Our Family of God

     My earthly Father is 100% Maltese, and my earthly Mother is 100% Polish.  That makes me and my seven siblings 50% Maltese, and 50% Polish.  None of us is more Maltese or Polish than the next.  We have done nothing to earn this ethnicity and we have no recourse in changing it.  I am very proud of my heritage and although I physically favor the Maltese side, I feel that I embrace the culture of my Polish ancestry more.  My parents are first generation Americans; English was the only language spoken in our home.  This reality helped me to see what I could not see.

     My heavenly Father is 100% Holy.  "So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matthew 5:48)  All children of God are 100% Holy.  None of us are holier than the next.  We have done nothing to earn this holiness and we have no recourse in changing it.  However, we can choose to embrace the culture of holiness more than our other sisters and brothers.  Jesus IS the Word of God made flesh and He speaks the language of love.

     Once I freed myself from the prison of a self-concerned heart, I longed for a true spirit of love to soar within me and my family.  Through scripture and prayer, I was being inspired by the Word of God.  I learned that the Holy Spirit is the love between the Father and the Son.  It is through acts of love that we embrace holiness and encounter life with Jesus and His "perfect" family. 

    Marriage and family life provides multiple opportunities each day to perform acts of love that sanctifies us.  I looked at these daily mundane tasks as drudgery, not blessings. A quote of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta states, "Do small things with great love."  It's all about the language of love.

     I got married to be loved.  My husband got married for the same reason; to be loved.  Servant of God, Catherine Doherty once asked, "If two people get married to be loved, who is going to do the loving?" God's plan for marriage is that each spouse care more about their life-partner than themselves.  In caring for the other, we become holy and a spirit of love is born within our family. 

     God gives us a life-partner to help us get to Heaven.  Our job as parents is to get our children to Heaven. Keeping score of how much I cared and loved compared to how much my husband did, is no longer important to me.  It doesn't matter which team member scores the most, just as long as we win the prize.  "In my Father's house there are many dwelling places.  If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?" (John 14:2)  I believe that God has a family suite for each of us and if we do His will on earth as it is in Heaven, we get a taste  of the fruit of the Spirit now.  It is heavenly!

     While I still look for times of appreciation, I now realize that if I do any good, it comes from our Holy Father and He deserves all the credit.  My wonderful earthly family, and that includes my in-laws, whenever we call for help, they are right there to assist us in our physical needs.  I now know that our Family of God is always waiting for us to call upon them for the spiritual help we need every moment of every day.  "In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." (Galatians 5:22-23)   Come Holy Spirit, Come, and help us value family life!