"In the Gospels, the assembly of Jesus takes the form of a family and of a hospitable family, not an exclusive, closed sect: there we find Peter and John, but also the hungry and the thirsty, the stranger and the persecuted, the sinner and the tax collector, the pharisee and the multitude."
The pope added, "And Jesus never stops accepting and speaking to everyone … that is an important lesson for the church! We could say that the family and the parish are the two places where the communion of love, which finds its ultimate source in God, takes place."
(Read more of Pope Francis' comments on the family in the free ebook "Pope Francis and the Family," available here.)
Pope St. John Paul II often referred to families as "little churches." When we were named a parish, the headline in the NC Catholics Magazine was "A family becomes a parish."
Ask around, especially if you are new to Mother Teresa Catholic Church. We offhandedly refer to our parish as a "family." With the celebration of The Nativity of the Lord, the Feast of the Holy Family, and the Solemnity of Mary happening this time of year, it's interesting to reflect on this.
Sometimes, we say "community," but we are more than that. We're a "family" by the traditional definition because we’ve "grown up" together over many years. We made mistakes along the way but worked them out.
We educate our children and care for them. We care for our needy and infirm.
We eat meals together, celebrate events, and have special traditions. We take joy in our milestones. In 2023, every day was a new one.
We hug one another. We mourn our losses together.
We even rented a place before we could afford a mortgage!
When we look around at the sign of peace on Sundays (we now cover a lot of ground since the pandemic limited the handshaking), you often know the faces, don’t you? You likely know many of the names.
Also, you likely cried with, laughed with, argued with, ate with, labored with, helped out or received help from, celebrated with, and prayed with many of them. If not, we make a point of welcoming those we do not know. A family.
In the end, all families have the same goal. To help each other get to heaven. Happy New Year.