Keywords: family, society, modernity, love, communion, Holy Trinity
Abstract:
In contemporary society one can easily experience a decline of an authentic (sincere and pure) love, with serious repercussions on the Christian family. The large number of divorces, domestic violence, premarital sex etc., are just a few examples that show us the level of secularization (= degradation) of love in (post)modern society. In this context, one ought to go back to the origins of love – the intra-trinitarian love, which represents the paradigm of interpersonal relationships. In the first part of this study, I try to argue that the Holy Trinity is the iconic model that must be reflected in the interpersonal relationships within the Christian family. Next, I try to present the first forms of family linking in the Bible, starting in the garden of Eden, with special focus on the consequences of their sin present in the marital relationship, as well as the transfiguration of marriage through the presence of Christ at the wedding in Cana of Galilee. In this sense, what I want to prove is that the man and woman are two complementary souls and that human beings in general, in their own structure, have a complementary vocation. In the end, I draw some conclusions by means of which I show that the contemporary family, by means of an ascetic-mystical effort of purification of passions and communion with God in the sacramental ethos of the Church, have the chance to reach a transfigured level of existence, that is by integrating into the trinitarian love and grace.
Pages: 87-99