God’s presence in one’s home can be seen in countless ways – the tiny acts of service we do for each other, the way we show love for each other, each day, every day. God belongs in the home – that should be obvious – but the truth is that we have trouble seeing the wood for the trees.
Two things, it seems, can stand in the way of our recognising God’s place in our homes. One is simply a reluctance to allow what may feel like an invasion of church into private life. For example some people think that it’s bad manners to talk about religion. Even Mass-going families can be in the habit of leaving their religion at the front door when they enter their homes. It is as though they put it on to go to church and take it off again, with their shoes, when re-entering the domestic sphere.
The second obstacle that can stand in the way of acknowledging the holiness of the home is a much sadder one. It is a feeling that God has no place in a home where there is discord and unhappiness. Nothing could be further from the truth. We need to accept and acknowledge that God is ever-present, especially in the deepest suffering. In fact, it is when there is conflict and unhappiness that we need God most and that he is so near to us.
The truth is: bad things happen to the most unlikely people. Families for whom nothing ever seems to go wrong are not holy. They are simply lucky. The holiness in a family lies in the way crises are dealt with. The way you grapple with problems and difficulties in your every life is holiness in action:
Life
Home is where life begins and where it is treasured. It is where life’s origins are nurtured. It is the place where our attitudes to the sanctity of human life are formed.
Love
Love is what makes a home and family what it is, providing the cement that bonds its individual members.
Service
We do things for our family which are beyond the call of duty. Everyday acts of caring are completely transformed by personal love.
Teaching
Parents are the first and best teachers of their children, not least in how to put their Catholic faith into action, how to live it in their everyday lives.
Witness
The best way to evangelise, to spread the faith, to let people know about the Good News, is to utilise what can be called the ‘When Harry Met Sally’ restaurant-scene effect. Remember…? We want people to look at us Catholics and say, ‘Hmm, I’ll have what they’re having.’ By allowing our faith to influence how we deal with crises in the home and in the family we show the world how deeply valued that faith is.
Fellowship
Simply being there for each other, come what may, is vitally important. We may take it for granted but that does not make it any less valuable. And being there together builds relationship; it builds love. Example: sharing a meal together round the dining table instead of eating in front of the TV.
Prayer
If we don’t pray in the good times, how are you going to pray when things get bad? Prayer needs to be made into something of a habit. Remember the old saying: the family which prays together, stays together.
So, to finish, here are a few ideas for doing just that. Make a point of praying:
All these are ways of not just making our home a holy place but of recognising and reminding ourselves that our home is a holy place anyway.