THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF CHRISTIAN FAMILIES TO MISSION

SATURDAY, THIRTY SECOND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

3 Jn 5-8; Ps 112:1-6; Lk 18:1-8

The Family as a Cradle of Prayer Life

We come to the end of our reflection on the Christian family as a basic unit of the Church. The readings bring two essential roles of the Christian family to our minds. The first is the openness of the Christian family to visitors. The second is the material and spiritual contributions of Christian families to evangelisation. The two are well understood as an aspect of the mission of the Church to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If the Church has a divine mission to the world, all Christian families share in this mission of the Church. This universal mission also belongs to every Christian. The meaning of the universal mission to preach the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ opens every part of the Church to the world. One cannot close his arms or door to the same person he is to evangelise with the Gospel. Hence, Christian families, by constitution and mission, must open their doors to visitors, for the Lord has mandated her also to preach the Gospel to all. The entertainment of visitors provides an opportunity to share the Gospel with those who enter the family. The Christian family is a sanctuary of love, as we have understood it through the week. Since love is the greatest witness of the Gospel message, the good reception of visitors in our families provides a witness of the Gospel to visitors. St. John expressed this conviction in his letter. “My friend, you have done faithful work in looking after these brothers, even though they were complete strangers to you. They are a proof to the whole Church of your charity and it would be a very good thing if you could help them on their journey in a way that God would approve.”

The ability to open the doors of our families to visitors requires a lot of faith and maturity, which comes with love. It is another important expression of the sacrifice God calls the Christian family to be. When we open the doors of our families to visitors, the gesture expresses our willingness to share ourselves and our resources with them. This loving gesture is indeed Christian. The sacrifice is a perfection of faith in love because it makes us resemble God, who invites us to participate in his life by sending his Only Begotten Son in our human nature. The open doors of our churches powerfully symbolise this gesture. John made a special mention of those who devote their lives to preaching the Gospel. The Christian families share in their apostolate by the arms of charity they extend to them. These people represent the Church on the mission. The Christian families participate in their work of evangelization by the reception and the gifts they give them. “It was entirely for the sake of the name that they set out, without depending on the pagans for anything; it is our duty to welcome men of this sort and contribute our share to their work for the truth.” When a family cannot make material contributions to the missionary course and has no opportunity to entertain missionaries in their home, the spiritual gift of prayer is invaluable.

The Lord emphasised the need to pray earnestly and consistently for our various intentions. We consider the intention for mission among the important intentions we must all pray for. The Christian families make invaluable contributions to the missionary course of the Church through their prayers for the missionaries and the success of their work. The prayer intention for successful missionary work among those who are yet to believe in God is contained in the prayer of our Lord for the coming of the kingdom of God. Thus, the Lord encourages us to pray for this intention. “Now will not God see justice done to his chosen who cry to him day and night even when he delays to help them? I promise you, he will see justice done to them, and done speedily.” The justice we pray for in the missionary intention is to have souls created by God willingly make themselves his loyal subjects. The Christian families who consistently pray for this intention show strong faith in God. The offering of our goods and services is part of corporal works of mercy, while the offering of our prayers is a spiritual work of mercy. Riches and wealth are indeed in the house of those who fear the Lord and take delight in his commands.

Let us pray: Almighty and merciful God, graciously keep from us all adversity, so that, unhindered in mind and body alike, we may pursue in freedom of heart the things that are yours. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.