
Holy Family
Christmas – Season of Promise
It takes a village to raise a family, they say, but the reverse is also true. It takes a family to raise a village. God knew what he was doing when he put us into families. Kids fare better when raised by their mother and father in a family setting. They don’t fare as well in an institutional setting.
Babies need to be held, cuddled, sung to, talked to. They need a gaze to meet their gaze. This helps them develop the part of their brain that forms relationships. Without this nurturing babies not only fail to thrive, but can have serious attachment disorders leading to anti-social behavior.
Mom needs someone to support her in her role as nurturer, someone to provide for and protect her and her children so that she can be free to fulfill her role as nurturer and care-giver. While mom and dad may share these roles, it still takes two to manage it.
When you look at the cost to society of divorce, single parent households, children growing up in households without the stability of married parents, in terms of crime and the prison population, it just makes sense that the village community needs the family.
Families need the assistance of the village in order to successfully raise responsible adults, but the village definitely needs the family! Social science is finally catching on – God knew what He was doing when He put us into families.
The Lord God said: “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him.” Genesis 2:18
This post is part of a series of reflections on the Church year. Click here to follow blog
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