OUR PARISH CELEBRATION OF FAMILY FAITH AND FUN

This weekend we have our annual Family Faith and Fun Day. It is an opportunity for us to pay attention to the basic unit of society and church, the family, the “Domestic Church,” the “Church of the Home.” We all were born into and grew up within a family. Our basic sense of personal security and identity was shaped within our family of origin. We learned what it meant to be a human being, how to share, forgive, support, and love unselfishly. We also learaned the important lessons of working together to make good things happen, and to accept and learn even from failure. The bonds of family give us nurturance, security, and  a sense of belonging. From the religious perspective, family is the first place that we learn the most important truth, that we are created and loved by God, and have a mission and purpose in this world. Family faith, practiced regularly, becomes a good habit that will  support us through life’s triumphs and tragedies.

Here at Saint Joan of Arc, all of the families work hard to live and pass on our faith. We do so while recognizing the pressures, tensions and difficulties that are also a part of family life. Concerns of finances, job security, health, marital happiness, issues of maturity and aging, child-rearing stresses etc. all require strength and courage. It is with faith, however, that they are manageable and may even be the source of development in character and virtue. It is not easy to be a “counter cultural” family of faith that worships and loves God, and cares for neighbors. Christian life today really has an element of struggle and disconnect with a culture that is non-believing, secularized, and materialistic. More important than all that, however, we have to celebrate the vitality and endurance of the “Family of Faith” of today. So we come together to support one another, and to have fun together. Our Day for Faith and Family Fun.

Our “Celebration of Faith and Fun” brings us together for a morning and early afternoon in order to have fun and enjoy God’s great gift of “Play.” We know that without play we tire, lose enthusiasm, creativity and a zest for living. Play gets us out of the world of work, routine, the predictable and the boring. When we play we live in a different world of spontaneity, creativity, freedom, and the time out of time that we call “playtime.” This year we have some special physical space challenges as we continue with our pastoral plan for buildings and grounds. However, this year for the first time we will have fun in the newly air-conditioned Gazebo even if it is humid or hot outside. We may not be able to have the “Titanic” bounce house or some of the other rides but we will still have lots of energy to burn off and kids to run and jump.

As adults we can participate directly or vicariously in the events of “Family, Faith and Fun Day.” But most of all, we are filled with joy as we see our children  with painted faces, engrossed in “musical chairs” or the “ring toss” or the petting zoo. On Saturday, Family Faith and Fun come together and perfectly  complement one another on April 2 in Boca Raton, Florida.

– Msgr. Michael D. McGraw