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Family
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"For a father's blessing gives a family firm roots, but a mother's curse uproots the growing plant."
(Sirach 3:9)
"And whoever does not provide for relatives and especially family members has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever."
(1 Tm. 5:8)
"Disorder
in society is the result of disorder in the family." (St.
Angela Merici)
"The
family must be a great school of piety, spirituality, and
religious fidelity." (Pope Paul VI)
"The
prevailing spirit of the household corresponds with the literature
in the home." (St. John Vianney)
"The
family is the most ancient institution which God founded in
Paradise, when He called the first pair of human beings into
existence." (St. John Vianney)
"God's
love is totally gratuitous. Such therefore should be the love of a
couple and the relationship between the members of a family."
(Pope John Paul II)
"Happiness
is to be found only in the home and in the family circle where God
is loved and honored, and everyone loves and helps and cares for
the other." (St. Theophane Venard)
"The
home must be in accord with the Church, that all harmful
influences be withheld from the souls of children. Where there is
true piety in the home, purity of morals reigns supreme."
(St. John Vianney)
"[T]hose
who have the care of the State and of the public good cannot
neglect the needs of married people and their families, without
bringing great harm upon the State and on the common
welfare." (Pope Pius XI, "Casti Connubii", 1930)
"What
a wonderful thing it is when families realize the power they
have.. This power works for the sanctification of the world, the
mutual sanctification of husband and wife, and the reciprocal
influence between parents and children." (Pope
John Paul I)
"Genuine
happiness of the home is based on love that gives itself and
sacrifices itself simply and perseveringly.. This love can be
sustained only with the food of faith, and faith is a gift of God
that is nourished in prayer and in the Sacraments." (Pope
John Paul II)
"This
bond of charity was the core of the Holy Family's life, first in
the poverty of Bethlehem, then in their exile in Egypt, and later
in the house of Nazareth. The Church deeply venerates this Family,
and proposes it as the model of all families." (Pope John
Paul II)
"[T]he
family first of all should be a home of faith and prayer, in which
God the Father's presence is sensed, the Word of Jesus is
accepted, the Spirit's bond of love is felt, and where the most
pure Mother of God is loved and invoked." (Pontifical
Council for the Family)
"The
family does not live its vocation to the full if it is not open to
the needs of the community. When its members seal themselves off
in a sort of group selfishness, they automatically deprive
themselves of the opportunity to grow in love and thus to
experience true joy." (Pope John Paul II)
"The
family has a special role to play throughout the life of its
members, from birth to death. It is truly 'the sanctuary of life:
the place in which life - the gift of God - can be properly
welcomed and protected against the many attacks to which it is
exposed, and can develop in accordance with what constitutes
authentic human growth'." (Pope John Paul II)
"The
families which do not live by faith seek their peace in the
earthly advantages of this life; while the families which live by
faith look for those eternal blessings which are promised, and use
as pilgrims such advantages of time and of earth as do not
fascinate and divert them from God, but rather aid them to endure
with greater ease, and to keep down the number of those burdens of
the corruptible body which weigh upon the soul." (St.
Augustine, Doctor of the Church)
"Jesus
reigns over the family when it, modeled after the holy ideals of
the sacrament of matrimony instituted by Christ, maintains
unspotted its true character of sanctuary. In such a sanctuary of
love, parental authority is fashioned after the authority of God,
the Father, from Whom, as a matter of fact, it originates and
after which even it is named. (Ephesians iii, 15) The obedience of
the children imitates that of the Divine Child of Nazareth, and
the whole family life is inspired by the sacred ideals of the Holy
Family." (Pope Pius XI, "Ubi Arcano Dei Consilio",
1922)
"If
we would attain to charity, the bond of perfection which unites
all Christians together in the one great family of God, we must
pay heed to those virtues which the Epistle puts before us. We
must be full of mercy, benignity, humility, modesty and patience;
we must bear with one another and forgive on another, after the
example of the Incarnate Word. Then the peace of Christ will dwell
not only in our hearts, but in those around us, and our homes will
truly become like that of Nazareth, where Mary and Joseph were
ever singing in grace to the Lord God." (Gueranger)
"In
an ideal home the parents, like Tobias and Sara, beg of God a
numerous posterity 'in which Thy name may be blessed forever,' and
receive it as a gift from heaven and a precious trust; they strive
to instill into their children from their early years a holy fear
of God, and true Christian piety; they foster a tender devotion to
Jesus, the Blessed Sacrament and the Immaculate Virgin; they teach
respect and veneration for holy places and persons. In such a home
the children see in their parents a model of an upright,
industrious and pious life; they see their parents holily loving
each other in Our Lord, see them approach the Holy Sacraments
frequently and not only obey the laws of the Church concerning
abstinence and fasting, but also observe the spirit of voluntary
Christian mortification; they see them pray at home, gathering
around them all the family, that common prayer may rise more
acceptably to heaven; they find them compassionate towards the
distress of others and see them divide with the poor the much or
the little they possess." (Pope Pius XI, "Ad Catholici
Sacerdotii",
1935 A.D.)
"Let
us take our stand in front of that earthly and divine home of
holiness, the House of Nazareth. How much we have to learn from
the daily life which was led within its walls! What an all-perfect
model of domestic society! Here we behold simplicity and purity of
conduct, perfect agreement and unbroken harmony, mutual respect
and love - not of the false and fleeting kind - but that which
finds both its life and its charm in devotedness of service. Here
is the patient industry which provides what is required for food
and raiment; which does so 'in the sweat of the brow,' which is
contented with little, and which seeks rather to diminish the
number of its wants than to multiply the sources of its wealth.
Better than all, we find there that supreme peace of mind and
gladness of soul which never fail to accompany the possession of a
tranquil conscience. These are precious examples of goodness, of
modesty, of humility, of hard-working endurance, of kindness to
others, of diligence in the small duties of daily life, and of
other virtues, and once they have made their influence felt they
gradually take root in the soul, and in course of time fail not to
bring about a happy change of mind and conduct." (Pope Leo
XIII, "Laetitiae Sanctae", 1893)
"This
mission - to be the first and vital cell of society - the family
has received from God. It will fulfill this mission if it appears
as the domestic sanctuary of the Church by reason of the mutual
affection of its members and the prayer that they offer to God in
common, if the whole family makes itself a part of the liturgical
worship of the Church, and if it provides active hospitality and
promotes justice and other good works for the service of all the
brethren in need. Among the various activities of the family
apostolate may be enumerated the following: the adoption of
abandoned infants, hospitality to strangers, assistance in the
operation of schools, helpful advice and material assistance for
adolescents, help to engaged couples in preparing themselves
better for marriage, catechetical work, support of married couples
and families involved in material and moral crises, help for the
aged not only by providing them with the necessities of life but
also by obtaining for them a fair share of the benefits of an
expanding economy. At all times and places but particularly in
areas where the first seeds of the Gospel are being sown, or where
the Church is just beginning, or is involved in some serious
difficulty, Christian families can give effective testimony to
Christ before the world by remaining faithful to the Gospel and by
providing a model of Christian marriage through their whole way of
life." (Second Vatican Council)
"Wherefore,
as the Apostle has it, as Christ is the head of the Church, so is
the man the head of the woman; and as the Church is subject to
Christ, who embraces her with a most chaste and undying love, so
also should wives be subject to their husbands, and be loved by
them in turn with a faithful and constant affection. In like
manner does the Church temper the use of parental and domestic
authority, that it may tend to hold children and servants to their
duty, without going beyond bounds. For, according to Catholic
teaching, the authority of our heavenly Father and Lord is
imparted to parents and masters, whose authority, therefore, not
only takes its origin and force from Him, but also borrows its
nature and character. Hence, the Apostle exhorts children to 'obey
their parents in the Lord, and honor their father and mother,
which is the first commandment with promise'; and he admonishes
parents: 'And you, fathers, provoke not your children to anger,
but bring them up in the discipline and correction of the Lord.'
Again, the apostle enjoins the divine precept on servants and
masters, exhorting the former to be 'obedient to their lords
according to the flesh of Christ... with a good will serving,
as to the Lord'; and the latter, to 'forbear threatenings, knowing
that the Lord of all is in heaven, and there is no respect of
persons with God.' If only all these matters were faithfully
observed according to the divine will by all on whom they are
enjoined, most assuredly every family would be a figure of the
heavenly home, and the wonderful blessings there begotten would
not confine themselves to the households alone, but would scatter
their riches abroad through the nations.'" (Pope Leo XIII,
"Quod Apostolici Muneris", 1878)
"Likewise,
just as home life, when the law of Christ is observed, flowers in
true felicity, so, when the Gospel is cast aside, does it perish
miserably and become desolated by vice: 'He that seeketh the law,
shall be filled with it: and he that dealeth deceitfully, shall
meet with a stumbling block therein' (Ecclesiasticus xxxii: 19).
What can there be on earth more serene and joyful than the
Christian family? Taking its origin at the Altar of the Lord,
where love has been proclaimed a holy and indissoluble bond, the
Christian family in the same love nourished by supernal grace is
consolidated and receives increase. There is 'marriage honorable
in all, and the [nuptial] bed undefiled' (Cf. Hebrews xiii: 4).
Tranquil walls resound with no quarreling voices nor do they
witness the secret martyrdom which comes when hidden infidelity is
laid bare; unquestioning trust turns aside the slings of
suspicion; sorrow is assuaged and joy is heightened by mutual
affection. Within those sacred precincts children are considered
not heavy burdens but sweet pledges of love; no reprehensible
motive of convenience, no seeking after sterile pleasure, brings
about the frustration of the gift of life nor causes to fall into
disuse the sweet names of brother and sister. With what solicitude
do the parents take care that the children not only grow in
physical vigor but also that, following in the footsteps of their
forbears whose memory is often recalled to them, they may shine
with the light which profession of the pure faith and moral
goodness impart to them. Moved by the numerous benefits received,
such children consider it their paramount duty to honor their
parents, to be attentive to their desires, to be the staff of
their old age, to rejoice their gray hairs with an affection
which, unquenched by death, will be made more glorious and more
complete in the mansion of Heaven. The members of the Christian
family, neither querulous in adversity nor ungrateful in
prosperity, are ever filled with confidence in God to Whose sway
they yield willing obedience, in Whose will they acquiesce and
upon Whose help they wait not in vain." (Pope Pius XII,
"Sertum Laetitiae", 1939)
"It
is a most sacred law of nature that a father should provide food
and all necessaries for those whom he has begotten; and,
similarly, it is natural that he should wish that his children,
who carry on, so to speak, and continue his personality, should be
by him provided with all that is needful to enable them to keep
themselves decently from want and misery amid the uncertainties of
this mortal life. Now, in no other way can a father effect this
except by the ownership of productive property, which he can
transmit to his children by inheritance. A family, no less than a
State, is, as We have said, a true society, governed by an
authority peculiar to itself, that is to say, by the authority of
the father. Provided, therefore, the limits which are prescribed
by the very purposes for which it exists be not transgressed, the
family has at least equal rights with the State in the choice and
pursuit of the things needful to its preservation and its just
liberty. We say, 'at least equal rights'; for, inasmuch as the
domestic household is antecedent, as well in idea as in fact, to
the gathering of men into a community, the family must necessarily
have rights and duties which are prior to those of the community,
and founded more immediately in nature. If the citizens, if the
families on entering into association and fellowship, were to
experience hindrance in a commonwealth instead of help, and were
to find their rights attacked instead of being upheld, society
would rightly be an object of detestation rather than of desire.
The contention, then, that the civil government should at its
option intrude into and exercise intimate control over the family
and the household is a great and pernicious error." (Pope Leo
XIII, "Rerum Novarum", 1891)
Also
See: Marriage
| Children
/ Youth | Parents
/ Parenting | Fathers
/ Fatherhood | Mothers
/ Motherhood | Holy
Family (Prayer) | Fostering
Vocations / Vocations in the Family | Parental
Responsibility for Catholic Education | Primacy
of Husband / Obedience of Wife | Sacrament
of Marriage (Reflections) | Sacraments
Section | Family
(Topical Scripture)
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