Friday, November 20, 2015

FAILING FAMILIES

FAILING FAMILIES 

                Tom told his friend Alex, “I am going to divorce my wife.”
Alex asked, “Why? Whose fault is it?
 Tom said, “50% of the fault is my wife’s.”
“Then whose is the other 50%?”  Alex asked.
Tom replied, “That is her mother’s !”
                A little boy was studying his lessons at home. His mother was cooking in the kitchen. He asked her, “Mommy, can divorce come before marriage?” She said, “Never.” He continued, "But Mommy, see this book. Here divorce appears before marriage."

 She examined the book and explained with a smile, “But that is a dictionary, dear. It never happens in real life.”
                A teacher asked the students of a Sunday school to list the seven Sacraments in a note book as part of a test. One student spelt matrimony as ‘MATRIMONEY’. The teacher asked him why he made this mistake. He replied, “It is not a mistake. That is the way it should be written, because many people consider ‘MONEY to be the most important component of married life. Financial problems may disturb a family. Differences in opinion and outlook are natural when two different persons live together. Problems can be solved easily by a free and frank discussion in an atmosphere of love. Instead, minor problems may grow and assume larger dimensions when others get involved in it and complicate the situation. Many quarrels which start on minor  issues may flare up, leading to violence or divorce.
                Man was created in the image of God. The first family was created by God in the image of heaven. It is God’s wish that every family should remain as a heaven of happiness. Real happiness results only when there is close co-operation and mutual respect between partners. Otherwise the better half becomes the bitter half. In several oriental Christian churches, during the sacrament of matrimony, the priest adorns both the husband and the wife with the matrimonial ring. It symbolizes that the spouse is received from God. Matrimony is thus a union of three - the husband, wife and God. Marriages are conceived in heaven and celebrated on earth. The ideal family is an image of heaven.
                Husband and wife are equal before God and have equal rights and responsibilities to make their family a heaven of happiness. They should render hearty support to each other even during disappointment, disability, discomfort, distress, disease or disaster. Matrimony is a sacred sacrament, a source of divine grace. Marital partners participate in God's act of creation. Their attitudes and actions should be complementary and not contradictory. The five letters in the word ‘FAMILY’ represent the first letters of the words in the meaningful phrase- ‘Father And Mother In Love, Year-round’.
                 Marital love is a great gift of God. It should be active year-round. It should be active, constant, continuous and equally strong during all seasons of the year - lasting till the last moment of life.
                To the Pharisees’ question about divorce, Jesus answered, “Man must not separate, then, what God has joined together” {Matthew 19: 4 – 6, Mark 10: 9}.






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© By: Prof. Dr. Babu Philip, Former Professor, Cochin University of Science & Technology, Fine Arts Avenue, Kochi-682016, Kerala, India, Prof. Mrs. Rajamma Babu, Former Professor, St. Dominic's College, Kanjirappally,  Leo. S. John, St. Antony's Public School,  Anakkal, Kanjirappally and Neil John, Alfeen Public School, Kanjirappally, Kerala, India.  For more moral stories, parables and anecdotes for students, catechists, teachers and preachers, kindly visit our web-sites:
                         This is Story No. 339 in the second site. Please click ‘Older Posts’ at the bottom of a page to read previous stories and click 'Newer Posts' at the bottom of a page to read newer stories in these sites. Please click on a word in the 'Story Themes' to read stories on that theme.

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