The Family Cannot Be Redefined

Click for More

Father Chris Alar, MIC turns our attention to the Feast of the Holy Family and the profound truth it reveals about God’s design for human life. The Holy Family is not a symbol shaped by culture or preference. It is a revelation. God chose to enter history through a family — a man, a woman, and a child — and in doing so, He revealed the foundation upon which both the Church and society stand.

Father Chris warns that Satan’s most persistent attacks have always been aimed at these two bedrocks: the Church and the family. Marriage is redefined. Gender is redefined. Parenthood is fragmented. Even within Catholic homes, silence has been replaced by constant noise, family meals by screens, and shared life by isolation. The result is not freedom, but fragmentation — a loss of humanity itself.

Drawing from Pope Paul VI, Fr. Chris highlights the essential pillars of a holy family: silence, love, and discipline. Silence creates space for God to speak. Love orders the home toward self-gift rather than self-interest. Discipline — rooted in the word disciple — forms children for heaven, not merely for comfort. Parents are not called to be passive observers of their children’s lives, but faithful stewards accountable to God for their souls.

The family, Father Chris reminds us, is the domestic Church — the first place where obedience, forgiveness, sacrifice, and prayer are learned. It is where children discover who God is by watching how love is lived. Even in broken or difficult situations, God’s grace remains active. Single parents, those abandoned or wounded, are not forgotten by the Church. Their fidelity, sacrifice, and perseverance often become powerful witnesses of divine providence.

Ultimately, the Holy Family shows us that commitment is not a burden but a mission. Joseph protected. Mary trusted. Jesus obeyed. God became man within a family so that all families might be drawn into the family of God. A holy family, Fr. Chris teaches, is not only our greatest defense against the world — it is our most powerful way of transforming it.

Added to Favorites!
Added to Watch Later!

You might also like...

Body & Organ Donation

We have all heard about donating our organs or body to science, but what does the Church say about it? Is it allowed? If so, under what circumstances? Join Fr. Chris Alar as he shows you everything you need to know about this topic and why it is so important.

Explaining What the Creed Means Line by Line

Every Sunday at Mass we pray the Nicene Creed. But do we "pray" it or do we only "say" it? Join Fr. Chris Alar as he explains the meaning of what we profess in our faith by looking at each sentence. For example, why doesn't the Creed mention Jesus descent into Hell but the Apostles' Creed does? When we profess that we believe in "one, holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church" do we mean the Roman Catholic Church? Actually not. This and many other insights await you in this video.

Holy Face Devotion: Perfect Reparation

One of the most powerful devotions in history, and one that keeps surfacing around the world, is the Holy Face (from the Veil of Veronica and the Shroud of Turin). What is so powerful about this and how do we differentiate one image of Christ from another? How did they come to be? Fr. Chris Alar explains this incredible gift of grace.