Last Sunday was the Feast of the Holy Family for Roman Catholics, a significant celebration considering that families are under siege by many pressures in the guise of practical and short-term solutions to problems in the community.
The religious feast reminds us that a family consists of a father, a mother and children with God at the center. When there is a family in God, there is love.
We strive to remember that if we honor our father and mother, we will be rewarded. Our parents may not be perfect.
They are human beings after all. But they took care of us when we were growing up and deserve our respect.
My mother once scolded me in front of my friends. I didn’t object. My friends noticed and asked me why I allowed her to dress me down. I told them what my mother did was nothing for me to object considering what she has done for me so far: She took good care of me when I was growing up and sacrificed much for me.
Families today face many challenges that threaten the core of their existence. Pope Francis recently talked about the significance of living a modest and simple life. We should heed this call. In doing so, we can overcome many of the obstacles that challenge families.
The family that prays together, stays together because it is blessed by the father, God. Let us not allow anything to break up our families even though I know there are many struggling to stay whole. Because of poverty, one parent leaves for abroad to earn a living to support other family members. But it’s not uncommon for an OFW family to become dysfunctional because of the strain of living apart. These families need our help and prayers.
The traditional meaning of a family – a father, a mother and children – has been broken. Some people assert the exercise of equal rights by seeking to marry a partner of the same sex or gender. Is it really important? Can they not just love each other without getting married?
What is important in a relationship is not the title but the love for each other. There are marriages that are broken because couples fall out of love but it is important that we ask for forgiveness and seek God’s help in this matter.
Let us not forget that there is a God involved who is part of our engagement so let us talk to Him.
Seek His guidance always. Sometimes we forget there is a God who is always available to help us. Advance Happy New Year to all and may I wish for you a happy and healthy family life.
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Sen. Grace Poe was disqualified by the Commission on Election en banc on two issues of citizenship and residency. It will be an uphill legal battle for the senator because after the whole Comelec went through the cases filed and decided by two of its divisions, Poe’s last resort for relief is the Supreme Court whom she can seek an injunction to stop the Comelec.
Many are eager to know how the highest court, which has the final say, will treat this case. It should act with dispatch inasmuch as the May election is fast approaching. Let not the Supreme Court wash its hands and pass to the people the burden of deciding the matter through the ballot.
Our’s is a country where the rule of law governs, a government of laws and not of men. I hope the Supreme Court will exercise its Constitutional duty and decide the case on its merits, and candidates can be guided accordingly.
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