Living as the Domestic Church

Feast of Immaculate Heart of Mary

World Meeting of Families

St Luke tells us of a family event. We are told that the holy family, Jesus, Mary and Joseph, used to make a religious pilgrimage to Jerusalem each year for the feast of the Passover, the most important of the Jewish religious feasts. We can note here the simple fact that the holy family engaged as a family in the religious practices of their Jewish faith. Clearly celebrating religious feasts as a family was a key element to the way in which they lived as a family. They had integrated the faith not only at a personal and private level, but in terms of the way the family lives.

A Christian family does the same. 

We are told that on this particular occasion Jesus was twelve years old. He was old enough to be participate in the religious ceremonies in a personal way. He would have understood the significance of what they were doing.

Children may, at first, not know the significance of the religious activities of the family, but they become enculturated and, hopefully, embrace the religious faith of the family, especially as they receive sound catechesis from their parents. 

Being at an age where he was capable to an extent of looking after himself, his parents probably assumed that, as they were returning home from Jerusalem, he was among the group. It was only at the end of the day that his parents discovered that he was not with them. I am sure parents can identify with this experience, and more importantly can sense the anxiety of his parents. They immediately confer with each other to find out what each knows. Then they enquire among relations and acquaintances, desperately hoping for some reassuring information. None is forthcoming.

Parents, I am sure, can then imagine the rising anxiety as they hastily abandon the group and head back to Jerusalem, now a day’s journey away. Arriving in the city they must have tried to think of all possible avenues of search. Retracing their steps, seeking out people who may have known something. St Luke tells us that they searched for three days. Again we can imagine the increasing fears in their hearts.

Then, they find him. In the temple. Among the teachers and religious figures. Engaged in discussion with them. Clearly oblivious of the distress caused to Mary and Joseph.

Mary’s comment is perfectly natural: “My child, why have you done this to us? See how worried your father and I have been, looking for you”. Parents would hear these words echo in their own hearts, had they a similar experience.

There are some final touches to this story. Firstly, while Jesus is surprised that they would not understand why he was sitting among the religious leaders and teachers engaging with them, we are told that he returned to Nazareth and lived under their authority.

Then, St Luke, who probably had this story given to him by Mary, adds, “His mother stored up all these things in her heart”. A mother carries her experiences and keeps them deep in her heart.

This is a story of an incident in family life. It speaks of the moments of anxiety that can touch parents. It speaks also of a family who have placed their faith at the very centre of their life.

This World Meeting of Families, an initiative of Pope St John Paul II, is about the celebration of the joys, the beauty, and the trials of the Catholic family.

Pope St John Paul II never tired of declaring that the family is first and foremost an “intimate community of life and love” (FC 50). This life and loved is an experience and a history lived day by day. The family lies at the heart of human life.

The World Meeting of Families commemorates the profound truth that each Catholic family is a domestic church.

I would like to briefly comment on this important truth – the family is the domestic church – and to consider the family in the light of the present reality of life in our society. In particular I want to address the question of how easily the ethos of the society sweeps over the family.

Catholic parents, concerned about the religious nurturing of their children, know only too well that it is so hard to shield them from the many spiritual and moral dangers of the world. The spirit of the world which is now so faith-less seeps into the hearts of children so readily. One key way in which this happens is through the various agents of modern media – television, music, computers, and mobile phones.

It is so difficult to prevent children from being exposed to images, ideas and attitudes which are at radical variance to the Catholic faith. The grave threat of pornography adds greatly to the concern of parents.

It is clear that discipline in the use of communication devices is required. Children cannot be free to be exposed to all that is so easily accessible through social media.

In order to establish this discipline parents know that merely banning something will not work. There is a need to foster in the children a love for family life and for the Christian way of life. Without some strong foundation here their efforts are doomed to failure. The pull of the world is so strong.

We are fighting a spiritual battle for the souls of our children. In this we need spiritual weapons. Thus a Catholic family needs to have prayer at its heart. The family home needs to be a safe haven of love and acceptance. Children need to be secure within the family unit.

Today, we celebrate with families across the world. These are families just like your own, facing the same challenges and drawing on the same faith. It is a time to consecrate family life under the grace of God. In this, on this day when we honour the Immaculate Heart of Mary, we invoke her intercession for our families.

Archbishop Julian Porteous

Saturday, 25 June 2022