Feast of the Holy Family, a reflection

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

I hope that you had a wonderful and blessed Christmas celebration with your family and friends. In this octave of Christmas, which is in the 8 days of Christmas, we have this blessed opportunity to celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family. And why do we celebrate the Feast of Holy Family today? Because God's plan of salvation is for the human family. Our experience of God is not be an isolated experience, but a shared experience with family and friends. It's the way that God has ordered creation.

The family life, from the Beginning in the Book of Genesis, is a gift from God. We hear in the Jewish mythology, that after creating Adam, God saw that Adam was not completely happy, even though he had all animals to keep him company, and all the food for his nourishment. When God noticed that Adam was not happy, the Lord cast him into a deep sleep, and took a rib from his side, and formed a woman. And when Adam saw the woman, Eve, he exclaimed: “This one at last is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh.” In other words, from that day forward, they were no longer to live their lives apart, but together as one. According to the story from the beginning, marriage and family life is a gift from God.

But the story continues as the Evil One, in a form of a serpent, or the Leviathan, tries to disrupt God's order, and God's gift of marriage and family life. We can see from the Book of Genesis, that Marriage and family life is the first Sacrament, and it's also the first Sacrament that the Evil One tries to break apart, and destroy. He tempts the woman to eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. And both Adam and Eve disobey God, ate the forbidden fruit. This is known as The Fall. But the good news is that God always come to the rescue. God will always intervene when it is necessary. And God said in the first proclamation of the good news. To the Evil One he says: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers. You will strike the heel, and he will strike at your head.” In other words, good will always have the upper hand.

When the star was perfectly aligned, God sent His only beloved Son, the Lord Jesus into the human family. God did not send another person to be the Messiah, God did not send another prophet to the be the Messiah, or another person to be their king. God, himself is the Messiah. God himself is the newborn king. The Lord came into the world, born in a most humble way, born in a manger in Bethlehem (house of bread). Certainly, God, who is all powerful and all mighty, and the Lord could've chosen to be born anywhere. But it's a wonderful mystery how the Lord has chosen this humble beginning, born in a manger, surrounded by animals. Which can also be a connection to the Adam in the very beginning, that he too was surrounded by the animals.

But there were glimpses of his divinity, that this child is very special and unique. The Angels annunication to the shepherds of the field: “Do not be afraid, for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David, a savior has been born for you, who is Messiah and Lord. And this will be a sign for you; you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger.”

Also another sign, is from the Gospel according to Matthew, the Magi, or Kings from foreign nations, who traveled long distances because they believed that a unique star would lead them to the newborn king. So, even the birth of the Savior is written in the stars in the heavens, in the cosmos: “When the three kings saw the child with Mary his Mother, the prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.”

And certainly, the Lord doesn't want to dwell forever in a manger, but ultimately the Lord wants to dwell in our hearts. So that our hearts become the manger for the Lord. This is the mystery we celebrate during this Christmas season.

We turn to God's word for nourishment.

In the book of Sirach, God speaks through the author about the importance of caring, honoring and revering our parents. There are many blessings and rewards when that is accomplished. A house of justice, atonement for sins, many riches and blessings, a blessing for descendants, long life, comfort and consolation, removal of the debt of personal sins. So there are many blessings that flow forth when we honor our parents.

St. Paul's letter to the Colossians, urges the early Christians to bear one another and forgive one another, with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Most especially, to put on love, which is the bond of perfection. Let the peace of Christ, control your heart. And also to be thankful for all that we are and all that we have, to have gratitude in your hearts. I sometimes think about the Book of Job, and at one point, Job had everything, and then everything was taken away from him as a test, and then everything was given back to him at the end. So, knowing that all that we are and have can be taken away from us, and that helps me to be more grateful for everything that I have at the moment.

The Gospel account from Matthew, the hero in this account is St. Joseph. Joseph was a good husband and Father. God gave him some instructions, and he has chosen them well to care for Mary and the child. He took his family and flee to Egypt to protect them. When King Herod had past, he brought them back to Israel, but not to Judea because King Herod's son was the ruler, so he found a safe haven in Nazareth. Joseph was a type of person who was attentive to the warning signs, and also great faith and hope in God.

Holy Family Prayer:

Holy Family of Nazareth, make our family one with you. Help us to be instruments of peace. Grant that love, strengthened by grace, may prove mightier than all the weaknesses and trials through which our families sometimes pass. May we always have God at the center of our hearts and homes, until we are all one family, happy and at peace in our true home with you. Amen.

Introduction:

Brothers and Sisters in Christ, we continue to celebrate the mystery of the Lord's incarnation, during this octave of Christmas.

With great humility, God came to us, born in a manger.

With humility, God placed himself under the authority of Mary and Joseph, in the beauty and love of family life.

With equal humility, the Lord gives himself to us now in the form of bread and wine, in the Sacrament of Eucharist.

Let us prepare our hearts to celebrate the Sacred Mysteries...