COVID-19 has brought the world to a standstill and the family members together in their home. With the lockdown the working parents are now in a position to spend quality time with their kids. Otherwise the working parents are engrossed in their work and caught up with hustle-and-bustle of everyday activities. The children are deprived of parental care, love and attention as the parents are preoccupied with their routine jobs. Home is the first school of kids where the values of life are instilled in them by their beloved parents. Parents are the first teachers of the children. The child learns the basic things at home: to talk, to walk, to eat, to love and respect elders, parents and siblings and etiquette. It is in the family environment that we grow physically, psychologically and spiritually nurtured by love, care and affection of the family members. Family is the nucleus of civilization and the primordial cell of society. It forms the root of human relationships. Cardinal Robert Sarah in his book ‘God or Nothing’ says: “Family is the melting pot of the values that irrigate the whole culture, the place where customs, wisdom, and moral principles are handed down, the cradle of unconditional love.” According to his mind the family lays the foundations on which we construct the building of our life. Without the family, the society does not exist anymore.
With COVID-19 emergency and subsequent lockdown, the families around the world experience moments of togetherness, bonding and filial affection. On March 18 as Coronavirus spread out to Italy and elsewhere Pope Francis gave an exclusive interview to an Italian daily newspaper ‘La Repubblica.’ He said in this interview: “During these difficult days we can find small, concrete gestures expressing closeness and concreteness towards the people closest to us, a caress for our grandparents, a kiss for our children, for the people we love. These are important, decisive gestures. If we live these days like this, they won’t be wasted.” COVID-19 emergency is an occasion for us to rediscover the concreteness of small things, small gestures of attention we can offer those close to us, our family, our friends, our relatives and our neighbours. The gestures of tenderness, kindness and affection for each other will culminate into harmonious living. During these trying times let us have a hot meal with family members reinvigorating the inter-personal relationships etc.These familiar gestures will create a communion and strengthen the family ties.
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The family members often eat with great silence. While eating the father and mother are busy watching television revelling with their favourite TV serials and the children are busy on their mobile phones. They look like monks disconnected and isolated from each other. Jesus Christ shared meals with his apostles on the same table to foster fellowship, relationship and friendship among the apostles. The table fellowship Jesus promoted could be applied in our homes to strengthen our family ties. The pain of these terrible days should open us up to the discovery of personal charm and extraordinary generosity and to the discovery of potential of great energy in us; energy to love and serve others, energy to do philanthropic works for the betterment of the society. Let us celebrate the family, the sanctuary of love and life.
