What is it that truly makes up a home? Beneath all decorations, lighting, colors and furniture lies a far more powerful foundation that is irreplaceable in all our homes.
The one thing that takes precedence above all other external intricacies is the love and sacrifices of the people living within the same household.
A family that prays together, stays together. As Christians, the greatest protection and furnish that we can give to our homes is the grace of our Lord.
Today the patron saint of homes and loving families, Saint Joseph, has come to bestow the blessings of Christ into our place of dwelling. Keep Christ as the center of your home and it shall always be protected from the storms to come.
Decorate Your Home With Good Deeds
Just as we decorate our house with flowers and invest plenty of resources in the decor, we also need to decorate our homes with positivity and goodness. Good deeds are the flowers that bloom and make our homes stand out among the rest. They make our homes admirable and many people come pleading that we reveal to them the secret.
Saint Joseph is revealing to us that family is an important aspect of our Christian life and we cannot afford to ignore it. Every one of us is called upon to play the role that we’ve been given so that our home remains decorated.
In Ephesians 5, the bible stipulates for all members of a family unit to “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”
For the Wives
“Wives, submit to your husbands as you would to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its savior. Just as the church submits to Christ, wives should submit everything to their husbands.”
For the Husbands
“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of the water with the word, so that he might the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle, that she might be holy and without blemish.
In the same way, husbands should love their wives as their own bodies for he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one has ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it as Christ does to the church…”
For Children
“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honour your father and mother so that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life on the earth..”
Submitting ourselves to one another does not mean simply listening to instruction, but rather a firm commitment to the members of your household to always seek their betterment and progress.
If all of us understand our roles and we perform them as they are supposed to be executed, then we will become an admirable family just like that of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
Renovating Our Homes
Repentance is the best technique to renovate our spiritual homes and invite Christ to protect us. Whenever we repent, we eliminate the barrier between God and ourselves which is created by sin. We allow ourselves to fall at his feet and seek his mercy thus he will hear us whenever we call out to him.
Saint Joseph is reminding us that by repenting we open our doors to Christ and allow him inside to dwell with us. When we live in sin, we can barely hear him call out for us and our hearts are too broken for him to find a dwelling place.
He is standing outside our homes knocking yet we fail to hear him out. Sin prevents us from enjoying the benefits associated by being his children as well as heirs of his kingdom.
Once we repent, we get the assurance that Christ has a place in our hearts as well as our homes. With him in us, we receive immense blessings and our homes stand out from the rest.
Constant Home Improvement Routines
Just as we have routines to protect our houses, we are challenged to establish spiritual home improvement routines in our families. Saint Joseph is giving us some of the techniques that we need for improving our homes:
Bible Study Sessions
With technology, most of our evening routines involve watching television and most of us are so addicted to our mobile devices that we hardly put them down even when we are eating. We can begin to study the word of God together as a family to ensure we grow our faith and it helps us bond. Through bible study sessions, we have the chance to communicate with each other and we can easily notice when someone is not okay in our midst as opposed to watching television programs together.
Holding Family Prayers
Even if it is just once in a day, it is important to set aside some time to pray as a family. This ensures unity in the home as well as gives us the chance to grow our faith. By praying together we grow together thus spiritually improving our home.
Prayer to Saint Joseph
“Dear Patron saint of families, I pray that you may always watch over my family and intercede that we may always be protected by Christ.
I invoke the blood of Jesus to engulf my family and protect us from any intended harm cast upon us.
May we decorate our home by leading a life that pleases God and may we embrace repentance as a spiritual renovation as well as establish the necessary spiritual home improvement routines.”
Amen. 🙏
