DAY 9, December 24: GOD'S DREAM SOCIETY
In God's plan, man finds fullness of being is society.
Fr. Arnelle Ariston

When God created man, He wanted that he would be happy in the garden. But then, man got lonely. So God created woman. And so started the story of companionship.

Man is intrinsically a social being. He needs other people. I never heard of a person who lived alone for the rest of his life. Even before we are born, we already need others. While in the womb, we needed our mother for sustenance. Then, we needed a doctor to bring us out, then, we start associating with others.

From the womb to the tomb, we need other people. Even a hermit has to be born, and has to be buried, thus needing others.

We are members of the Church, a society under God. Only in belonging to a certain group do we live out our real selves. WE ARE A BEING FOR OTHERS. This is part of God's plan for us. He created us in His own image and likeness so we could serve creation, so we could fill the world.

Hence, we get involved in many things. We become students, we become employees, we serve in the Church, we become participants in a civic groups, etc. Only in taking part in society do we really become human.

When man isolates himself from others, when he does not belong to any particular group, he ceases to be the man God intends him to be. Because it is when we co-operate in a society that we become truly a fulfilled person.


This is the reason why the family is the basic unit of society. It is in the family that we first interact with other fellow human beings.

But the concept of the family is being attacked from all sides these days.

A simple concept of a family, as we know, is that it is composed of a father (tatay) and a mother (nanay) who are married to each other, and there are children (magkakapatid) who are the fruits of their love for each other.

But now, a family could be:

A tatay, a tito and children who may be children of either one from previous relationships.

A nanay, a tito and children who may be children of either one from previous relationships.

Worse:

A tatay, a tito and children who may be children of either one from previous relationships.

A nanay, a tita and children who may be children of either one from previous relationships.

Even worse: spouses who do not wish to beget children, and have pets instead!

The family is the center of man's association. If, within the family, there is no harmony, chances are for the person to also have a dysfunctional family.

Because God is so great, Jesus could have been born in Saint Luke's or at the Asian Hospital or the Medical City. But, no, he was born in a smelly animal barn.

Mary could have been assisted by the best surgeons and doctors from the best hospitals in the country. But no, Joseph and Mary were not helped by any doctor, not even a comadrona (?)

God could have showered Pampers diapers from heaven for Jesus; but no, he was simply wrapped in swaddling clothes.

Mary was deprived of the basics of childbirth! Not even clean diapers! Joseph did not have any video camera to record this event! Not even an announcement on TV!

But Jesus was born under the best possible circumstances because he had his parents with Him. Joseph and Mary were always at His side. This God-Man - visited by shepherds, and worshiped by kings, - was born from a Holy Family, His first society, where He found fullness of life.

God's dream society is necessarily democracy, nor autocracy, nor monarchy; probably not even hierarchy.

Man finds fullness in God's society when the image of the Holy family is reflected in our own society: be it in our own family on the small level, or in our own country, on a larger scale.

God's dream society is also seen in the tribe of Israel which is mentioned by Zechariah in his canticle: where a victorious Savior shall be raised from the House of David, where a covenant is sealed for the people to be delivered from the enemy.

This Holy Family, emerging from the House of David of Israel is our image of how a society should be: where peace and mercy reign, where faith and hope remain, where life begins and ends in God's embrace.