opportunities to take example from the lives of the saints and to remember those souls who have traveled with us in our earthly pilgrimage, these days of prayer are also important expressions of family.

During All Souls we remember the members of our family who have died and are now in the hands of God, our Father. In this remembrance we can especially focus on the example of faith and loyalty that we have received from these people.  I encourage people to not only pray for the members of our  families who have passed, but also to share these memories of faith and love with each other.  These members of our families can still have an effect on our lives today.  Even though the young members may not remember them or if they had died before these young members were born, their faith and love still affect us today.  We must make sure that these young people know of this faith and love.

Also in the both All Souls and All Saints we remind ourselves that our family of faith is in fact much larger than just the people who we see around us.  We know that it extends to other congregations; but we must also realize that it extends through time because of all the saints.  During the Mass of All Saints a Scripture reading from Hebrews is read that I have always found to be very moving.  “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, Who for the sake of the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1-2)

This passage truly speaks to the way others have an effect within our lives.  Those who are around us are just like a cloud; a cloud of witnesses to faith, love and Jesus Christ.  If we find ourselves in a low cloud, like the fog, we really cannot see the cloud itself, especially when it is close to us, but yet as we go about our lives, we know that it is around us and it affects everything we see and do.  This is exactly what the Christian family through time, the cloud of witnesses, is like.

During this autumn season, let us focus our attention on the family.  The Christian Family, the family of saints that are around us.  Let us know that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses to love, faith and Jesus Christ.  But let us also remember that we are a part of that cloud for many, many  others.