wpengine

Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

Scripture:

Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14 or Genesis 15:1-6; 21:1-3
Colossians 3:12-21 or Hebrews 11:8, 11-12, 17-19
Luke 2:22-40

Reflection:

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family.  What a wonderful time to pause and give thanks for the gift of family.  During this time of year it can be difficult for those who have lost a loved one and have a missing place at the table or those who cannot be with their family because of work, illness or distance.   For many, though, it is a time of joy as we gather with those we love and share a Christmas cup of tea and a plate of cookies amidst the wrapping paper, twinkling lights and holiday banter echoing at fever pitch level!

It is unlikely that Mary and Joseph and Jesus as the first refugee family enjoyed many of the holiday trappings that our families of 2014 can be so consumed with.  The Holy Family and our Holy Families of today do share some things in common though.  Over this past Advent season during the weekly Vesper service we came together for prayer, song and reflection around the Advent scripture readings.  Each week we had a reflection given by different members of the parish.  Our theme centered on:  ‘Being Attentive to the Presence of God’.  The reflectors included:  a married woman, a young family with an elementary-age child and a couple who have eight children. 

Here are some of the reflections shared about Family:

"I am one of five children. Growing up with my siblings there was always the usual childhood ups and downs, challenges and disagreements. Today we are five adults who enjoy getting together, having fun and just spending time together. Family is important to us and we are thankful for the gift we are to each other. We realize we are all a gift from God and give thanks for that great love. Awesome things happen because of it!"

"My husband is a cradle Catholic and I went through the RCIA process recently. The support and love I received throughout the RCIA process from this parish community was such a gift. Our family life continues to be enhanced and nurtured because of it. It gives us the support and guidance to help us be the best parents we can be with our son. We are surrounded by the presence of God and feel so blessed because of it."

"We can appreciate the plight of the Holy Family, especially in the ways that Mary and Joseph learned they were going to be the parents of Jesus. Oh Wow! Surprise, Anxiety, Fear! They continue to be a regular part of our lives. But so does Wonder, Awe, Gratefulness! Our daily mantra is: GOD, JUST BRING IT ON! And give us the strength to accept and do your will!"

So did Mary, Joseph and Jesus give thanks to God for the obvious giftedness of each other, for the support of family, friends and faith community, for days of fear and anxiety as well as wonder and awe?  I think so.  Family includes not only Mom, Dad, siblings, Grandparents, etc., but ALL of us, single, married, widowed, divorced, gay, straight, poor, rich, refugee, other cultures and religions, young and old.  FAMILY happens when we are able to recognize the face of God in all of its members.  This brings with it many challenges, but even greater blessings.   BRING IT ON, GOD!  Let us give thanks today for the blessing of FAMILY in our homes as well as in our Church!

HAPPY FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY of JESUS, MARY and JOSEPH and YOUR HOLY FAMILY Too!

 

Theresa Secord is a Pastoral Associate at St. Agnes Parish, Louisville, Kentucky.

 

Scripture:

1 Samuel 1 : 24 – 28
Luke 1 : 46 – 56

Reflection:

As we draw near to the Feast of Christmas, our sacred scripture presents to us once again a central Advent personage.  Luke and the Church hold Mary in high esteem as we prepare to celebrate the Nativity.  Today, we hear her wonderful "Magnificat" echo through the ages down to our own time and place.  In our first reading, Hannah gives Samuel over to the Lord’s service.  Mary follows in that glorious tradition and gave herself over to the Lord’s service in every way by consenting to be the Mother of the Son of God.

When we think about it, Mary becomes for us the most impressive example of what Advent preparation is all about.  Essentially, when the Angel Gabriel asked her to become the Mother of Jesus, the angel was asking her to shift away from her planned life as wife of Joseph and enter into the mystery of God’s plan for her life.  She had questions, concerns and confusion but said yes, I will live in the mystery of what God has in store for me.  She positioned herself in faith to be the handmaid of the Lord.  She went on to visit Elizabeth and was welcomed  with an amazing greeting.  How could Elizabeth know so much of what was happening.  She seemed to know more than Mary herself.  Mary’s wonderful response reflects upon the greatness and goodness of God in her life.  She accepted Elizabeth’s greeting and lived in the mystery it evoked. 

Mary would go on to live the mystery.  As she raised the child Jesus, she had to have asked herself over and over who he really was and why was he here.  She helped him to grow in wisdom and age but was left to ponder so much in her heart.  She lived the mystery.  She heard Him begin to preach the good news of the Kingdom and wondered what it could mean.  She lived the mystery.  She saw him give sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, strength to withered legs, wholeness to lepers, forgiveness to the sinner and life to the dead and was left to wonder about questions with no immediate answers.  She lived the mystery.  She watched her Son die on the Cross and received His body into her arms.  She lived the mystery.  She was present in the Upper Room when her Risen Lord revealed His glory and His victory over sin and death.  She lived the mystery.  In her final moment on earth, she was assumed body and soul into the heavenly Kingdom.  She lived the mystery.

Our Blessed Mother teaches us how to live the mystery of our own life, our own calling to walk with God and one another.  She teaches us Advent faith, to always expect God to enter our lives with His divine guidance.  She teaches us Advent trust, to place our lives in the hands of God and hope He will lead us to salvation.  She teaches us Advent love, to place another ahead of ourselves, to place ourselves at the service of God’s Word in our lives.  She teaches us Advent perseverance, to walk with divine assistance through the questions, concerns, joys, and trials of the mystery of our lives.  She teaches us Advent courage, to always move forward in the mystery of life expecting that the birth of Jesus will bring us to the fullness of the life He was born to manifest.

 

Fr. Richard Burke, CP, is a member of St. Paul of the Cross Province and also serves on the Provincial Council of Holy Cross Province.  He lives at St. Ann’s Monastery in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Fourth Sunday of Advent

Scripture:

2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16
Romans 16:25-27
Luke 1:26-38

Reflection:

It is fitting that Christmas corresponds, more or less, with the winter solstice, when the shortest day of the year occurs, signaling that from here on, the days will be getting longer.  For this speaks of light overcoming darkness, a kind of natural counterpart to the Christmas event as Christians understand it, when a great manifestation or illumination occurs about the deeply hidden workings of God within and around our human affairs.  A phenomenon corresponding to this is the appearance of the star to the magi, penetrating the darkness of the heavens, and enlightening these magi about something wonderful afoot.

Todays’ readings offer us some suggestions.  

The first of these is the break-through idea dawning on King David, that he owed God one, that is, given God’s kindness to his kingship throughout his lifetime, it was high time David reciprocated by doing something for God, like building Him a magnificent temple, a "house of God", so to speak, that would be fitting for so great a God.  Confiding this ambition to his prophet friend Nathan, David comes to learn that "no good deed goes unpunished", so to speak, when Nathan, duly instructed, proceeds to inform him (David) that he’s got it upside-down: David is in no position to do God favors; rather, God is the One Who does David favors.  God equivalently informs David that He is not going to be outdone in the favor business.  And so, He is the One Who is going to build David a house, with this further wrinkle to it:  the house God has in mind is not one of stone and marble and the giant trees of Lebanon, but a house of flesh and blood, that is, the family bloodline of David, his descendants in the kingship of the Jewish people: the House of David, like, later on in history, the House of Stuart would become.  Obviously, God is operating at a different level from David.

The second hint, corresponds to the star’s appearance, mentioned above.  It is about a new phenomenon that is breaking in on us, and presented by Paul as a breath-taking idea: a secret kept over the ages.  It has to do with "the command of the eternal God, made known to all nations to bring about the obedience of faith…"   And the magi, the favored recipients of this sighting of the star in the dark heavens above, are obvious representatives of "all nations", coming from the east, as they did, in their pursuit of the star, right to the  newborn King of the Jews, who, incidentally, was "of the house" that God promised to build for David.  The code of silence has at  last been broken; the secret is "out".

And the third hint is also associated with the star seen by the magi, and it notes that "…it preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was". (Mt 2.9)  What a break for these wise men from the east!  After trudging through unknown places, their trusty GPS worked for them right to the end.  Mary now has corroboration of the angel Gabriel’s promise that her newborn son "will be great and will be called Son of the Most High" and be the recipient of "the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."  With such significant personages as the Magi gathered about her son, she must have wondered: how did they know?  And they, in their turn, surely marveled that such a young woman could be the mother of one whom they had identified to the inhabitants of Jerusalem as "the newborn king of the Jews" and as one delineated by "his star".  (Mt. 2.2) 

So, as the days begin to lengthen, and as the darkness starts to recede, we have counterparts of the star at work in our lives, helpfully throwing light on God’s works gradually emerging within and around us, giving us hope that, as the hymn says, "…if God be for us, who can be against?"

 

Fr. Sebastian MacDonald, C.P. is a member of the Passionist formation community at Catholic Theological Union, Chicago. 

 

Scripture:

Isaiah 7:10-14
Luke 1:26-38

Reflection:

Both readings in today’s liturgy remind us of a truism of the spiritual life that often escapes us, namely, God always makes the first move!

In the first reading, Ahaz, is invited by God to ask for a sign. "…let it be deep as the nether world or high as the sky."  Talk about an open invitation!!  It turns out Ahaz is way too fearful to ask God for anything.  Apparently, he believes that asking God for something directly would be an affront to God’s majesty.  So, he refuses to ‘tempt’ God.  Or, perhaps he believes that his relationship with God is so weak that he can’t even imagine that God would bother to respond to a request from him. In frustration, Isaiah gives Ahaz a sign from God anyway, "the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall name him Emmanuel." 

In our gospel reading from Luke we read that God once again makes the first move.  God sends the angel Gabriel to Mary with a request.  Like Ahaz, Mary is surprised and a bit perplexed but, unlike Ahaz, her response is one of trust.  She opens herself and accepts God’s invitation to her to be the mother of His Son.  The world has been transformed by Mary’s openness to hearing and believing in God’s invitation. 

Even with us, God is the one who makes the first move.  God invites us to welcome the birth of Jesus within us.  God invites us to bring Christ into the world through our lives of faith and our good works.  Many of us feel like Ahaz, unworthy of such a task or fearful that God might abandon us in our efforts.  But, Mary shows us the way.  Trust in God, be open to His call and God will accomplish the rest.

 

Fr. Michael Higgins, C.P. is the director of Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.

Scripture:

Malachi 3:1-4, 23-24
Luke 1:57-66

Reflection:

In today’s Gospel reading, as we move closer to the celebration of Christmas, we hear the account of the birth of John the Baptist. John’s birth was almost as remarkable as the birth of Jesus, having been born from a couple who were thought to be too old to have a child, with the father, Zechariah, struck mute until the baby is named. As Luke tells us, "all these matters were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea. All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, ‘What, then, will this child be?’ For surely the hand of the Lord was with him."

Although most children are not born in the same kind of circumstances that John was, every birth is a remarkable event, and God is with every child. Unfortunately, we have seen too many instances around the world and even in our own places, when children have not been treated with the dignity that is theirs. We have seen the massacre of children in Pakistan, the kidnapping of school girls in Nigeria. We are becoming more and more aware of how children are exploited, here and elsewhere, and the shadow of child abuse still lingers in our church and in our society. I cannot pretend to understand how such things happen, but it is obvious that in so many cases, children are not seen as human beings but as things to be used or sacrificed.

On the other hand, many of us in the U.S. can probably cite instances where we’ve seen children run roughshod over their own parents. Perhaps they’ve been told how precious they are, and rightfully so, but maybe without any sense of gratitude. I can imagine that John the Baptist was told many times about the circumstances of his birth. I can imagine that he grew up knowing how special he was. But at the same time, he is humble enough, when the time comes, to point to Jesus as the Messiah, and actually say, "He must increase; I must decrease."

The proper perspective about children is to see them as they are: beloved by God. And what we need to continue to teach our children is gratitude to God. If we teach gratitude instead of selfishness; service instead of domination, perhaps we can help the coming generations to make peace and work for justice.

 

Fr. Phil Paxton, C.P. is on staff at St. Paul of the Cross Retreat and Conference Center, Detroit, Michigan. 

 

Scripture:
Judges 13:2-7, 24-25a
Luke 1:5-25

Reflection:
"Both were righteous in the eyes of God, observing all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren and both were advanced in years."
Luke 1: 6 – 7

I remember talking to several couples who were trying to have children. When a couple becomes aware that they will not be able to conceive and bear children easily, they seem to follow a common path. First, they try to "fix" it themselves. After a few months, they realize that’s not working. Then, one of them, usually the wife, will talk about the "problem" with family members or best friends. The couple will get all kinds of advice, from diets to folklore remedies. With each passing month and year, the seriousness of the situation becomes clear. Then, there are the visits to the doctors, clinics and "new therapies." By this time, God enters the picture. Those who are religious will begin novenas, light candles or make special promises to God or to the Blessed Virgin Mary or to a favorite saint to help them conceive. Sometimes, they will even talk to a priest or a religious. As one can imagine, a childless marriage can cause many stresses in the relationship. Each spouse wonders, "Whose fault is it?"

As we get ready for Christmas and the miraculous birth of the Child Jesus to the Virgin Mary in a poor stable in Bethlehem, we are given some Scripture accounts of women who were thought to be barren and who suddenly became pregnant. Today’s first reading is about the birth of Samson. He is born to a childless couple. He becomes a savior to the people of Israel. This theme of God giving children to barren wives in the Hebrew Scriptures is woven throughout Salvation History. "For nothing will be impossible for God."

The Gospel reading also is a story of a barren wife. This time it is Mary’s cousin, Elizabeth. This account is interesting because the husband, Zachariah, receives the news first. It seems that he had long lost the hope of having children. His faith is not strong enough to believe that all things are possible for God. Zachariah’s response becomes our story every time we doubt that God is really in charge of our life. We may think that we are in control. If we are living a barren life today, a life that is lifeless and meaningless, it does not mean that we should lose hope. Just because we cannot see how new life is possible in our barren condition does not mean that God cannot make new life happen!

We now remember Elizabeth’s words to Mary: "Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled." Let us put our faith and trust in the Word Made Flesh, the Word that God speaks to us today!

 

Fr. Clemente Barrón, C.P. is a member of Immaculate Conception Community in Chicago, Illinois. 

 

Christmas Eve

Scripture:

2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16
Luke 1:67-79

Reflection:

"In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break upon us" Luke 1:78

A priest was leaving the Holy Land by the Israeli air lines.  He had bought a crib set for his parish and was stopped by security.  They said they must X-ray the set to check for explosives.   He said: "they had no idea how explosive these figures were!"  If only we all knew how explosive this dramatic moment in history really is!

At Christmas we celebrate the most volatile moment of creation when God united Himself with humanity by taking on human flesh.  "And the Word became flesh!"  Mary gave back to the Father his Son forever joined with "flesh and blood".  John 6:56   How awesome it is to think of the incredible greatness of God who runs the whole universe with its billions of galaxies "to break in upon us".  The Gospel of Luke shares with us the depths of God’s care for us in this mystery by using the Greek word splagchnon.  It is used some 22 times to describe God’s feelings for us.  It means from our most intimate self, our inner physical organs, we feel tender compassion for another.   It is among the most passionate words of the New Testament!   "The tender compassion (splagchon) shall break upon us." Lk 1:78 

How incredibly blessed we are that God is so fond of us!   The whole world seems to light up at Christmas time.   Even those of us who are not very intimate with the mystery of Christ feel the excitement of God’s sunrise, His anatolē  in the original Greek text.  Lights for the Light of the World. The still unconscious and unborn John the Baptist jumped in His mother’s womb when visited by the pregnant Mary.  The whole world is a stir with the presence of Christ is among us!

 

Fr. Bob Weiss, C.P. preaches Parish Missions and is a member of the Passionist Community in Louisville, Kentucky.

 

Scripture:

Jeremiah 23:5-8
Matthew 1:18-25

Reflection:

There is something compelling in the miracle of each birth; for despite the circumstances of a child’s coming into the world – be it within a committed, stable relationship or born to a single mother, be it a result of a planned or unplanned pregnancy, be it a birth into wealth or poverty – the cry of a new born child seems to bring out the best in us.

Each child enters our world innocent and totally dependent and yet has the power to call forth from us not only joy, but to enkindle within us our protective nature and marshal our nurturing capacity.

Powerless as they are, each little child nevertheless empowers us to be our best selves and to live from our deepest sense of love and self-sacrifice.

It is no less true for the birth of Jesus and the responses that he evokes in others particularly Mary and Joseph.

As these days of Advent slip by now, the texts of each liturgy and the words of our scriptures are preparing us for the birth of Jesus. And like all births, his too marks the entry of an innocent and dependent child into the world and through the scriptures we witness to the love and self-sacrifice that surrounds him both before and from the moment of his birth.

Today we read especially of Joseph’s generosity.  From the foundation of a humble and open heart, God can do much. This is certainly true of Joseph, who despite his initial reservations and even fear, albeit tempered by a deep compassion, is still open and listening to God’s voice. Once he knows God’s will he, like Mary before him, immediately aligns his life, his energies and his whole future with God’s will in order to serve God’s desires for our world.

And what are they?

Simply, everything that enables us to be fully human and to enter into a full relationship with God. We might say that in the incarnation of Jesus, God entered fully into the reality of our lives and we came to know clearly and unmistakably the power of God’s tender mercy and loving kindness.

And the birth of Jesus marks the beginning of a great moment of revelation and new life for the world. Jesus is the heart of God in our world. Through him we not only know God for who God really is, but  we come to know ourselves – for the incarnation teaches us our origins and our final end – that is, union with God.

So we might rightly say he is our Emmanuel ‘God with us’?

This is good news. News meant to be shared with the whole world. Pope Francis in his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium has challenged us with his stirring words not only about being joyful in our proclamation of Jesus (who is the ‘good news’ for our world), but to link this proclamation to our relationship to society and to our capacity and desire to enter into the lives of people as servants and disciples of Jesus. "We want to enter fully into the fabric of society, sharing the lives of all, listening to their concerns, helping them materially and spiritually in their needs, rejoicing with those who rejoice, weeping with those who weep; arm in arm with others, we are committed to building a new world." (paragraph No. 269)

The birth of Jesus is not just an event for us who believe, it is a moment for the whole world. Mary and Joseph first presented him to the world and we are now charged with continuing this mission and to spread the message of his love. Let us be truly joyful as we celebrate once more his coming amongst us and let us be faithful witnesses to his message for the world.

 

Fr. Denis Travers, C.P., is a member of Holy Spirit Province, Australia.  He currently serves on the General Council and is stationed in Rome.