Bishop James P. Lyke, OFM, apostolic administrator, delivered this homily at the ordination of seminarian Franklin Forts, Jr., to the diaconate on the Feast of the Holy Family, Dec. 30, at St. Anthony’s Church in southwest Atlanta.

It is always a joy to participate in any ordination ceremony. First, we rejoice with our brother Franklin, as he solemnly turns another page in the book of his life, entering today the order of the diaconate. We share in the unfolding mysteries of one another’s lives in these liturgies, and solemnly declare our faith in God’s providence and plan for those who would be His children.

Another joy we experience on these occasions is the remembrance of major events in our own lives – those turning points and pivots whereby we have found the way into the true light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

For many, it is marriage, when permanent bonds of family life were begun, bonds which remain for a lifetime, and reach into succeeding generations. For some, like myself, it is the fact of my own ordination, when with hope and trepidation, I united my life, one and forever, to Christ, and to the committed priesthood of His Church. For others, it is the lifetime resolution to remain single, and to extend the scope of Christ’s love by personal acts of mercy and generosity.

For all, it is the common life we share, as members of the Family of God, sheltered in the porch of the Church founded by Jesus Christ. There, we are guided in our conduct by the example of His life, shining forth from the pages of the Gospel, and by the mystery of the Eucharist, when Christ is fed into our very being.

Today we mark the solemn commitment of our brother Franklin to the service of the Word of God, having come together to witness this important event within the Family of God. At the same time we honor the Holy Family, the model for all families, whose feast we celebrate today.

The grace of family life is the subject of the first two readings today. The writer of the first, Ben Sirach, straightforwardly lays out sound advice for a peaceable life in the extended family, the common grouping of the Old Testament. In the second reading, from his letter to the Colossians, Paul does not question, but rather accepts the customary order of the household and urges attitudes of love and forbearance that reject any patterns of dominance and submission.

The family life of Jesus is only related to us in Luke’s gospel. There we learn that Mary and Joseph, like any parents with a firstborn child, attempt to faithfully carry out the responsibilities of their religion. They go to the temple to fulfill the observance of the law of Israel. Here they meet two saints of the Old Covenant, Anna and Simeon, both of whom give us a glimpse into the intent of Luke’s story. By placing these two representatives of Israel at the temple, Luke wants us to know clearly that this is the Messiah, foretold by the prophets, and a light to the Gentiles, a light to all peoples. The lyric words of Simeon echo the longing and promise of the Hebrew Scriptures, which the old man knew so well. We can only imagine the wonder and trepidation that must have come over Joseph and Mary, hearing the portentous words: “This child is destined to be the downfall and the rise of many in Israel, a sign that will be opposed – and you yourself shall be pierced with a sword – so that the thoughts of many hearts may be laid bare.”

If we turn to a consideration of today’s families in the light of scripture’s portrait of the Holy Family, I fear that we also must be pierced to the heart and filled with trepidation. Today’s family is threatened as never before. A few statistics will support this contention:

• the annual rate of divorce in this country has been on the rise since 1860; the increase since 1900 is 700%;
• at the current rate, one out of every three existing marriages will end in divorce; if we include remarriages, then the odds rise to one out of every two;
• 25% of children live in single-parent households, whether by separation, divorce, death, or being born out of wedlock;
• one out of every four pre-school children lives in poverty;
• 2,000,000 children in the United States qualify as battered; 1,600,000 pre-born children are aborted each year;
• the suicide rate for young people 15-19 years old has tripled in the last 20 years.

These are terrible facts to confront, and if we localize them to the African-American community, we see that the various effects of poverty drive the rates even higher.

Today’s challenge to the Church and to her ordained ministers is great; while on the one hand we uphold the high ideals of marriage and family life, nevertheless, the same Gospel ideals of the Church also compel us to make sure that no one feels left out because of their condition or state of life; all who have faith are respected as children of God. For this reason, we applaud the courage of single-parent families, particularly single mothers who suffer impoverishment for the sake of their children. We honor the generosity of all people who open their hearts and their homes to those abandoned because of the circumstances of modern culture.

But we must ask ourselves, where is the Church, in this critical time and what is its role? In fundamental ways, the Church’s place and role must be the same now as in every age. The Church’s place is in the world, as an active participant. Its role is to bring the light of the Gospel to the contemporary situation, enabling people to see how God’s plan can be lived out here and now.

To involve itself in the contemporary situation, the Church needs, first of all, to reflect on its own vision of family life. The Second Vatican Council and Pope John Paul II have articulated an understanding of family life in which the family is the basic foundation of the Church and of society, the most basic of all human communities.

After reflecting on and recommitting itself to family life, the Church needs to take a second step of extending its hospitality to all kinds of families. The Church needs to invite all to hear the Good News and to listen with open heart and open mind to families as they struggle with the complexities of the human condition.

The Church’s third step is action. Christians cannot take a value-neutral stance regarding the opportunities and dangers families face today. The Church needs to challenge negative trends and address issues that undermine family strengths. The Church needs to support positive developments, to look for new ways to help families, and to unearth the resources that enable families to move from crisis to growth, from stress to strength. This can be done by incorporating a family perspective, as a pastoral strategy, in all its programs, policies, ministries, and services. The Church needs to do this – not because families are in trouble, but because family life is so important in itself and needs the ongoing support of the Church. Family life is fundamental to the healthy life of the Church and society.

Franklin, today I come to ordain you a deacon within the family of the church. I ask you to draw upon your conviction and courage, as you accept the challenging life of a deacon. Through your efforts, many of the goals we have mentioned will be further implemented, as you struggle to be faithful to the word of Christ, and as you bring healing to that part of the Christian family which shall be your charge. Though the period of time you shall function as a deacon shall be transitional, take with you for life the fundamental and core meaning of what it means to be a deacon: to serve, to use your mind, energy and talents, to give your very life, for the family, for the family of the Church and for the family of the world. Only through this generous witness to the Gospel will you find happiness in ordained ministry.

Dear members of this Holy Assembly, we long for the renewal of all families, for this parish family, and for the health of our Church and country. To that end, we heed the advice of Paul:

Bear with one another; forgive whatever grievances you have against one another. Forgive as the Lord has forgiven you. Over all these virtues put on love, which binds the rest together and makes them perfect.

As we proceed to the rite of ordination and then to the Eucharistic table, may these words of Paul dwell deeply in our hearts. Jesus himself reveals the profound meaning of these words, for he was born of the Virgin Mary and nurtured by Joseph and received by the extended Jewish family of his time. Later, he would suffer, die and rise. He would “pass over” from death to life – for the sake of the human family, to forgive and to reconcile, that we all may be one.