This Sunday ,coming immediately after Christmas, we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family. The reading from the Gospel of Matthew that we heard just now places before us in a very few words all the troubles, challenges and hardships the young family faced at the outset.
Joseph, Mary and Jesus did not enjoy a comfortable environment at the beginning of their family life. They had to endure tremendous hardships just to be alive.
After all the marvelous happenings after the birth of Jesus-- the visit of the Magi, the greeting of the shepherds, the appearance of the angels to the shepherds-- things have not yet settled down for them for a happy family life. All of a sudden, Joseph was asked to leave Bethlehem for Egypt. We can only imagine the ordeal and hardships of the young family on their flight to Egypt. Leaving for a foreign country with no preparations, with no friends and with no money would definitely be very hazardous in those days. They had to make the decision right there and leave for Egypt. It is beyond our imagination even to guess how they did find help for the flight and the means for their livelihood in a strange land with no knowledge of the language of the country. Then, after a few years, they were asked to return to Palestine. They had to make the trip back again with no preparations.
What we find in them, hence, is the perfect submission to the will of God. No questions were asked and no doubts were raised. With faith in God and with love for one another, they knew they could overcome all kinds of obstacles in their lives.
What we find in Joseph and Mary is their perfect submission to the will of God, steadfastness or constancy in their faith, unconditional love and whole-hearted cooperation. We know that a family becomes successful spiritually and emotionally when these elements become the fabric of their lives.
A family is rich not because of the wealth it has nor because of the beautiful house in which it lives but because of the wealth in the hearts of its members—faith in God and love for each other.
If we are unwilling to yield or to compromise and if our selfishness or arrogance dominates our attitudes, the family ties break down. It is to the Word of God and to our faith that we have to return when we have problems in our families.
We find all around us marriages breaking down and ending in divorces. More than a million children grow up in broken families every year in our country. There are concerted and very fierce attempts on the part of many to destroy the very meaning of marriage.
Family is our greatest treasure and we have to preserve and nurture it through our love and sacrifice. As the Dogmatic Constitution of the Church of the Second Vatican Council states, “the family is the domestic church” and it is there the elements of Christian faith have to be learned and practiced. Parents, according to the Document, are “ the first heralds of faith with regard to their children.”
We often ignore to emphasize how important is faith in our life. We rarely speak about the role of faith in our lives and live according to the faith. Family discords and differences between the parents, violent arguments and domestic abuse all create an atmosphere that destroys the warmth and love that should exist in a Christian family.
This is the appropriate time for each one of us to ask ourselves how we can make a difference in our family life and make it better and richer How are the members of my family relating to one another How are the members of my family relating to one another and how strong is the place of the faith in our families?
May the Lord give us the grace to make our families the seedbeds of love and peace.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Advent 4th S.,Dec.20,09
Advent,4th S.Dec.20,09
(Mt.1:18-25)
On this fourth Sunday of Advent , the Gospel presents the birth of Jesus and the circumstances surrounding the birth. On the last three Sundays, the Gospel passages presented before us Zechariah, Bl. Virgin Mary and John the Baptist, great persons chosen by God for their special roles in the history of our salvation. Today, we meet another personage of no less importance. The account of the birth of Jesus that we heard just now centers mostly around St. Joseph and the decisive actions he took at a critical time in the life of Bl. Virgin Mary and Jesus. From the few words in this account of the nativity from the Gospel, we get an inkling into the integrity , steadfastness and deep faith of Joseph.
We can only imagine the thoughts and feelings that crossed the mind of St.Joseph when he found that Mary was pregnant before they were married. All his expectations and dreams of a new life with Mary disappeared all of a sudden.. He , definitely, trusted Mary and accepted her account of the stupendous miracle involved in the pregnancy. But how could Joseph accept Mary as his wife when she became pregnant before marriage. The traditional society in which Joseph lived would never allow him to receive her. She would be punished according to the Mosaic Law. He knew his public rejection of Mary would result in her death.
The Gospel uses a word to describe the integrity and the greatness of Joseph’s personality: he was a just man. The Greek word that is used to describe him is dikaios= innocent, just, equitable, impartial. He was not going to be to be in any way swayed just by the literal weight of the law. As a man of God, he knew that something great was happening in his life. There was no reason to distrust Mary whom he knew so well. He was open to God in his heart and soul.
It was when he was passing through such turbulent storms in his heart that he received the message of God not to be afraid and to receive Mary as his wife. He was addressed as the descendant of David and then the angel gave him the authority to name the child, Jesus.
Joseph thus became the protector of Jesus and the lawful husband of Mary. He was willing to face all the challenges and hardships involved in his role as the father of Jesus.
The life of Joseph is a strong reminder to each one of us to reflect on our life as the protector of our faith. We often fail in our life as Christians when our faith is challenged or questioned. We fail in our duty to nurture the faith of our children. When they stop practicing their faith, we don’t take effort to give them the right understanding of the faith nor do we give them good examples. How just are we in our dealings with our neighbors? Our arrogance, contemptuous attitudes and disparaging remarks make us unworthy of the custodians of the precious faith given to us.
We have to be the new Josephs in the places where we work or move. We are the new custodians of Jesus--- of our faith, of everything that pertains to the faith. We should not run away from those who attack or disparage our faith. The words that gave courage to Joseph “Do not be afraid” are ours to claim. We can be the people who can effect changes in our family and society through our courageous actions. As Mother Teresa has put it: “What I do, you cannot do, but what you do I cannot do. The needs are great, and none of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful.”
Let us make a deep introspection and see where we have failed in the practice of our faith, and in what way we can change our attitudes and perceptions in order to become better examples to our families as well as to our neighbors..
(Mt.1:18-25)
On this fourth Sunday of Advent , the Gospel presents the birth of Jesus and the circumstances surrounding the birth. On the last three Sundays, the Gospel passages presented before us Zechariah, Bl. Virgin Mary and John the Baptist, great persons chosen by God for their special roles in the history of our salvation. Today, we meet another personage of no less importance. The account of the birth of Jesus that we heard just now centers mostly around St. Joseph and the decisive actions he took at a critical time in the life of Bl. Virgin Mary and Jesus. From the few words in this account of the nativity from the Gospel, we get an inkling into the integrity , steadfastness and deep faith of Joseph.
We can only imagine the thoughts and feelings that crossed the mind of St.Joseph when he found that Mary was pregnant before they were married. All his expectations and dreams of a new life with Mary disappeared all of a sudden.. He , definitely, trusted Mary and accepted her account of the stupendous miracle involved in the pregnancy. But how could Joseph accept Mary as his wife when she became pregnant before marriage. The traditional society in which Joseph lived would never allow him to receive her. She would be punished according to the Mosaic Law. He knew his public rejection of Mary would result in her death.
The Gospel uses a word to describe the integrity and the greatness of Joseph’s personality: he was a just man. The Greek word that is used to describe him is dikaios= innocent, just, equitable, impartial. He was not going to be to be in any way swayed just by the literal weight of the law. As a man of God, he knew that something great was happening in his life. There was no reason to distrust Mary whom he knew so well. He was open to God in his heart and soul.
It was when he was passing through such turbulent storms in his heart that he received the message of God not to be afraid and to receive Mary as his wife. He was addressed as the descendant of David and then the angel gave him the authority to name the child, Jesus.
Joseph thus became the protector of Jesus and the lawful husband of Mary. He was willing to face all the challenges and hardships involved in his role as the father of Jesus.
The life of Joseph is a strong reminder to each one of us to reflect on our life as the protector of our faith. We often fail in our life as Christians when our faith is challenged or questioned. We fail in our duty to nurture the faith of our children. When they stop practicing their faith, we don’t take effort to give them the right understanding of the faith nor do we give them good examples. How just are we in our dealings with our neighbors? Our arrogance, contemptuous attitudes and disparaging remarks make us unworthy of the custodians of the precious faith given to us.
We have to be the new Josephs in the places where we work or move. We are the new custodians of Jesus--- of our faith, of everything that pertains to the faith. We should not run away from those who attack or disparage our faith. The words that gave courage to Joseph “Do not be afraid” are ours to claim. We can be the people who can effect changes in our family and society through our courageous actions. As Mother Teresa has put it: “What I do, you cannot do, but what you do I cannot do. The needs are great, and none of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful.”
Let us make a deep introspection and see where we have failed in the practice of our faith, and in what way we can change our attitudes and perceptions in order to become better examples to our families as well as to our neighbors..
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