December 27, 2009
The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
By Rev. Joe McCloskey, S.J.
“Pardon, my lord! As you live my lord, I am the woman who stood near you here, praying to the LORD. I prayed for this child, and the LORD granted my request. Now I, in turn, give him to the LORD; as long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the LORD.” She left him there. 1 Samuel 1:26-28
After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” Luke 2:46:49
Piety
A cold wintery night makes the warmth of the hearth special blessing. Being alone amid the cold temperatures and a swirling blizzard makes belonging and family a special grace. To be without dear ones accentuates loneliness. Belonging to God makes family an essential of life. We are called to be members of the family of God. God, loving us so much as to be willing to be one of us, makes of family the central point of love and happiness. Family is called to the unity of trinity with children important to the continuity of life and reproduction an essential of life if the world is to go on. Everything about family reflects the mystery of God. How we love family brings peace and joy into our lives. Without family the mystery of God will always be incomplete because our ultimate vocation if to be part of the family of God. Our piety is the spirituality of the family of God.
Study
Family is the school of divine life. It offers children the place to learn how to live by growing up in the love of their parents. Love is proved by actions. Children grow up learning to honor their parents. It is written on the hearts of the human race that we honor our parents. Children store up riches in heaven by the way they revere their parents. The way children serve the needs of their parents wins for them incredible graces in heaven. When we see how different families love one another, we learn to value the love in our own families. The comparison of families becomes the challenge of our hearts to love parents and children better. When we hear of child abuse the shock to our hearts is the truth of how wedded we are to the commandment of the Lord to honor our parents. The tragedy of youth running in gangs is in the destruction of family life. The need to break bread in the togetherness of family feeds our souls as well as our bodies when we eat together as family. The invitation to share with a family is the equivalency of inviting another to be part of our family. The story of Samuel reflects the reality of how vocations are family affairs. The family that prays together, stays together is a truism that has to be experienced to be believed in. Parents need to turn their children over to God by their prayers.
Action
The story of Jesus being left behind in the temple is important to every parent. The action of taking a child to Church has a counterpoint in the story of Jesus being found in the temple. Not going together as family to Church and not going often enough are two sides to the question of family spirituality. Teaching a child to see “Church” as part of his or her destiny in life and as important to his or her happiness is a lesson hard to learn. We all possess a destiny with God that our hearts become more aware of as we practice our faith. How to bring a child to want to be in Church is impossible to teach. Freedom is an absolute gift of God whose lessons are taught by example and by learning from our mistakes what truly makes us happy and is worth doing. We are not born with this lesson written on our heats. It is human relationships with good people with a church connection that brings us to be active in our churches. We are called to action by our prayer life that awakens us to the realization of how to be about the business of our Father in heaven. We all need to be needed and we find our happiness in responding to God’s need of us.
