This weekend’s Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
the Mother of God, offers each of us an occasion for
recognizing and appreciating the treasure that is family.
Perhaps this special day might also prompt us to consider how
well we are tending to that treasure. Fortunately, most of us
value the gift of family and understand its nuclear and
essential importance for both society and the Church.
Unfortunately, however, some of us become caught up in the
exigencies of daily living and do not take the time to tend to
the treasure that is ours. For this reason, therefore, the Church
puts before us selections from scripture intended to renew and
deepen our familial commitments.
Those among us old enough to remember might also
recall and learn a lesson from a song that Harry Chapin made
popular several years ago. The Cat’s in the Cradle was a
ballad about the relationship between a father, who spent his
time and energies making a successful living, and a son who
asked to be able to share in his father’s life. “When are you
coming home, Dad?” the son would repeatedly ask, only to
receive the reply, “I don’t know when. But we’ll get together
then.” As the boy grew to manhood and the father grew wiser,
he began to pose the same question, “When are you coming
home, Son?” only to receive the sadly predictable reply, “I
don’t know when, Dad. But we’ll get together then.”
Chapin’s song reminds us that THEN may never actually
come! Therefore, we are challenged to take the time NOW to
tend to the treasure of family.
Priest, author and storyteller, William J. Bausch, tells the
story of a lawyer who lived a considerable distance from her
elderly father. Months had passed since they had been
together and when her father called to ask when she might
visit, the daughter detailed a list of reasons that prevented her
from taking the time to see him, for example, court schedule,
meetings, new clients, research, etc., etc. At the end of her
recitation, the father asked, “When I die, do you intend to
come to my funeral?” The daughter’s response was
immediate, “Dad, I can’t believe you’d ask that! Of course,
I’ll come!” To which the father relied, “Good! Forget the
funeral and come; I need you more now than I will then!”