December 28, 2008
The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
By Rev. Joe McCloskey, S.J.
And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body. And be thankful. Colossians 3:14-15
Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in
Piety
Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name; make known among the peoples his deeds! Sing praise, play music; proclaim all his wondrous deeds! Glory in his holy name; rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD! Rely on the mighty LORD; constantly seek his face. Recall the wondrous deeds he has done, his signs and his words of judgment, You descendants of Abraham his servant, offspring of Jacob the chosen one! The LORD is our God who rules the whole earth. He remembers forever his covenant, the pact imposed for a thousand generations. (Psalm 105:1-8)
Study
A father and a mother make each of us possible. Without our parents we would not be. The baby completes the circle that is called family life.
Every family reflects in family life the Trinity. Love given and received brings the union that births the love child into the world. The feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph models the truth that the most important time of life is family time. The readings for the feast cry out the sanctity of family life. It is the ordinary of family life which constitutes holiness. Our Religious beliefs call us into the family of God. The union of father, mother and child is called family.
The Sacrament of Matrimony brings God’s presence into family life. God blesses the happiness of family togetherness as a taste of what heaven is meant to be.
The Family of Nations should reflect the best of what family life is all about. Living together in peace requires sacrifices that imply giving our lives for the sake of each other. Natural disaster calls forth love from the human race. Nations taking advantage of the weaknesses of one another destroy the fabric of human existence. When family life in a nation is attacked by divorces, separations and unions of convenience, the very distance from one another makes family life nigh unto almost impossible. Distance does not really lend enchantment.
Rather it makes us appreciate closeness. Willingness to put up with the sacrifices needed for family life shows the love of couples that makes family possible. Love strengthens family life and shows the strength of Family life. Love flows out of the willingness to give one’s life for the sake of the other.
Action
Intimacy is the sharing of self with others. Family intimacy is built on the reality that blood is thicker than water. The blood that flows from the wounded side of Christ from the heart pierced on the Cross bespeaks the reality that true love costs. All the pains of childbirth of the mother gives way to the beauty of the child feeding at its mother’s breast as the pain of childbirth gives way to the joy of life that is one’s own. Intimacy takes down the walls that breed separation. Sharing more and more of life together gives meaning to family life. The family life of Jesus, Mary and Joseph make of our family life the most important parts of our lives. What we do in making the celebration of Christ’s birthday important underlines the importance of our family life. The Hidden Life Grace has its fullest meaning in all the statements of Family togetherness. All the ways we tell the members of our family we love them are the fondest expressions of the love of God who gives the bottom line meaning to all we do for our family. So the Holy Family becomes our family.
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