The civic observance of July 4 brings many families together. This is a good thing. But as people of faith we know that there is a higher reality to family. The Second Vatican Council used the term “domestic church” to describe the Christian family: “From the wedlock of Christians there comes the family, in which new citizens of human society are born, who by the grace of the Holy Spirit received in baptism are made children of God, thus perpetuating the people of God through the centuries. The family is, so to speak, the domestic church. In it parents should, by their word and example, be the first preachers of the faith to their children; they should encourage them in the vocation which is proper to each of them, fostering with special care vocation to a sacred state.” (“Lumen Gentium,” No. 11)

The term “domestic church” can actually be traced back to sacred Scripture and the early Church fathers. For example, the fifth and sixth chapters of the Letter to the Ephesians place the familial relationships of husband and wife, and children to parents, in the context of Christ’s love for the Church.

Some three centuries after Ephesians, St. John Chrysostom called the family a “micra ecclesia” or “little church” and noted that parents and children should become familiar with Scripture, even to the point of having two altars in their home: “one for food and the other for sacred readings.” A few decades after St. John Chrysostom, St. Augustine would call the family a “domestica ecclesia” or “domestic church.” He understood that the father should carry out his duties as head of the family in a way similar to the bishop overseeing the faithful under his care. (cf. Dr. Joseph Atkinson, John Paul II Institute, Washington D.C.)

In the wake of the Second Vatican Council, Pope John Paul II described the family as a “domestic church” or “little church” 14 times in his apostolic exhortation, “On the Christian Family” (“Familiaris Consortio,” 1981). It is noteworthy that Pope John Paul II not only understands that the family carries out its salvific role in the Church by living according to the model of the domestic church, but also that the very understanding of the family as the domestic church belongs to the essence of what it means to be family. (cf. Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi, “The Family: Way of the Church”) In other words, to be a Christian family means to be a domestic church.

What does this mean? First of all, it is clear that the Second Vatican Council fathers intended to make a comparison between the family and the Church. Christ is the one true priest, teacher and shepherd but since, through the sacrament of baptism, everyone shares in the priesthood of Christ, then in a particular way, parents share in Christ’s mission as priest, teacher and shepherd.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “It is here [in the family] that the father of the family, the mother, children and all members of the family exercise the priesthood of the baptized in a privileged way ‘by the reception of the sacraments, prayer and thanksgiving, the witness of a holy life, and self-denial and active charity.’ (LG, 10) Thus, the home is the first school of Christian life and a ‘school for human enrichment.’ (“Gaudium et Spes,” No. 52)”

If we think about this for a moment we can understand the profound significance of the family as the “domestic church.” For example, while the family cannot celebrate Mass, still it is called to common prayer in the home. Father Patrick Peyton used to say: “The family that prays together, stays together.” Thus, gathered together by the father and mother, family members pray together morning and evening prayer, prayer before and after meals, a parental blessing of the children before they go to bed at night or leave the house, praying the rosary or Liturgy of the Hours, prayerful discussion of a brief sacred Scripture text, or other prayers, in addition to weekly participation in Sunday Mass, frequent confession and parish devotions.

The family home resembles the church building. In the heart of the home of a Catholic family, the crucifix will be prominent, the Bible will have a privileged place, as well also a statue or picture of our Blessed Mother — perhaps also a home altar. Parents, as primary educators of their children, resemble the Church’s ministers. Just as the community of faith gathers on Sunday to listen to the Scriptures and to ponder their significance with the help of the homily, so too the father and mother, the “priests” of the family, have the role in the family of gathering their children to listen to the Word, to study the Catechism together and to teach the Catholic faith. (cf. “Feed My Lambs,” The Catholic Herald, June 5, 2004)

Since the Second Vatican Council, in the area of liturgical theology the importance of the assembly has been emphasized. When parishioners assemble for Mass and participate with reverence, taking on the particular roles that are proper to them and contributing to the community, the spiritual life of the parish is strengthened. Likewise, when the family gathers for prayer, meals or other activities, family life prospers. Unfortunately, family life has weakened considerably. Not enough emphasis has been placed on praying together or the importance having meals together or doing other activities together.

May this July 4 weekend be an occasion for our families to gather, recreate and renew relationships and may our families respond with ever greater enthusiasm to their calling as the “domestic church.”

Copyright © 2004 Diocese of Sacramento - All Rights Reserved