Today we celebrate the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. We imagine their happy, loving home as a prayerful place of wholesome work and togetherness. Pope Francis said, “The family of Nazareth is holy because it was centered on Jesus.” Here a few ideas to help you consider how to center your family on Christ.
First, if we are parents or grandparents, then we can strive to grow in our own discipleship and spiritual leadership. When we make attending Mass, praying, and serving others in Christ’s name a priority, our children will naturally see our efforts and imitate them. They will especially see if doing so brings us joy or whether it’s a chore. A good resource for developing your spiritual leadership is the book Head & Heart: Becoming Spiritual Leaders for Your Family, by Katie Warner. It offers practical ways to approach leading your family to heaven, whether you have been doing it for years or are just discovering the call to lead.
Developing a family mission statement is another way to center your family on Christ. You can work together with the members of your family to write down your shared values and guiding principles. According to leadership and family expert Stephen Covey, “A family mission statement is a combined, unified expression from all family members of what your family is all about—what it is you really want to do and be—and the principles you choose to govern your family life.” If you’re seeking to place Christ at the center of your family, this will be expressed in your family mission statement. Covey has an excellent book on building up the family and creating a mission statement: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families.
Finally, we can center our families on Christ is by seeking to become less self-centered. Imagine a circle where each member of the family has placed themselves in the center. For each individual, the focus is about them and their needs. This creates discord, correct? Now imagine that your family shares a vision of your family where Jesus is in the center. Now you all strive to serve and love Him and others, and His peace reigns. As a family, consider brainstorming some ways to build the virtue of selflessness and thinking of others—especially Jesus—first.
Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, pray for us that we can center our families on Christ in all that we do.
Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved,
heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another,
if one has a grievance against another;
as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do.
And over all these put on love,
that is, the bond of perfection.
And let the peace of Christ control your hearts,
the peace into which you were also called in one body. And be thankful. ~Colossians 3: 11-15