In the western marriage ceremony, the text "till death do us part" is both unfortunate and has contributed to the idea that somehow following the repose of one of the spouses, the marriage bond is completely dissolved.

In fact, there is a sense in which the Mystery of Matrimony brings not only the spouses but the entire family together for all eternity.

This could not be otherwise, especially since the family is a reflection of the life of the Holy Trinity Itself.

We as individuals are made in the Image and Likeness of God the Holy Trinity. We are a composite made up of body, mind and soul. Our inner powers of memory, understanding and will also reflect this likeness.

And just as God is a Family of Three Persons in One Divine Nature, so too is the family a reflection of that Reality.

Fathers and mothers share in the creative power of God through Whom children are produced - I would call this the "triad" of the family structure.

This "triad," reflective of the life of the Holy Trinity in us, is also seen in the life of the Church and our communities etc.

The Church and the Fathers have always understood the crucial significance of not only the individual person in Christ's plan of salvation, but that of the family and wider social context in which we are placed and live.

We do not go to heaven alone, nor are we attain salvation and holiness alone.

This is why one will often find that the parents of great saints are also listed in the Church's calendar, as are the parents of St Nicholas.

St Nicholas is a very great saint, but when confronted by such great holiness, the Church not only honours it, but, at the same time, looks behind the saint to see what must have been the great influence for good exerted on his or her life by the parents!

St Nicholas is in heaven, as we know. He is in heaven with his parents who always had a deep and abiding spiritual bond with their son, both here and in the afterlife.

This bond that never ceases with death was always celebrated with the Church's approval by, for example, the inclusion of pictures and even icons of one's parents and other relatives in one's icon corner at home!

This practice became so pervasive in the life of the Church by the seventh and eighth centuries, that some people were bringing the icons of their parents to hang up in Church on the walls - something that was later forbidden.

We can and should now enter more deeply into the mystery of the spiritual bonds between members of families through a spiritual life lived in common in families.

The first such spiritual bond has to do with our special patron Name-saints whose icons we should have and who should be invoked daily by us as a family unit. Another has to do with our special Family Guardian Angel that watches over our family and its members - in addition to our personal Guardian Angels.

We are never alone as Christian families and we have a cloud of witnesses who are with us all the time. That we don't see them or feel their influence in our lives is our fault, not theirs or God's!

St Joseph the Betrothed is a special patron of the family. He is the "man whom God called 'father.'"

We are all one in Christ, whether we live or have reposed. Nothing can separate us from His love. And His salvation is one in which our relationship with God and that with our families and others is destined to become fulfilled in perfect harmony.