When we were young parents, it would dismay us when our kids complained that we were the only family who didn’t go to that movie or buy that new game. What a relief it was when we discovered other parents at church who were just as uncool as we were. Everybody was not following the crowd. We made sure we saw more of those people.

The other day my stepmother visited and brought with her two boxes that had belonged to my deceased mother. One contained her college yearbooks, the other held a variety of sports trophies she had won.

When we enter into a home or church and feel warmly welcomed, we soon realize the love among those who are already there is what makes that welcome possible. Everyone longs to enter such a place, where all are welcome, where we can lay our burdens down, where we can heal the wounded heart.

We were that “Church family.” House decorated for liturgical seasons, seven children, family service projects, music lessons, chore charts, family meetings and retreats, on our third copy of Prayers for the Domestic Church.

Like other dutiful and thoughtful dads and moms on the road, I frequently returned from trips with treats for our children. When they were young, these gifts were expected. It was what they asked about as soon as I arrived home. Often their interest was stated in an almost formulaic question: What did you bring us?

When our son was seven, I held his hand as we walked on a frozen road with his little brothers when he broke away from me and ran ahead. He was so quick, I could only watch in terror and call out, “Wait! Be careful!” By the grace of God he was safe, but it was a defining moment for me as a mother. I realized I wouldn’t be able to protect him forever.

‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? - Matthew 19:5

This may seem strange, but it is a very vivid memory for me before marriage and during engagement. When we embraced, I wanted to be physically part of my fiancé. I wanted to “melt” into him. I even told him I wanted us to “melt” together. I know that sounds like romantic gush, but it was my experience.

God is love and in himself he lives a mystery of personal loving communion. Creating the human race in his own image… God inscribed in the humanity of man and woman the vocation, and thus the capacity and responsibility, of love and communion. - Catechism of the Catholic Church #2331

When our children got engaged, we experienced both joy and concern. We observed the happy couple’s excitement as the wedding plans developed, and we hoped they were ready for what lay ahead of them.

I never grow tired of hearing the Christmas carol “Joy to the World.” Sung by the choir of angels to the surprised shepherds to announce Jesus’ birth, it triumphantly proclaims what happens when God enters our lives.