Oct 28 Wed
Is it good to have a real family, with parents united in sacred marriage?
In today’s family, the father figure risks becoming increasingly hidden or even absent. In the light of God’s paternity “from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,” human fatherhood and motherhood acquire all their meaning, dignity, and greatness. “Human fatherhood and motherhood, while remaining biologically similar to that of animals, contain a ‘likeness’ to God which is the basis of the family as a community of human life, as a community of persons united in love.
Just as the Holy Spirit is the life of the Church, He must also be the life of the family, the little domestic church. For every family, He must keep the flame of conjugal love ever burning in the spouses’ reciprocal gift of self.
An atmosphere of shared prayer must exist in a Christian family, where God is addressed with the freedom of children and called by the affectionate name of “our Father”! May the Holy Spirit help us discover the Father’s face as a perfect model of fatherhood in the family.
For some time now, the family institution has been under repeated attack. These attacks are all the more dangerous and insidious since they ignore the irreplaceable value of the family based on marriage. They have reached the point of proposing false alternatives to the family and of calling for their legislative recognition. But when laws, which should be at the service of the family, a fundamental good for society, turn against it, they acquire alarming destructive power.
Thus, in some countries, there is a desire to impose on society so-called “de facto unions,” reinforced by a series of legal effects that erode the very meaning of the family institution. “De facto unions” are marked by instability and the lack of the irrevocable commitment that gives rise to rights and duties and respects the dignity of the man and woman. Instead, there is a desire to give juridical value to a will that is far removed from any form of definitive bond.
With these premises, how can we hope for truly responsible procreation which is not limited to giving life, but also includes that training and education which only the family can guarantee in all its dimensions?
The truth about marriage and the family is based not only on Revelation, but also on the demands of natural law, which are at the foundation of the true good of society and its members. In fact, it is important for children to be born and raised in a home where parents are united in a faithful covenant.
It is quite possible to imagine other forms of relationship and cohabitation between the sexes, but none of these, despite some people’s contrary opinion, offers a real juridical alternative to matrimony, but rather a weakening of it.
First part, excerpted from Address of John Paul II to the members of the Pontifical Council for the Family, June 4, 1999