by Michelle Herberger
February is the month when many celebrate LOVE. It is full of hopes for romantic dinners and a display of gifts that seemingly prove that real love exists. Although it can be fun to engage in the celebration, it can also be a time of disillusionment for those whose lives are not full of hearts and flowers, but simply ordinary daily events.
Scripture tells us in 1 John 4 that God is love and it is through that love we know God. What, then, makes the ordinary holy and what does holy mean? To be holy is to be grateful for oneself and the gift of life and to be enthusiastic about life. The expression of that enthusiasm can be found in humor and laughter. It can be found in compassion and understanding, in forgiveness, and in the act of loving and being loved. Through these acts of holiness we experience love and thus experience God.
In family life, holiness can appear chaotic. The commitment to marriage, especially when it is difficult or even “boring” is holy. The struggle to be family in a culture that touts individualism is holy. Families are holy when they learn to forgive and invest time and effort in facing their problems and doing something about them.
This kind of holy love is all around us on a daily basis. It is just a matter of recognizing it. Some examples can be seen when:
- You pick your child up from after school care and provide dinner
and do homework when you are tired after a long day - When you bring back the trash cans for an elderly neighbor
- When you listen to another’s struggles when your day had its own
- When you supervise your child’s use of technology
- When you check in with your aging parent.
These ordinary acts of love are only a few of those that surround us daily and not simply the one day in February. We have much to celebrate.
Archdiocese Of Louisville Family Ministries 