All Are Equal In Human Dignity

𝐃𝐄𝐂. 𝟐𝟖, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐘 𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐘

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈: 𝐒𝐢𝐫 𝟑:𝟐-𝟔, 𝟏𝟐-𝟏𝟒

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟏𝟐𝟖:𝟏-𝟓 “𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬.”

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐈: 𝐂𝐨𝐥 𝟑:𝟏𝟐-𝟐𝟏

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐓 𝟐:𝟏𝟑-𝟏𝟓, 𝟏𝟗-𝟐𝟑

𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “𝐇𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐍𝐚𝐳𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐧.” (𝐯.𝟐𝟑) 

          Would you believe it if you were told that you live in a world that is out of synch? This statement could either be an exaggeration or an understatement depending on your own appreciation of the situation you are in.

         But all you need to do is to look around and you’ll see the seeming imbalance in the way people relate to one another. The cry of the youth are ignored as their views and opinions do not matter in a world run by adults so it seems.

        Wisdom comes with age, so they say, but the world is in a worst shape today than before because adults who are supposed to be the guiding light of the system we live in conflict with one another and mutual respect is gone. One only has to observe our political environment and you will know what I mean.

        War between countries as well as civil wars that have erupted in several nations and enclaves in North Africa, Central Africa, East Asia and the Middle East may have been caused by one common denominator – lack of respect for one another.

        To a certain extent the tragedy that befell the people of Cebu and Negros was caused by the lack of respect for the studies prepared by the environmental scientists and experts who as early as four years ago have already warned of the growing danger of climate change. There was lack of respect for these warnings because there is no money to be made from such environmental projects compared to the easy money from ghost projects covered by spurious documents.

         Even from within the Church, conflicts arise because of lack of respect for human dignity that is driven by ambition and the insatiable desire to seat in places of honor.

         As we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family, we recall to mind our origins as created beings. Each one of us has been created in the image and likeness of God (𝐆𝐞𝐧 𝟏:𝟐𝟔) and as such, every human being is a reflection of the presence of God in them.

         This brings me to the point I want to make – that we are mandated and obliged to honor, defer, and respect one another because each one of us has a trace of God within us. To respect one another is a way of honoring and respecting God “𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐲 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝; 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡, 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬; 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐦.” (𝐂𝐨𝐥 𝟏:𝟏𝟔)        

         The image of the Holy Family gives us an idea of the kind of bond that keeps Joseph, Mary and Joseph together even amidst the not-so-normal circumstance they were in. Come to think of it, Joseph was going to be the father of a child that was not his own. Mary was to bear and give birth to a child not by natural means but from the mysterious movement of the Holy Spirit. And Jesus whose birth we celebrated a few days ago was not an ordinary person because he was fully divine and fully human.

         But Joseph, Mary and Jesus became a picture of a perfect family because of the love and unity, peace and harmony, trust and respect that they had for one another as members of God’s family. And this was evident when they returned to Nazareth where in the years that followed, Jesus “𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐰 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠; 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐝𝐨𝐦, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐮𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐦.” (𝐋𝐤 𝟐:𝟒𝟎)        

         As each one of us is created in the image and likeness of God, our giving respect to one another is a reflection of our respect for God who created us. This kind of respect is long gone and it needs to be revived and restored and it falls squarely on our shoulders to evangelize the world that has lost its sense of Christian values.

         We should always bear in mind that while we are separated from one another on matters of status, titles, possessions and income we are all equal in terms of human dignity. In fact, if you would like to be more pragmatic about it, there are people who live in stately mansions and many still live in squalor in the squatter colonies. But at the end of the day, both the rich and the poor will end up occupying a plot of land that is no bigger than three meters wide, four meters long and six feet deep.

         Indeed, we may differ to one another in terms of social orientation, family background, career, and to some extent in matters of living standards but at the end of the day we all are on equal footing when it comes to human dignity as no one person is different from the other since all of us have been created in God’s own image.

         In this Feast of the Holy Family, we are being reminded to respect one another because we are all part of God’s own family having become partakers of the divine nature (𝟐 𝐏𝐞𝐭 𝟏:𝟒). And besides the respect and reverence we are to give one another, we also are expected to grow in knowledge and wisdom although this is largely dependent on the level of trust and obedience that we have in God.

         God is pleased when we trust and obey his word and “𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐦, 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐝𝐨𝐦, 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬” (𝐄𝐜𝐜𝐥 𝟐:𝟐𝟔). God apportions his favor and blessings to all, both parents and children who will listen to his Word.

         Thus, today’s Feast is not just about the Holy Family, but about our own families too. The main objective of this Feast is to present the Holy Family as the model for all Christian families that becomes sanctified when we incorporate the Gospel within our homes.

         To do this, we should place Christ at the center of family and individual life. As such we are expected to defend the dignity of human life by opposing the proposed bills on same-sex marriage, abortion, cloning of humans, divorce, living-in and abusive behavior towards spouses.

        The Feast of the Holy Family is an opportune time for us to remember that as a family we have an obligation to pray for our human and spiritual families. This would also be a good time for us to reflect on the value and sanctity of our respective families and to find ways to grow and become strong and be filled with wisdom. Perhaps, now is also the time for us to decide to promote family values in the workplace and, in both our temporal and spiritual communities as well. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 - 𝘋𝘦𝘤. 28, 2025)