SHEDDING A LITTLE LIGHT ON OUR SO-CALLED FAULT

“Society and the family are saved and ruined together.” – Father Joseph Kentenich

This message of Fr. Kentenich is a reality that should really be taken into immense contemplation because, essentially, the society is composed of families that are expected to live in line with the natural laws, human laws and the teachings of the Almighty.

If they are ruined together, definitely, they are also saved together. To save the society is to save the families and to save those families is to save the society. The earnest desire to save the society could only be potential if we pay attention to the deep and fatal illness of the society – the destruction of families. We should give adequate importance to the problems of the Filipino families today as much as the importance we give to the trade and industry, societal and political problems our country is facing.

Human is created in the image and resemblance of God. Hence, human was created to live, like God, in gamily where personal love is outright. It is just then right that love is the only way to cure the devastation of families.

We should recognize that families are the foundation of the society because through our families, we learn to love, to be a kid, to be a sibling, to be a parent and we learn to take care of others not as things, but as persons to be loved and to care about.

If love from the parents of a family is absent or deficient, the child is most likely to be an insecure person who lacks self- belief and who is reclusive which then forbids him or her to fulfil his or her dreams.

If the father is hateful and offensive, the child will probably rebel against any authority or person which reminds him or her of his father, including God. Because of terrible experiences with their own father, many are not able to accept the Gospel of Christ or believe in a God who is a loving and caring Father.

On the other hand, through siblings’ interactions, a child learns to unchain himself from selfishness and from the tendency to dictate or even bully others. A child who grows in a healthy family is very probable to develop healthy emotional attachments, someone who cares so much about his or her fellow.

Family provides the roots that allow the tree of one’s personality to stand firm during the hurricanes of life. All things that a child could see inside the family should be pure and good because these will be regarded by the child as worth emulating and good.

We cannot create a more humane and Christian society in our nation if we neglect the significance of families. Those who have converted the television into the absolute ruler of the home are destroying the society. All those who do not strive for a family united in love are destroying the society. Spouses who do not dialog or dialog very little with each other or with their children are destroying the society. The parents who have made their home into a simple boarding house where eating and sleeping are the only things in common, they are destroying the society.

The holy family of Nazareth is the renowned model for all other families. The Lord, who comes to build a new world, spends the first 30 years of his life in a family striving to live the new Christian ideal of the family. He only preaches and ministers publicly for three years. We should learn the importance of family, of our own family from Christ himself.

Let us give thanks to God for all those persons who provided us with atmosphere of family in our life, for those who helped us grow into free and united personalities, and who motivated us with their love both within and outside of our home.

Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, callit a family. Whatever you call, whoever you are, you need one.

It is the love of God that saved us. It should also be love that binds everyone inside the family and that same love should bind the families in our society. Before sharing or preaching the good news, we should first live with the ideals and teachings of God.

SocSci 10 Z Group 4
Jaeger Dwayne Tamara, Mike Gyro Paras, Anthony Teofilo Jr., GiannaCapacia, Faye Mendoza, Jerome Gabriel.