Mothers and Fathers
Yesterday we celebrated the Feast of the Nativity of Blessed Virgin Mary. The Bible tells us little about Mary. We do not have a record of the date of her birth. Yet, we know that she was born as all humans are born. While the Bible says little about Mary, her role for us is clear. She gave birth to Jesus and she cared for him. She is the mother of Jesus and she is our mother as set by Jesus who said, “Behold, your mother” (John 19:27). She is our mother and she is the mother of our church. Thus, we celebrate her birthday as a feast day in our Catholic Church.
Since there are no Bible passages about Mary’s birth, the gospel reading for the Nativity of Mary is taken from the first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, the genealogy of Jesus. In verse 16, Mary is described, “Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.”
As I read the genealogy of Jesus in preparation for yesterday’s Mass, I could not help but notice that the genealogy mentions the name of every father. This should be no surprise as it was a patriarchal culture. Yet, some mothers are included. Of course, the most prominent mother included is the Blessed Virgin Mary. The others mentioned are Tamar, Ruth (for whom the Book of Ruth is named), and Solomon’s mother is mentioned but not named.
From this, I was led to think of how the world views the importance of mothers and fathers today. While most of the mothers were not included in the genealogy of Jesus, we know they all had mothers who gave birth to them. No one, male or female, would exist without a mother who gave birth to them. The mothers nursed their children and cared for them.
The Blessed Virgin Mary is the one who gave birth to Jesus, nursed him, cared for him, and was always there for him, even at the foot of the Cross. Mothers play a very noble role for us.
Jesus also had a father. His father from the moment of his conception was God our father. In today’s world, that might be considered enough. However, God wants Jesus, as He wants all children, to have an earthly father.
That’s why that following the genealogy of Jesus, we hear that God told Joseph to take Jesus into his own home to raise him as his son. We see Joseph as protector of Jesus (and Mary) in the story of the flight to Egypt (Matthew 2:13-15). Thus, the Litany of St. Joseph names Joseph as the “guardian of the redeemer.”
God wants every child to have a family. Jesus was no exception.
Paul writes of the family in Ephesians 5:21-33 (cf. Colossians 3:18-21). The passages are not popular today for many because people take the phrase “wives be subordinate to your husbands” out of context. Fully understand, wives need to listen to their husbands just as husbands love their wives, listening to them. God’s plan for families has husbands and wives working together, caring for each other and their children. The Sixth Commandment calls them to be faithful to one other.
The passage from Colossians goes on to speak of the relationship fathers and children. Children need to honor their parents (the Fourth Commandment).
God puts families at a center point in society. It is unfortunate that today, some government officials think they know better than the parents what is right for a child. These officials want to take away the parents’ rights to determine what their children are taught in regards to modern gender ideology. They want pregnant teens to be able to have abortions without their parents knowing about it. They want children to be able to attempt to change their gender identity without their parents knowing about it. Yet, society rushes to blame parents when a person commits a mass shooting. In some cases, the parents have some blame in what their children do. Sometimes society is to blame because society does not support the family in accord with God’s Will.
We need to support families. This begins with teaching the parents what it means to be good husbands and wives to each other. It requires commitment and sacrifice, both of which are lacking in many marriages. We need to help the parents in their calling to care for their children. This begins with food, clothing, and shelter but it goes much deeper than that. Just as Mary was present with Jesus at the foot of the Jesus, we need to support parents, both mothers and fathers, in being present to their children. We need to empower parents to do what God calls them to do.
I realize things do not always “work out.” My own parents divorced when I was ten years old. While they divorced, they both remained present to my brothers and me.
Let us pray for all families, for strong marriages and caring parents and children.
Peace,
Fr. Jeff