"The future of humanity passes by way of the family."
- St. John Paul II in Famliaris Consortio
In reflecting on Christmas, it's amazing to think that Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth, and the Life of all humanity passed by way of the family. God almighty, our Savior and Redeemer, entered into our world through a family. The family plays a key role in the renewal of our dark, dark world and therefore it is through the family that we should once again truly "bear Christ to the world." Youth ministries, religious education, Sunday school, etc... are extensions to the life of faith in the family; they support what the family should already be doing: Raising up their children in the Faith and living it out amongst one another. But it shouldn't be a replacement for what the parents should already be doing; it shouldn't be the lifeline of faith for the children.
Christian families have to live differently. In today's world, it's not enough to attach grace to the beginning of meals and consider Mass as a fringe activity of the family. This will merely lead to a lukewarm faith or one that dissipates in time, especially as the children grow older and become sucked and consumed by a secular, materialistic and athiestic world. We have to live differently. We have to have a communal and individual life of prayer. We must dare to be boldly different. But not in some kind of "weird, stuck-in-the-past" type of way. We are in the world, but not of it.
They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world.
Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth.
As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world.
(John 17:16-18)
These words can very well be applied to the Christian family who seeks to live in the Spirit of Christ. Christ has consecrated us in the truth; living in accord with the truth of who we are and how we are to live makes us different from the secular family. Building up a family culture and creating family traditions and rituals which express these truths compels us to live differently. A Catholic family life is distinct by its marks of joy, selfless love, warmth and beauty and the various traditions which revolve around the liturgical life of the Church.
I love the Gospel that was read on Christmas day:
In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came to be through him,
and without him nothing came to be.
What came to be through him was life,
and this life was the light of the human race;
the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.
A man named John was sent from God.
He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.
(John 1:1-7)
In a world that seeks to utterly destroy God and all things pointing toward Him and in a world that is hostile to Christianity and any kind of virtue or moral truth that springs from the Christian faith, there seems to be a distinct way of evangelizing: Joy and beauty. Joy and beauty - which radiates from Christ - are this "light that shines in the darkness" of our world.
The world we live in is very dark. It's not necessary to go into detail about all that surrounds us. But it leaves people gripped by a sense of fear, worry or anxiety. There is much in our culture that is ugly too. I'd like to quote from Mark Mallet's blog post, wherein he gives us a good picture of this "dark cloak":
This present darkness can aptly be described as an ugliness. It is an ugliness that has covered everything like a sullied black cloak, from art and literature, to music and theatre, to how we speak to one another on forums, in debates, on television and social media. Art has become abstract and bizarre; best-selling books are obsessed with crime and the occult; movies are transfixed on lust, violence, and apocalyptic gloom; television on meaningless, shallow “reality” shows; our communication has become impertinent and demeaning; and popular music is often harsh and heavy, electronic and edgy, idolizing the flesh. So pervasive is this ugliness that even the Liturgy has been sullied with a loss of the sense of wonder and transcendence once encapsulated in the signs and symbols and music that in many places have been all but destroyed. Last, it is an ugliness that seeks to even deform nature itself—the natural color of vegetables and fruits, the shape and features of animals, the function of plants and soil, and yes—to even mutilate the image of God in which we are created, male and female.
In our dark world, it's also important as Catholics to realistically consider a couple things about where the Catholic Church is at presently:
1. Whereas in ages gone by, the Church once enjoyed a privileged position in society, where the world looked to Her for Her Motherly counsel and wisdom, she is now despised and hated and Her image has been tainted and ruined by the ugly sins of some of Her sons through the priest scandal. When people think of the Catholic Church today, it's accompanied by a feeling of scorn, aloofness, belittling, and mockery. No longer is it the reality of who the Church really is: A tender, loving mother of whom the Blessed Mother is the perfect Model.
2. On top of that, we live in an age which no longer respects authority of any kind - much moreso the Church. Children disrespect parents; students speak disrespectfully to teachers in bold ways we wouldn't have imagined even just ten years ago. The motto is: "You are your own authority." "You make up the rules to your own game." "You are accountable to yourself, and that's it." We forget about our judgement at the moment of our death, we forget that we are accountable to God when we die, and that we are to be obedient to God, who is our authority and rules over us in a firm yet gentle, just, and tender love through the teachings and guidance of Holy Mother Church.
The way of evangelization for families
The antidote to evangelizing and "bearing Christ to the world" amidst this darkness and hatred of the Catholic Church is two things: Joy and beauty. The family must radiate the joy and beauty of God's plan and a life lived in Him to the world! By living a life in union with Christ, it will in effect radiate joy, life, and beauty. There is no fancy schemes to be done here, just simply striving for holiness and letting Christ live in us.
Bill and I were talking in the car on a little family trip out to the coffee shop earlier tonight (big night out!); we both feel strongly that the Lord is calling us to evangelize from a position of beauty and joy. As we talked, we were in a way praising God for what He does in our family and how we could, as a family, be so happy and full of joy and life - even as time passes and we go through various sufferings and obstacles. I joked to Bill that from the way the world would look at our family is we're either doing something really, really right or really, really crazy and weird.
But joy and beauty is the way to draw people to Christ in a world hostile to God, the Catholic Church, and the "traditional" family. Beauty and joy in itself attracts. Beauty and joy spring from a deeper spiritual well: That of a life lived in accord with truth and goodness. It springs from a conscience that is upright - not before itself - but before God.
The practice of goodness is accompanied by spontaneous spiritual joy and moral beauty. Likewise, truth carries with it the joy and splendor of spiritual beauty. Truth is beautiful in itself..."from the greatness and beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator," "for the author of beauty created them."
Catholic families, radiate joy! Catholic families, radiate beauty! These things point to God. These things are for His glory, a glory which He desires us to participate in.
God created the world to show forth and communicate his glory. That his creatures should share in his truth, goodness and beauty - this is the glory for which God created them. (Catechism of the Catholic Church #319)
Be the light that shines in the darkness of our broken world, of broken relationships and families. Work, through prayer and the grace of God, on your own personal conversion and call to holiness. No one is perfect, we are all sinners, but sinners who should be striving to become saints. Shed the muck and mire of sin. Repent. Let the light of Christ penetrate into the darkness of your soul and bind up your wounds. It is only to the extent that we live a life of daily conversion from sin and union wtih God that we will participate in the joy of God and His beauty.
Catholic families, you play an irreplaceable role in the renewal of this world!
"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."
- John 1:5