What Is A Traditional Family

Yesterday my post took on a life of its own. I got so caught up remembering past NYE's that I missed the whole point of what I wanted to say.. I'll give it another shot.

Yesterday was the "Feast of the Holy Family" in the Catholic Church. The Gospel was one of my favorites. It was the story of Joseph and Mary bringing Jesus to the temple to present him to the Lord.

What I liked best about the reading had to do with Simeon and the prophetess Anna. In fact all the readings yesterday centered around the fulfillment of Gods promises to men. Any time I hear about God promising or revealing something to someone my ears perk up because of the promise I thought...no, I still think, God made to me.

Fathers homily seemed tailored just for me. It couldn't have been more pertinent to what has been going on in my head the last few weeks. Ever since Ed has been gone the holidays just aren't the same. His presence even after 15 years is sorely missed. Our family just doesn't seem complete any longer, despite all the additions thru the years.

Also, since its almost New Years Eve, I have been feeling less than complete because I don't have a date for this special night.

Yesterday, Father started his Homily by saying, "Today we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family. What comes to your mind when you hear the word family? Is it still the picture of a father a mother and children? While that is probably the image still fixed in many, if not most, of our minds, that is really not what a typical family is today.


There are a lot of reasons why the nuclear family, as it has been called, is no longer typical. First
of all, we are living longer, so the period when a husband, wife, and their children live together is
a smaller percentage of our life than in the past–in spite of kids coming home from college and
never seeming to want to leave! Secondly, because of death and divorce there are more people
living alone or as heads of single-parent families."

He went on to say that we probably consider Jesus, Mary and Joseph the traditional family, but there is really nothing traditional about them. Joseph was the foster father, Mary gave birth as a virgin, and Jesus' real Father was God.

Then there was Abraham and Sarah, again anything but typical since Sarah first concieved when she and Abe were in their 90's. Oh yes, and then there was Simeon and Anna both faithful but elderly people. We don't know if Simeon ever had a wife and kids, but we know that Anna was 84 and out of those 84 years she was only married for seven of them and then went to live in the temple, certainly anything but what we consider typical.

Man, do I identify with Anna. Sometimes I feel like I live at church, and everything I do is related to it in one way or another. Maybe its not the typical life I desired, but it is a very rewarding and satisfying life nontheless.


So apparently the Bible knows a thing or two about families who don’t meet the familiar mold.


Father ended his sermon by saying : "In the end, what we draw from all of the holy men and women featured in the Scriptures today, is the importance of faith and faithfulness in families God supplies, no matter whatever shape or form they come in.

He asked "Whatever the makeup of your families, how are you doing in terms of faith and loving faithfulness? Because ultimately, loving faithfullness, and not the particular configuration of your family, will be the thing that counts for making you a holy family."

Wise words I thought.

So I started thinking about my family. We are different than we used to be, but we are only less in our minds. We love each other just as much and probably more, we pull together in tough times and celebrate together as we always did. We are complete!

And then there is my new family, Sisters by circumstances, friends by choice. We share our hearts and come together for each other and we have helped one another become strong in our weaknesses.
,
When you think about it isn't that what being a real family is all about.

So I've decided my new mantra for 09 will be

"I am complete, I am whole, I am loved!"