3rd Day of Simbang Gabi December 18, 2014

A mother, who was a solo parent, tried to make her best to make her only son grow happy. But because she was having a problem with her finances, of course she could not give everything to her son. One day, her son wanted a toy from a store. But she told her son they didn’t have enough money. Her son got mad and cried aloud. He wanted to have the said toy. Yet they never bought it because they did not have any money. When they arrived home, the mother thought she could make a similar toy using some scrap materials. She spent the whole day making a toy similar to what her son wanted to have. When she gave it to her son, the latter threw it on the floor and shouted, “I hate you mom!” My dear friends of Christ, this story does not just tell us that it is not easy to be a parent but also it is never easy to be a solo parent. Although one could give birth to a child and raise him/her by a solo parent, it is still recommendable that the child grows up with a father and a mother. The child needs both parents to love him/her. There are things which a father could share which the mother could not give and vice-versa. In our Gospel, Matthew 1:18-25, it is said that Mary was chosen to be the mother of Jesus. But God did not only choose Mary as a mother of Jesus but also the wife of Joseph. There is no doubt that Mary could be a loving mother to Jesus even without a husband. But God in His infinite wisdom did not allow it to happen. He wanted Mary to have a husband and He wanted Jesus to have a human father all in the person of Joseph. God affirmed the importance of both parents in the life of a child when He sent an angel to Joseph to tell him of his significant role as a father. My dear friends, we are called by our faith to preserve our family system –having both parents to love their children. Although solo parenting is prevalent in our time, it is still better to remind all males to be responsible in their relationship and stand to become good fathers to their children and good husbands to their wives. It is also true to all females who are in a relationship. Be careful not only for your body but also for the child you are about to carry in your womb. Remember, it is in God’s design that every child has the right to have good parents –both his/her mother and father. Amen.