"The family"by Bishop William S. Skylstad (From the January 18, 2001 edition of the Inland Register)
The Vietnamese come together on this special day on the Sunday after Christmas for Eucharist, singing, and a meal. As I mentioned to the community at Mass, we gather on this feast of the Holy Family to remember the inspiration of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. We also come together as families in blood relationships and as a family of faith. I experience a sense of awe when a people from almost half the world away have come here as part of Church family. The great gift of the universality of our Church touches us in many ways and reminds us that we are all sisters and brothers in the Lord Jesus. Our regular families of husbands and wives, parents and children, and extended family are such an important part of our lives. All of us are deeply rooted in our families with their traditions, struggles, joys, and sorrows. For me personally, these last few months have been somewhat unusual. In mid-September I presided at the funeral liturgy for my youngest sister in Bellevue, the first funeral in my immediate family since my mother died 34 years ago. On Saturday before Christmas I visited my father in a nursing home in Omak. He still recognizes me, but the piecing together of reality is becoming increasingly difficult for him. On Saturday after Christmas, I presided at the marriage of my nephew and his wife in St. Genevieve Church in Twisp, where I received my First Communion and was confirmed by Bishop White. All of us can share our unique stories and journeys as well. They are deeply ingrained in our life’s journey. These memories and celebrations become very special to us as a source of reflection, gratitude, and inspiration. A culture develops within our family life, and certainly there are cultures that are part of family life in general. Some aspects of the culture here in America have not been particularly kind to families and family life. In his World Day of Peace message (Jan. 1), Pope John Paul II speaks about culture: “A culture which no longer has a point of reference in God loses its soul and loses its way, becoming a culture of death.... Individuals come to maturity through receptive openness to others and through generous self-giving to them; so too do cultures. Created by people and at the service of people, they have to be perfected though dialogue and communion, on the basis of the original and fundamental unity of the human family as it came from the hands of God....” We indeed must constantly strive to make the family God-centered. The feast of the Holy Family reminds us as well that families live the human condition. In the Gospel for the feast day this cycle we hear the story of Joseph and Mary losing the Christ-child, who is back in the temple in Jerusalem. Mary clearly is hurt: “Why have you done this to us?” Every family has its struggles and joys. Through all of this God works through the power of the Holy Spirit to help us become a more holy people. We should not give up on ourselves — or anyone else, for that matter. Families are too precious and important to leave unattended or not cared about. For the past few months in our regional gatherings of priests and pastoral ministers we have been discussing the diocesan policy on marriage as to how we might make it better and how we as Church can help married couples live their sacrament better. Some needs surfacing in the comments are already quite evident even though we have several more meetings yet this late winter. We need to find better ways of involving the parish community in prayer and support for those who are to celebrate their marriage. We have several fine marriage preparation programs available, but we should try to do even more in helping couples place their celebration of the wedding in context of a faith community. Sensitivity to the level of faith for those who approach marriage is a continuing challenge and yet a great opportunity. In the years after marriage, marriage enrichment continues to be very important as we recognize that the wedding is a day and marriage is a lifelong journey of discovery, challenge and growth. Our role as Church, as parish communities, is to help support, encourage and affirm marriage and family life. May the Holy Spirit guide us so we can be good stewards of these precious gifts in our midst.
Bishop Skylstad’s Schedule
Jan. 18: Catholic Cemetery Board Meeting; St. Paschal School Auction
Dinner
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The new millennium has begun, and we have passed through this
Jubilee Year with much gratitude, appreciation, and celebration.
With the beginning of the new year and with the celebration of the
Christmas season coming to a close, I hope we are renewed,
encouraged, and strengthened to continue our journey of faith and
conversion of heart. The Holy Spirit continues to work on us.
Yesterday on the Feast of the Holy Family, I celebrated Eucharist
with the Vietnamese Catholic community in St. Patrick Parish in
Spokane. This has been an annual event for me for the past 10 years.