Preaching for the Feast of the Holy Family, Bridget Burke Ravizza offers a reflection on the character of Christian families:
"From a Christian perspective, of course, it is not enough to care for the needs of our own family members. We belong to them, yes, but not only to them. We belong to the wider body of Christ, and we are called to be light to the world. The gospels very clearly push us in this direction--moving beyond exclusive identity with birth-kin and toward expansive identity as brothers and sisters in God, a new family to whom we are spiritually and materially accountable. This is why the fruitfulness of Christian families expands to enrich the wider society. This is why Christian families are deliberately outward-facing and justice-seeking."
Bridget Burke Ravizza is a Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin. Bridget earned her doctorate in Theological Ethics at Boston College, and her work focuses on sexual ethics and the ethics of marriage and family. She is co-author (with Julie Donovan Massey, M.Div.) of Project Holiness: Marriage as a Workshop for Everyday Saints.
Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12272020 to learn more about Bridget, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.
