THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Her Doctrine and Morals The Holy Family 12 January 2014

The Sunday Sermon

Dear Friend,

". . . And He was subject to them." Today we see that God was subject to Mary, and God and Mary were both subject to St. Joseph. The Creator was subject to His creatures. What humility for our imitation. What honor and privilege for Mary and Joseph. God has venerated Mary and Joseph. Can we go wrong in imitating Him in venerating them? 

So many times we look upon obedience as a heavy and intolerable burden in our lives. To be a subject, employee, servant, or slave is considered the lowest of degradations by men. How hard we work to be freed from such positions, or in our charity to assist others to be freed from such subjection! The laborer saves for the time of retirement when he may put off the necessity of daily labor. The child is taught to seek higher stations in life where he may exert little effort with maximum reward. Labor has become almost a dirty word. 

The menial tasks of the common laborer are looked down upon and despised, and so often the laborer himself is despised because he is doing these tasks. All honest labor is noble and worthwhile in the eyes of God. The lowly and the menial honest worker is the place that God had chosen for Himself when He came upon this earth. A life of humility and obedience is the life of the King of kings! How strange it is that we who are dust and ashes think we deserve to command, when God desired to obey. 

What the world despises, God honors. What the world honors, God despises. There is much for our consideration here. We are all children, we are all subjects, we should therefore imitate Him in humble and ready submission to those whom He has placed over us. 

We have somehow come to believe that the right to demand respect and obedience is something that is based upon merit or worthiness. There is nothing further from the truth. Joseph was the least in dignity and merit; nonetheless he was given the position of head of the Holy Family. While it is true that God gives grace to those who must command, and that if they cooperate with Him, they will be a great blessing to those around them, and to the world at large; the position of authority is one of burden, when we consider it from the spiritual viewpoint. Those in authority must give an account for themselves as well as for all those who are subject to them. The one who is subject must only give an account of himself. 

The safest position spiritually is that of the subject and the most dangerous spiritual position is that of superior. Jesus came to this earth to show us the way to grace and salvation. The example that He gives us is that of obedience, humility, patience, meekness. These are not the signs of spiritual inferiority or of spiritual weakness; on the contrary, these are signs of the greatest spiritual superiority and strength. It takes great intestinal fortitude and character to conform one's will to another's. Spiritual nobility rests in the subject rather than in the king. 

The greatest and safest path for our salvation is in the lowly and humble work of obedience. In fact, it is even said in the world that before someone is able to lead and command, he must first learn to follow and obey. 

The fourth commandment, "Honor your father;" speaks of all authority. We must honor all authority, because all authority comes from God. We honor those that God has placed over us, not because they are better than we are, but because God has commanded us to do so. Sometimes there are those in authority that are bad, or incompetent, etc. we honor them nonetheless, because God has commanded it, even though they may be personally unworthy of such honor. 

We cannot go wrong in learning of Jesus Who is meek and humble of heart. Nor can we spiritually fail if we imitate Him in honest labors of obedience. Superiors may go wrong in commanding something against God's will, but the subject cannot spiritually fail when rendering obedience to the superior (obedience in all things except sin). When the subject obeys, sacrificing his own will, he follows the path of Jesus and then becomes more like Him. The will of the superior is therefore secondary to the subject's willing sacrifice of his own will for the love of God. It is God's desire that we sacrifice our own wills; and as long as the subject does this with a proper intention, he gains merit. The superior in commanding others to obey him and to do his will can only gain merit if all that he commands is good and in conformity to God's will. 

In honoring the Holy family, we honor authority, and obedience. We venerate parenthood and authority as God Himself has done. The best way to honor authority is not in seeking authority for ourselves, but in humbly obeying all authority for the love of God. Predominately though, we see the dignity and majesty of submission and obedience in the Christ child. We see the Greatest has chosen the least place. We are called Christians, let us always seek to follow Christ; especially in His humble and ready obedience to all authority. If everyone would seek to faithfully obey all authority for the love of God, many evils of the world would be eradicated, and families would become truly holy families.