What's your family's focus?

It sometimes seems as if some people are actually
looking and listening for opportunities to be
offended. It often seems that way in politics. It can
feel that way at some family gatherings. It can also
be like that in Church.

On the Feast of the Holy Family, in addition to the
Gospel account of the Flight into Egypt, the Church
offers readings that are full of opportunities for
these happy grumblers, using words like "authority,"
"subordinate," and "obey" as part of guidelines for
family relationships.

The grumblers, of course, miss the point. In their
full context, the readings show that what makes a
family tick are not power games but mutual care and
respect. As St. Paul says,

Put on, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved,
heartfelt compassion, kindness,
humility, gentleness, and patience,
bearing with one another and forgiving one another...

If we keep that focus in our families, we will never
have an opportunity or a need to be offended.