Folia Theologica et Canonica 4. 26/18 (2015)
SACRA THEOLOGIA - Sebastian Walshe, O.Praem., A sacramental theology of the family: the unity and harmony of the sacramental order
A SACRAMENTAL THEOLOGY OF THE FAMILY... 119 showing that the two are necessarily connected, a convincing argument can be made that the relationships in a family ought to be preserved and loved." The second (and more profound) reason why I sometimes argue from the truths about the mysteries of the faith to the relationships which ought to exist within a family is because the mysteries of the faith are in themselves the cause and reason why God has established the relationships within a natural family. When going from a more-known effect to a cause, it is often helpful afterwards to look back at the effect from the perspective of its cause.'2 Knowing that the reason for the family is to reflect the light of the inner life of God helps one to understand the family itself more profoundly. Gaudium et Spes uses this very principle when it teaches: “Only in the mystery of the incarnate Word does the mystery of man take on light. For Adam, the first man, was a figure of him who was to come, namely Christ the Lord. Christ, the final Adam, by the revelation of the mystery of the Father and his love, fully reveals man to man himself and makes his supreme calling clear. It is not surprising, then, that in him all the aforementioned truths find their root and attain their crown.”11 12 13 Beholding man in the mystery of the perfect Man not only perfects our understanding of human nature because it purifies it of the stain of sin into which man has fallen, but also because it reveals the higher finality for which God designed and created human nature. This fundamental perspective about man is something to which St. John Paul II referred over and over again in his writings. This article on the Theology of the family simply extends this principle from individual human nature to the family: just as the incarnate Word reveals man more fully to himself, so the mysteries of the Trinity and Incarnation reveal the family more fully to itself. With these preliminaries set down, we are now in a better position to consider the family in light of the principal mysteries of our faith. 11 Of course, because family relationships are in themselves better known, eventually a corruption of the understanding of these family relationships will result in a corruption of the dogmas of faith (for example, understanding God as a mother instead of a Father). 12 For example, knowing that a lunar eclipse is caused by the interposition of the earth between the sun and the moon helps one to see more perfectly what a lunar eclipse is and its various properties. So too with the family. 13 GS 22.
