English
EspañolFamily time is not a means to simply pass the time. The family consists of sowing the best of human love in the present and harvesting it the following day.
Text
“All family life is a “shepherding” in mercy. Each of us, by our love and care, leaves a mark on the life of others (…) Each of us is (…)a farmer who tills the fresh soil of those whom he or she loves, seeking to bring out the best in them. Marital fruitfulness involves helping others, for “to love anybody is to expect from him something which can neither be defined nor foreseen; it is at the same time in some way to make it possible for him to fulfil this expectation.” (The Joy of Love, n.322)
Commentary
As a family, each of us – especially the parents – cares for the others as a shepherd cares for each sheep. Like gardeners, who know each type of soil and how to cultivate it so that it will bear more fruit, we sow values in the hope that each one, at some point, will bear fruit.
Raquel and Mario have four children. She recounts: “During the adolescence of two of my children, I felt terrible. Mario and I had worked hard to raise them. I even gave up my career to dedicate myself to them, and I have done so for all these years. However, adolescence and the start of college arrived, and it was as if those two children began to reject everything we had given them. I thought we had worked in vain; I began to wonder where we had failed with them. Mario and I were puzzled. We started going to family counseling and were advised to be patient and wait for the waters to return to their proper course. There were moments of tension in dealing with these children, but we generally maintained the same closeness with them as with the others, the usual closeness. One of them finished his degree and started working. At the same time, we noticed that he was changing and “returning to his old self.” The other one went to study for a master’s degree outside of town, and we noticed the same thing: that he was returning to his “usual” self. Both have given us great joy. Moral of the story: parents do not sow in vain. Everything remains, even if it does not seem so. Have a lot of trust and hope in our children because when we least expect it, they will pleasantly surprise us.”
