FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY HOMILY REFLECTION:
WHY DID JESUS COME INTO THE WORLD IN A FAMILY?
WHY DID JESUS COME INTO THE WORLD IN A FAMILY?
“O God, who were pleased to give us the shining example of the Holy Family, graciously grant that we may imitate them in practicing the virtues of family life and in the bonds of charity, and so, in the joy of your house, delight one day in eternal rewards
(Opening Prayer, Mass of the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph).”
Today the entire Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. HAVE YOU EVER REFLECTED ON THE PROFOUND SIGNIFICANCE AND CONSEQUENCES ON WHY OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST CHOSE TO ENTER INTO THE WORLD THROUGH A FAMILY?
“The fact that Jesus grew up and lived just like us shows us that human existence and all our ordinary activities have a divine meaning. No matter how much we may have reflected on all this, we should always be surprised when we think of the thirty years of obscurity which made up the greater part of Jesus’ life among us. He lived in obscurity, but, for us, that period is full of light. It illuminates our days and fills them with meaning, for we are ordinary Christians who lead an ordinary life, just like millions of other people all over the world.”[St. Josemaria, Christ is passing by, 14]
Jesus came into the world in a family to manifest the closeness of God who shares the life of the human being, and to unite us with him in the Incarnation, in the Cross and in the Resurrection. The family is the place where God wants us to discover the path of faith, hope, love, and in the end, salvation, the Holy Family of Nazareth being the 1st domestic Church. With the love, good advice and virtuous example of our parents and siblings, we can be transformed and healed, and be capable of overcoming all difficulties, no matter how overwhelming they may seem. Our families are the place chosen by God to give us all his gifts: first of all, life, and with it, faith, vocation, a name, education, temperament, language, a place to belong..
But then, let us not forget that the center of the Holy Family of Nazareth is God in Jesus: Emmanuel, God-with-us. If the above-mentioned ideas were to come to fruition, we must all have God as the center of our life. We must learn to welcome Him and live for Him.
In his Dec. 17, 2014 General Audience, Pope Francis spoke of the “THE HOLY FAMILY AS A MODEL FOR ALL FAMILIES.” In the midst of the “normality of life in Nazareth”, the task of each Christian family— AS MARY AND JOSEPH DID — is TO WELCOME JESUS, LISTEN TO HIM, SPEAK WITH HIM, GUARD HIM, PROTECT HIM, GROW WITH HIM in the heart and life of each member of the family, imitating their example and virtues in family life, and in this way, we can improve the world.
- “THE INCARNATION OF THE SON OF GOD OPENS A NEW BEGINNING IN THE UNIVERSAL HISTORY OF MAN AND WOMAN. AND THIS NEW BEGINNING HAPPENS WITHIN A FAMILY, in Nazareth. Jesus was born in a family. He could have come in a spectacular way, or as a warrior, an emperor…. No, no: he is born in a family, in a family. This is important: to perceive in the nativity, this beautiful scene…GOD CHOSE TO COME INTO THE WORLD IN A HUMAN FAMILY, WHICH HE HIMSELF FORMED. He formed it in a remote village on the outskirts of the Roman Empire. Not in Rome, which was the capital of the Empire, not in a big city, but on its nearly invisible outskirts, indeed, of little renown.”
- “In Nazareth everything seemed to happen ‘normally’, according to the customs of a pious and hardworking Israelite family: they worked, the mother cooked, did all the housework, ironed shirts…. all the things mothers do. The father, a carpenter, worked, taught his son the trade. Thirty years. “But what a waste, Father!”. God works in mysterious ways. But what was important there was the family! And this was not a waste! They were great saints: Mary, the holiest woman, immaculate, and Joseph, a most righteous man…. The family.”
- “It is certainly not difficult to IMAGINE HOW MUCH MOTHERS COULD LEARN FROM MARY’S CARE FOR THAT SON! And HOW MUCH FATHERS COULD GLEAN FROM JOSEPH’S EXAMPLE, A RIGHTEOUS MAN, WHO DEDICATED HIS LIFE TO SUPPORTING AND PROTECTING THE CHILD AND HIS WIFE — HIS FAMILY — IN DIFFICULT TIMES.”
- “Not to mention HOW MUCH CHILDREN COULD BE ENCOURAGED BY THE ADOLESCENT JESUS TO UNDERSTAND THE NECESSITY AND BEAUTY OF CULTIVATING THEIR MOST PROFOUND VOCATION AND OF DREAMING GREAT DREAMS! In those 30 years, Jesus cultivated his vocation, for which the Father had sent him. And in that time, Jesus never became discouraged, but increased in courage in order to carry his mission forward.”
- “EACH CHRISTIAN FAMILY CAN FIRST OF ALL — AS MARY AND JOSEPH DID — WELCOME JESUS, LISTEN TO HIM, SPEAK WITH HIM, GUARD HIM, PROTECT HIM, GROW WITH HIM; AND IN THIS WAY IMPROVE THE WORLD. LET US MAKE ROOM IN OUR HEART AND IN OUR DAY FOR THE LORD. As Mary and Joseph also did, and it was not easy: how many difficulties they had to overcome! They were not a superficial family, they were not an unreal family. THE FAMILY OF NAZARETH URGES US TO REDISCOVER THE VOCATION AND MISSION OF THE FAMILY, OF EVERY FAMILY. And, what happened in those 30 years in Nazareth, can thus happen to us too: in seeking to make love and not hate normal, making mutual help commonplace, not indifference or enmity.”
- “Since then, each time there is a family that keeps this mystery [of God coming into the world in a family], even if it were on the periphery of the world, the mystery of the Son of God, the mystery of Jesus who comes to save us, the mystery is at work. He comes to save the world.
And THIS IS THE GREAT MISSION OF THE FAMILY: TO MAKE ROOM FOR JESUS WHO IS COMING, TO WELCOME JESUS IN THE FAMILY, IN EACH MEMBER: CHILDREN, HUSBAND, WIFE, GRANDPARENTS…. JESUS IS THERE. WELCOME HIM THERE, IN ORDER THAT HE SPIRITUALLY IN THE FAMILY.”
JESUS, MARY AND JOSEPH, WE ENTRUST TO YOU OUR FAMILY. MAY ALL THE MEMBERS OF OUR FAMILY MAKE ROOM FOR YOU IN OUR HEART AND LIFE. PROTECT OUR FAMILIES, KEEP US SAFE, PROVIDE FOR OUR MATERIAL AND SPIRITUAL NEEDS AND LEAD EACH ONE OF US TO THE ETERNAL VISION OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY! AMEN.
A Blessed Feast of the Holy Family to you and your family!
Fr. Rolly Arjonillo.
See as well:
For the entire text of Pope Francis’ Discourse, see http://www.news.va/en/news/at-the-general-audience-the-pope-points-to-the-nor
HOLY FAMILY REFLECTION
VIDEO COMMENTARY:
HOW DO YOU PREVENT A PROBLEMATIC FAMILY LIFE?
[VIDEO – KWENTONG JOLLIBEE: PAMASKO]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-MMiPZoxZc
Indeed, nothing compares to the joy of Christmas when it is celebrated with family.Today is the Feast of the Holy Family. It is celebrated on the Sunday following the birth of Jesus. We have a myriad of readings that can be reflected upon (SIRACH 3:2-6, 12-14; GENESIS 15:1-6; 21:1-3; COLOSSIANS 3:12-21; HEBREWS 11:8, 11-12, 17-19) and, of course, our gospel reading today which shows the encounter of Simeon with the Holy Family in the temple of Jerusalem.Their visit to the temple was to fulfill the rite of purification observed by the Jews after childbirth of a mother. There is also the customary offering of a lamb. But since they could not afford such, they gave instead two pigeons as an offering of the poor. This, plus, the circumcision rite represent the Jews’ appreciation to God of the gift of children. Let me just point out the significance of the encounter with Simeon. He prophesied that Mary would undergo much pain in the life of Jesus. Our families go through peaks and valleys, too, though not to the extent that Mary went through.
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