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The great need of modern days is, then, the reconstruction of Nazareth, or if you prefer, the reproduction of the holy Family of Bethany, the home of the true friends of Jesus. I say "Bethany" because Nazareth, in its sublimity, will be unique throughout all ages, whereas in Bethany are creatures of our own condition, cast in our mould of clay, and therefore this home is wholly and perfectly imitable. And how many homes have, as Bethany had, what we can never conceive in Nazareth, souls like Magdalen's, and prodigal sons. Call to the Master, hearken to Him, treat Him as an intimate Friend, and you will witness resurrections even more marvellous than that of Lazarus, and hymn conversions as wonderful and touching as that of Magdalen. Unfortunately Jesus is too often refused admittance even in houses which make profession of Christianity, and you will find Him, the King of kings, seeking a shelter and begging for love and compassion on the threshold of a house which so sorely needs Him! And if, here and there, He is occasionally admitted, there is more formality than love in receiving Him; He is not a friend, but merely a passing guest, a stranger to whom a formal courtesy must needs be paid. In such homes - and they are many - Jesus has to content Himself with empty forms and, so to speak, crumbs of love, He Whose Heart is aflame with infinite Charity.
The moments we can devote to God in church are few, for our duties compel us to live our daily life at home. Unfortunately most of our religion is limited to these rare moments, and when we return to our houses, we find them untenanted by Him Who should be other centre of our lives, the Lord and Friend of our homes. This is a very grave error, for we neither live, nor struggle for existence, nor suffer, nor in all probability do we die in church. We live, struggle, suffer, and most likely die in our own homes. In them, therefore, we ought to live in close fellowship with Him, our Cyrenean and the companion of our exile, so that, on the last day, He may be, not the inexorable Judge, but the King of Love and the devoted Friend. Indeed the very pagans had some sort of glimpse of such a need and that is why they invented their Household Gods, - "Lares et penates." For a long period, also, the early Church allowed fervent Christians to keep the Blessed Sacrament in the bosom of their homes.
We are reviving and realising something, now, of this most beautiful and consoling presence of Our Lord the "Enthronement of the Sacred Heart in the Home." We certainly do not pretend to compare the symbol of love with His real and substantial Presence in the Consecrated Host. However, by means of the Enthronement, Jesus really enters the home to have a part in and guide the whole life for the family, His love becoming the soul of both parents and children and His Heart their shrine.
Excerpt from Jesus The King of Love - by Father Mateo
