Family: Gathered in the Light of Easter
Submitted by Deacon Jim Krupka
The Second Vatican Council said that lay spirituality takes its “particular character” from what happens in married life. Throughout scripture, we find the message that God dwells in those that live in his ways. The depth of marital love and family is a profound platform for that grace to blossom. God is ever-present. In marriage and family, human beings are significantly ever-present to each other. A home is a place where it is difficult to hide the real truth of who we are. We are visible to each other in so many ways that the outside world cannot see. This depth of truth feeds strong marriages. Attempting to hide from truth in marriage, feeds dysfunctional families.
Pope Benedict XVI said that love is the only light that can “constantly illuminate a world grown dim.” Advancing up the ladder of love between persons, we reach family and marriage at the top. Marriage is where love becomes embodied and flourishes in the communion of persons in a family. For genuine marriages where the wedding day covenant promises are real, the challenges of daily life parallel the events of Holy Week with sacrificial love leading to incredible joy. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus submits to the will of the Father. We do the same in the hard times of life in marriage and family. We get to experience our own “little Easters” when we do. Coming out of suffering, we discover a joy that seems impossible to those on the outside.
We grow in holiness through married life. Pope Francis states the truth that in every day and unique moments of life, we share in the “full life of the resurrection.” There is sacrificial giving to each other. In the physical intimacy of a life-long marriage, we say: “This is my body given to you.” Each knows that they will be with each other always until the end of their human ages. Parents and children learn what it’s like to be buried in sacrifice in the family. They also learn how good it is to rise from the ashes of bad times to the joy that love in the family brings. As a family, take the Pope’s advice. Gather in the light of Easter and make that a way of life.