“DREAMS IN THE FAMILY”[1]
By Rev. Jeric C. Cortado,
Southern Philippines Methodist Colleges, Inc. (SPMCI)
One of the Monday Morning
Praise and Prayer in our school, our SPMCI President Prof. Framer Cristy P.
Mella shared her experiences during her Christmas vacation at Lake Sebu, South
Cotabato. She met the one of our country’s treasure, an old woman named “Lang
Dulay”, who was awarded in the international and national level because of her
gift on designing T’nalak. Our president asked her where did she get her ideas
of designing T’nalak and she humbly replied, “I’ve seen it in my dreams.” For
her, dreams are very important sources of inspiration to sustain our journey as
a family and a community. This is also the point that Pope Francis wanted us to
ponder during his visit - a dreams in the family. The Pope stressed in his speech
that parents dreams of their sons and daughters in the womb for 9 month and they
dream of how they will be. This is grace or gift that when we lose this capacity,
according him, we lose our capacity to love. In our current situation today
that a family are confronting a lot of issues and struggling family problems, Pope
Francis pointed out that solutions may come up when the family will have time
to reflect and to dream, or to revisit their dreams they have from the start.
Pope Francis emphasized the three
qualities that sustain our family to be strong enough to confront issues and
problem. First, resting in the Lord,
which is essential for family’s spiritual health that would lead us to have a
clear hearing of God’s voice and understand what God asked for us. It
challenged us to make our home a God’s Temple, making time each day for prayer,
and contemplation about the will of God for us. He further stressed that it is
a family that we first learn how to pray, and learn how to learn. We learn to
move beyond our own needs, to reach out others and share them the grace we have
experienced with God through our family bonding. Second, rising with Jesus and Mary, like Joseph, which means, once we have
heard the voice of God we must get up and act. It is said that faith without
work is dead because faith is the manifestation that you really heard the voice
of God. The manifestation that you really listen to the voice of God is your
action. In our present time where family is threatened to the new ideology
which is trying to destroy family bonding, we are called to recognize the
dangers and protect our family from those. And third, the Pope Francis reminds
us of our Christian duty to be a
prophetic voice in the midst of our communities. Like what Mary and Joseph
did to Jesus, they played a great part to God’s plan of salvation. Mary and
Joseph became a good model for Jesus that he grew in wisdom, age and grace. It
means that when family brings children into the world, we see to it that they
become liberating elements in our society and that through them God’s love and
justice is active and present.
The speech of Pope Francis
reminded us as a family, to be a visible expression of God’s love to all
creations. And keeping our dreams for our family as a guide and thus keep us
sustain in doing the sacramental ministry of the family. Amen.
[1] A
Reflection Paper based on the Speech of Pope Francis during his visit and
meeting with the families held at the Mall of Asia arena in Manila,
Philippines, Friday, January 16, 2015
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