“The Lord is Risen! He is truly Alive!”
From the earliest times in the Church, this is how Christians would greet each other during the Easter Season. Such was the joy of Christ’s Resurrection from the dead. Are we still filled with that joy? Does Jesus’ resurrection still mean something in your life? It should make all the difference in your life.
If Easter has just become another holiday, then perhaps it means that you need to invite Christ and the Holy Spirit into your life to revive it with the joy of the resurrection. You will not be alone. Sadly, in recent years it has been noted that revival is greatly needed throughout the Church. Often it is called the “new evangelization” -- not necessarily proclaiming the Good News to people who have never heard of Jesus, but rather proclaiming the Good News to those who identify themselves as Christian, but for whom the flame of faith has become faint.
With an eye towards this new evangelization, the Knights of Columbus kicked off a new endeavor called “Building the Domestic Church.” It really kicked off last December, but since I just stumbled across it, I thought I would start sharing the monthly reflections; and I am going to get copies of the Knights of Columbus’ booklet, “The Family Fully Alive” Building the Domestic Church to leave in the back of the churches.
What do we mean by the term “domestic church”? St. John Chrysostom taught that the “domestic church” means much more than just the space where the family would gather to pray. He said that to make one’s home the domestic church the family must “make your home into a church where all, even the smallest ones, must feel actively committed to seeking the message of the Word of God and to living it together.” In his work, On the Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World, St. John Paul II writes, “The family has the mission to guard, reveal and communicate love, and this is a living reflection of and a real sharing in God’s love for humanity and the love of Christ the Lord for the Church His bride.” He exhorts “family, become what you are.”
This involves living out our baptismal promise, as a family. In baptism we each became priest, prophet, and king, so as disciples of Christ we must live those roles.
The priestly mission of the family is lived by praying together and offering the family’s daily life and activities to God. Of course this involves teaching younger children their prayers, but prayer is more than just these formal, ritual prayers. Prayer is the act of directing our mind and heart to God with the help of the Holy Spirit. It is the personal relationship with Christ where we bring Him our struggles, doubts, fears, and uncertainties. Children develop a personal relationship with Jesus, by watching their parents live their personal relationship with Jesus. All of this reaches its summit by going as a family each week to Mass to receive the Eucharist.
The prophetic mission of the family is lived out by bearing witness to the truth of Faith. It is natural for children to look towards their parents for guidance and explanation, so parents have the grave responsibility of teaching them about what is true. This is not only in terms of practical and academic knowledge, but also in providing a solid catechesis in the reality of Jesus Christ and opportunities for practicing the virtues. This witness does not stop within the confines of the family; it must become a witness for the whole world. Sharing one’s faith is not an imposition, rather it is a sharing with another person a great good that one has discovered.
Finally, the kingly mission of the family is to charitably serve the Church and the world, just as Christ the King. Pope Francis has called families to live together in charity; not just charity as a form of dutiful service meeting the immediate physical needs of people. Rather Christian charity is the joyful love one ones neighbors, grounded in the love of God, which seeks to heal human misery. Families can do this in many ways; by joining a charitable organization, by participating in the local parish’s ministries, or even by going on a mission trip.
In the end, to live the Risen Christ as a domestic church, a family must deliberately welcome God into its home. Will you?