Pro-life activist Father Ted Colleton has been known to draw on other sources when preparing his regular column for The Interim. Perhaps in this season of giving, it is appropriate that we draw on Father Ted for a reflection on the Christmas season.
The following passage about the family is taken from an audio cassette prepared by Gather Ted on the real meaning of Christmas. The message is especially meaningful as we celebrate Emmanuel – God with us.
“What is the family? The family is an institution founded by God, with order, pattern and relationship. Marriage is not just a contract, it is a covenant based on love. You make a contract when buying a car, or house or a horse. But there is not usually very much love in it. Bit marriage is a loving agreement to live together, to raise a family. If that is God’s will and to grow in love of God and each other until death do them part.
“The family is a community, a unified body of individuals. Christ told us that a husband and wife become one flesh, and the children are very much part of that community. The Christian family is meant to be Christ-centred.
“Marriage is not a 50/50 deal it is 100 per cent on each side. Now there should be communication in the family, in spite of the inevitable differences of opinion which happen in any normal family. The family should be characterized by peace, and love and joy. Family meals should be occasions which are enjoyable, not kinds of court cases.
“Now, I want to talk particularly about the mother…We have all heard the old saying: ‘The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.’ In the past the hand that rocked the cradle was invariably the mother but we are les assured of that today. Women have been given by God and by nature a gift which Eve never completely shared with Adam, which is the gift of maternal love. This maternal instinct expresses itself in love and self sacrifice. Of course the father has a very important part to play but nobody can take the place of the mother particularly during the early years. We do not need psychologists and psychiatrists to tell us this. It has been recognized since the earliest times, in the most primitive tribes.”
