O
God, who were pleased to give us the shining example of the Holy Family,
graciously grant that we may imitate them in practicing the virtues of family
life and in the bonds of charity, and so, in the joy of your house, delight one
day in eternal rewards.
Today is a fitting day to follow the Fourth Commandment: Honor your father and mother. Of course, this applies to our living and deceased parents.
The consistent teaching of the Church, based on sacred Scripture and Tradition, tells us that the family is an irreplaceable contribution to the good of society. In an eminent
way the family, through responsible motherhood and fatherhood, and the spouses’ unique and singular participation in God’s work of co-creation. Pope Benedict XVI reminds that us that “the
natural family, as an intimate of life and love, based on marriage between a
man and a woman, constitutes ‘the primary place of humanization for the person
and society,’ and ‘a cradle of life and love'” (Message for the Celebration
of the World Day of Peace 2008).