Holy Family Sunday. Today’s readings: Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14 / 1 Samuel 1:20-22, 24-28; Psalm 128:1-5; Colossians 3:12-21 / 1 John 3:1-2, 21-24; Luke 2:41-52.
The public consultation document A Social Plan for the Family (2024-2030) acknowledges the family as the cornerstone of society, shaping individuals and contributing to collective well-being. Through the principles of social well-being, diversity and resilience it aims at empowering society and family units with the necessary skills to address structural and relational inequalities in the face of various challenges. These include, among others, Malta’s declining fertility rate, an increasingly ageing population, economic barriers, caregiving responsibilities and gender inequality, unhealthy relational dynamics, and housing affordability. Indeed, a collective effort is needed to support the family to flourish amid adversity.
Strategically addressing the multifaceted nature of family dynamics and its pivotal role in society is essential to offer a nurturing framework for stronger communities in a perpetually shifting environment.
A useful resource for professionals working with families, The Handbook of Systemic Family Therapy (4 vols. 2020), uses systemic theory to look at families as an ordered whole, a system that is more than a collection of individuals. Rather than paying attention only on individual behaviours or concerns, Systemic Family Theory (SFT), as a category of psychotherapy, investigates the complex and varied interconnectivity and interdependencies of family life in evaluation of patterns of interaction within the family system.
Effectively, the family is an interdependent system where each member influences and is influenced by others; indeed, behaviour affects and is affected by others. Hence, family members are empowered to establish healthier connections and increase understanding and cooperation by recognising and changing discouraging dynamics. SFT acknowledges also that patterns, values, and behaviours pass down through generations and keep ongoing both beneficial and detrimental cycles.
It is by the power of communication and symbolic practices, which fortify bonds and provide meaning, that families can create stronger futures by reflecting on intergenerational patterns, along with understanding how past dynamics impact present relationships.
Communication and symbolic practices help in adapting to change and face stressors with resilience. Each member in this system encompasses distinct roles that, when balanced according to appropriate boundaries, facilitate family functioning.
The biblical reading options for today’s Holy Family liturgy offer practical basic universal principles for navigating the many situations of contemporary family life. In order to foster healthy connections within a variety of family setups, these basic principles lay an increased emphasis on communication, adaptability, as well as mutual respect and care.
While St Paul’s letter to the Colossians promotes healthy communication and mutual understanding in a spirit of compassion and patience, the Book of Sirach calls for positive, supportive relationships through the precept of honouring parents. All of these elements contribute to the well-being of both individuals and the system as a whole, where roles, boundaries, and flexibility ensure the balancing of arising requirements.
While forgiveness and love, as highlighted in Colossians, are instruments for healing and overcoming detrimental unhealthy patterns as well as harmful cycles, honouring one’s parents in Sirach ensures the creation of a legacy of equity and growth in the virtue of gratitude and fortitude rather than resilience.
While Jesus’s relationship with his parents in Luke 2 demonstrates how expectations and instructions do not suffocate the appreciation of uniqueness in the need for individuality, Hannah’s story in 1 Samuel highlights the importance of fortitude, hope and gratitude, necessary for family unity, opening a path for future progression in line with God’s plan.
Sacred Scriptures tell us that having faith in God in the context of home, particularly in times of hardship, gives us courage and hope, while also allowing us to use adaptive approaches like honest discourse, emotional backing, and common objectives to navigate life’s complexities and struggles from internal and societal pressures and dynamics. Strong communication, respect, adaptability, and balance of boundaries are essential to a family’s functioning in the diversity of situations and structures families face today.