Year C

THE HOLY FAMILY SUNDAY

► Text of Sunday Reflection

“Be loyal to your family”
by Fr Martin Loftus SDB

When children are growing up, the regular presence of parents is a constant assurance of safety for every young child. The family, no matter what its shortcomings, is the basic human connection. Parents are the first teachers of love. It is from the parents that love is taught, or caught! Their attachment to the child shows the child that he is worthy of love. And it also shows the child how to love. We keep the feast of the holy family today – mary, joseph and jesus as a family. The gospel tells us that this holy family

Seemed to live constantly in the shadow of pain! This holy family was not a plaster-cast family. They experienced all the difficulties, and trials, that human beings are heir to.

One thing i can say with certainty, is, that there isn’t a family on the island of ireland, that doesn’t have some kind of trouble! The chinese have a proverb which states: “nobody’s family can hang out a sign that says: nothing is the matter here!”

But whatever form your family trouble takes, there is a way that the holy family can support & serve you. And that way, is the way in which they loved one another! Joseph was faithful to mary, even though the child she carried was not his! Mary was faithful to her son jesus, through all his pain, even to the foot of the cross!! You remember, that one of the things that most concerned jesus, as he hung on the cross, was that there would be somebody, like john, to take care of his mother after he was gone.

On this feast of the holy family, there’s really only one message i’d like to give you: “Be loyal to your family.” Give them the support, the understanding, and the love that they need. My mother used to talk about a man who was a “street angel” but a “house devil” – he was lovely to neighbours & strangers, but horrible to his own family! Reserve your deepest kindness for your own home!! You know the faults of your family members better that anybody else, but don’t forget their virtues, or all the things they’ve done

For you in the past. Like the holy family, every family has it’s times of happiness and joy, and, at some stage, it’s time of suffering. We must enter into the happiness and celebration when it’s there. And if some member of your family is suffering – rally round!! And if the going gets really tough, then pray to the holy family for inspiration and support. May god bless you, & your family, in the coming year. May you enjoy, above all, harmony and health. And may you, as a united and supportive family, enjoy a great share of happiness and love together.

I’d like to finish with this family blessing:

May god bless you & your family.
May god strengthen you, together;
May god dwell in your hearts.
May god inspire you
To share his love with one another;
And, may god hold you , and your family,
In his arms of love

► Readings, Reflections & Prayers

Scripture readings: Association for Catholic Priests
– www.associationofcatholicpriests.ie
Reflections and Prayers by Fr Jack Finnegan SDB

1st Reading – 1 Samuel 1:20-22

In due time Hannah conceived and bore a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, “I have asked him of the Lord.”

Her husband Elkanah and all his household went up to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice, and to pay his vow. But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “As soon as the child is weaned, I will bring him, that he may appear in the presence of the Lord, and remain there forever; I will offer him as a nazirite for all time.”

When she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine. She brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh; and the child was young. Then they slaughtered the bull, and they brought the child to Eli. And she said, “Oh, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the Lord. For this child I prayed; and the Lord has granted me the petition that I made to him. Therefore I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives, he is given to the Lord.” She left him there for the Lord.

Reflection

The reading from Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) focuses attention on the fourth commandment: Honour your father and your mother (Exodus 20:12; see also Ephesians 6:2). To honour means to appreciate what our parents have done for us. But does honour in our hearts find expression in our words and gestures? The reading from 1 Samuel focuses attention on the story of Samuel’s mother Hannah and how she entrusted him to the temple. She knew her child was a gift of God. As we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family we remember that the family is God’s gift to humanity, something easily forgotten in secular understandings of marriage and family. Let us pray for children everywhere today, especially for those fleeing war-torn homelands with their parents.

Prayer

LORD, Adonai, you are Love. When we love our parents we are on the road you opened for us from the beginning. Love heals. Mercy reconciles. Love allows good things to happen. Mercy opens doors to healing. Love is the heart of family life. Reconciliation is its best friend. Acts of love come from you and return to you. So do loving acts of mercy. Bless our parents today. Bless our grandparents and all who have gone before us. Let your face shine on them. Let your loving smile embrace them. With Jesus, Mary and Joseph to guide and inspire us, help us deal creatively with contemporary challenges to the nature of marriage and the family. Help us show your love to the coming generations. Now and forever. Amen.

Ps 83: 2-3, 5-6, 9-10

R./: How happy they who dwell in your house, O Lord
How lovely is your dwelling place,
Lord, God of hosts.
My soul is longing and yearning,
is yearning for the courts of the Lord.
My heart and my soul ring out their joy
to God, the living God. (R./)

They are happy, who dwell in your house,
for ever singing your praise.
They are happy, whose strength is in you;
they walk with ever growing strength. (R./)

O Lord, God of hosts, hear my prayer,
give ear, O God of Jacob.
Turn your eyes, O God, our shield,
look on the face of your anointed. (R./)

Reflection

Where there is wholesome respect for God and his word human relationships stand a better chance of being well ordered, balanced and harmonious. Those who genuinely honour and respect God tend to be less self-centred, more considerate of others. Such people tend to appreciate the blessings that come to them. They know what it means to respect and support their neighbours. The verses chosen from Psalm 84 focus attention on the loveliness of God’s Temple, that wonderful symbol of the presence of God in the world. Can we place God firmly at the centre of our family and personal lives in these days? Can we constantly seek God’s loving presence in the times in which we live?

Prayer

LORD, Adonai, we remember your infinite goodness. Hear our heartfelt songs of gratitude and praise. You are faithful to your covenant forever. You are merciful and true. Today we seek your face for our families. May your face shine on them! May peace and kindness bless them today! May our families be wrapped in your loving compassion and grace! May we witness to your kindness everywhere, in our homes, parishes and neighbourhoods! May your Holy Spirit empower us to live caring, thoughtful, benevolent and grateful lives! Make all our families strong in your love today and every day. Like the Holy Family of Nazareth may every family honour the forces of goodness and truth for the sake of a caring world! Now and forever. Amen.

2nd Reading: 1 John 3:1-2, 21-24

See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.

Beloved, we put our trust in God; and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.

Reflection

Did you notice how the passage from Colossians begins by inviting us to clothe ourselves with or put on a set of virtues, most especially love? Heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. There are echoes here of our rising from the waters of baptism and putting on new clothes. There are also echoes of what we need to let go of before the Holy Spirit touches us with transforming fire. Husbands are challenged to love their wives, wives their husbands and children their parents. Both husband and wife are invited to shake off the negative attitudes that frustrate their children and drive them to resentment. The alternative text from 1 John focuses attention firmly on the centrality of love. We love because God first loved us. Love allows us to take God at his word when he makes promises for the future, promises fulfilled in Jesus whose birth and family of origin we celebrate with loving joy today. When love warms our faith and when our faith orients our hope we become more resilient in the face of the challenges that family life faces today. The challenge, then, is to live lives in which compassion and love play decisive roles. Fear plays no part in the lives of those who abide in love and in whom love abides.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, come to us in our homes and families. How grateful we are for the touch of your love. Fill our hearts and homes with true wisdom and sincere compassion. Help us accept each other with loving gentleness and patience. Teach us how to forgive each other, to rise above our differences and quarrels. Teach us the way of love. Open our hearts to the ways of reconciliation. Protect families wounded by forces opposed to love. May your message find a true home among us and may all things work for good! Now and forever. Amen.

Gospel Reading: Luke 2:41-52

Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day’s journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.” He said to them, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he said to them. Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart.

And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favour.

Reflection

Apart from the stories about Simeon and Anna and their impact on Mary and Joseph, today’s gospel focusses attention on the growth of the Christ-child to maturity and wisdom at the heart of his family. As a fully human child Jesus, like all of us, had to grow physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. He also grew in wisdom (the Greek word used by Luke includes insight, skill and intelligence). That is how he was able to bring benefit to others and glory to God. And the best way to grow like that is as a cherished person in a loving family given every opportunity to grow and develop. That is how we understand the achievement of Jesus who reveals the wholeness proper to each stage of human development. Look at your family with appreciation today and pray for all children to be nurtured and cherished, surrounded by peace, love, tenderness and care. Then pray blessings on your own children and grandchildren, nieces and nephews, and all the other members of your own family and those of your neighbours and friends.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, grace us to treat everyone well. May the bonds of love grow strong in all our homes and families! May our families be places where children blossom and grow wisely into wholeness and goodness as you did! Help us live together with kindness and mutual understanding. May the prayers of Mary and Joseph inspire us! Gift us with resilience and wisdom, with courage and perseverance as we face the tribulations of life in a world touched by bitterness and violence! May the prayers of Mary and Joseph help us bear the soul-piercing swords of injustice and prejudice! Lord, bless families trapped by war. Send caring helpers to families driven into exile! Bless families touched by tragedy and violence! Send wise helpers to families caught in the traps of poverty and unemployment. Bless homeless and sick children everywhere. Now and forever. Amen.

► Lectio Divina

The episode that Luke narrates does not reconcile the filial submission of Jesus to his parents at Nazareth and his absolute obedience to the Father in the Temple at Jerusalem. Jesus’ attitude was not understood by his mother. We see her at first very distressed by the loss of her son and then, later, surprised by the independence of a child who was becoming adult. As Jesus grew up, Mary began to feel that he was no longer only her son.  Instead, she saw the Son of God growing up. His parents noticed the child’s closeness to God but this was not the cause of their lack of understanding. In their eyes, he was growing at the same time as man and as the Son of God.

We can learn a lot from this. From his family’s point of view, Jesus was lost because he was concerned about the things of God. From Jesus’ point of view, his parents had to accept a decision which implied that he renounce his family inheritance. Harmony prevails in a family when all accept their respective roles. Mutual respect is essential in every family that wants to follow God’s will.

I. Read: understand what the text is saying, focussing on how it says it

Luke is the only evangelist who says anything about Jesus as an adolescent. The episode of his getting lost and being found in the Temple at Jerusalem (Lk 2, 41-52) concludes the gospel account of his infancy. For the evangelist, this is more than a simple episode. It is the preamble of the personal mission of Jesus. The incident in itself was one that might easily have been overlooked. The parents of Jesus did not see anything special in their son … until the day he got lost! Far from just an unfortunate accident, it was a forewarning of the time when he would be lost definitively.   By declaring publicly that he was the Son of God, Jesus ceased to be only the son of Mary and Joseph. The relationship that had begun with an infant in Mary’s arms (Lk 2, 12-16) had now come to its natural end.  He who was first an infant (Lk.2, 17. 27-40) and a son (Lk 2, 43) is now seen to be the Son of God (Lk 2, 49).

As in the preceding incident (Lk 2, 21-39), the Temple is the central place of the revelation of the personal mystery of Jesus. The account follows the same model: their going up to Jerusalem (Lk 2, 42; cf 2, 22), revelation of Jesus (Lk 2, 46-47; cf 2, 30-31), a comment about his mother (Lk 2, 48; cf 2, 39), and their return to Nazareth (Lk 2, 51; cf 2,39).  The centre of the episode, and the key to understanding it, is the double question put by Jesus to his mother (Lk 2, 48). Mary is unable to understand either the fact of his getting lost or the reason given by her son (Lk 2, 50).  Jesus’ reply reveals all that has already been said about the child. The difference is that now it is Jesus who defines himself: he is the son of another Father whom alone he must obey.

This episode constitutes the final conclusion of the infancy narrative.  As soon as he reaches the age of majority, Jesus speaks for the first time as the Son of God, with full awareness of his mission.

What the angel said (Lk 2, 1-20) and what Simeon saw (Lk 2,21-22) are now confirmed by Jesus himself as he grew up. He can still grow in human wisdom (Lk 2, 52), but he now knows the most fundamental thing, that God is his Father (Lk 2, 48). The time and place of his declaration are important. Before submitting himself to the law of God, Jesus acknowledges that he is the son of God and is concerned about the affairs of God, and he does so in his Father’s House.

II. Meditate:  apply what the text says to life

The mystery of the nativity that we are celebrating in these days, is presented to us today from a different point of view. God-with-us chose to become a man like us. Like all of us, at his birth he was accepted into a family as a son. The Feast of the Holy Family is therefore, the logical consequence of the Incarnation we believe in. The family of Nazareth is more than just a model of life for us. It is the everyday expression of the will of God to be close to us. So much did he desire to be like us, that he became the son of a mother and father who, at the beginning, were not altogether sure about wanting a son.   Mary was a virgin and was not yet ready to become a mother. Being part of God’s family came as a surprise to the parents of Jesus. All this happened because God wanted to become a son of man, like each of us. God wanted to be a normal man and to belong to a family where he could learn to become a man. This was his way to become a God who was our brother, part of our family.

We might be a bit surprised at God’s decision to come into our world as a member of a family.  However, we should take seriously this decision of God to become incarnate among us, and to live in a world where the family is under threat in a thousand ways.  For anyone who believes in Jesus, God-with-us, it should be evident that a society that does not love the family cannot be considered a Christian society. We can have no part in a culture or politics, in ideas or interests, which do not serve the family. And unfortunately, it is not always others who are the enemies of family life. We are often the most to blame when it comes to damaging the family  – when we fail to promote it, when we do not take care of it every day, when we do not respect the family and work every day to maintain its unity.  A Christian has many reasons to dissociate himself from every plan or project that weakens family life. And they are not reasons that we have invented. They were given to us by God when he chose to become man as the son of Mary and Joseph. They are not just simple traditional values to preserve what we consider a good way of life. As Christians, we are much more than simply preservers of traditional values. We are first and foremost believers in the God of Jesus. God came to us in a human family. The family of the child in the manger was the sign given to the shepherds to lead them to salvation. A star guided the pagan magi and, in doing so, led those who were furthest away from God to meet him in his family. The Christmas crib welcomes us and in the crib we meet God, where his family lives, united by God and by him alone.

It is not surprising that we find it hard to meet God when we, like so many of our contemporaries, continue to search for him where he is not to be found, far from family life. Let us return to family life. Let us get back to seeing the family as something we must work for, as a goal in life and as a sacrifice we offer to God. Our Christian God is a family God who chose the family – his family and ours – as the place of his presence in our world. He did so at the first Christmas and this Christmas reminds us of that.  If we are not good parents or good children, we should not deceive ourselves into thinking we are good believers in God who became man, and became the obedient son of a young couple.

We risk fooling ourselves. If we do not meet God in the heart of the family, it will not be easy for us to share his life. The gospel account makes it clear that the family of Mary and Joseph with Jesus, the incarnate God, was not free of misunderstanding and sorrow. They had the same difficulties as every other family. In every son, in every family, Jesus is always different, far removed from our petty preoccupations, always attentive to his Father’s affairs. It is significant that Mary, the mother chosen by God, suffered the experience of losing her son for a time, the son who was really the Son of God. Are we not moved by the fact that Mary had this experience, when we ourselves so often lose Jesus and don’t know how or where to find him?  And when she did find him, she had to recognise that this son was no longer hers, he was no longer at her command, from now on he could live without this mother and this family. We can identify with this. How often have we lost God when we thought he was close to us, and thought we belonged to his family? How often have we distanced ourselves from him? This family God of ours is not an easy God to live with! Why should he be easy to live with, if we are not easy to live with?

If we know that God belongs to our family, we will search for him as Mary did, until we find him. And we will find him in the Temple, in the place where God dwells. To have lost God a few times, to have alienated him from our family and sent him away, is the best starting point in our search for him. We can learn from Mary. The more we get separated from our family members, the more we risk losing God without realizing it, just because we are more concerned about carrying out our own plans than we are about the plans of the father of Jesus.

We can learn from Mary also how to grieve when we have lost him and how to set about finding him. It is only when we miss something we have always had, that we appreciate how good it was. If we have lost God and are feeling the loss, then we discover how bad it is to live without him and how much we miss him. Knowing that we have lost him is one way, imperfect but sincere nonetheless, of loving him. And it is the strongest reason for us to start looking for him!

If we are not sad at being separated from him, and if we are not prepared to enquire about him from the people we meet on our journey, it is a sign that we do not love him enough to be ashamed of having lost him, and to set about searching for him. We should keep him with us, in the family. This is the best test of what we really desire. Mary is our model as Mother of God also because she sought him sorrowing.

Perhaps this is the journey we have to make, perhaps the only one that is left to us, if we are to return to seek God in our family.  We must not waste this chance.  We should live our family life in a way that allows us to wait for God to be born. And if, through forgetfulness, we have lost sight of God, let us start looking for him.  When we find him, as Mary did, we will respect him and love him all the more. A God that we can easily lose, requires more attention!  If Mary had to learn this, then so do we.