Welcoming the Holy
Here we invite you to take time for yourself in personal prayer. The following spiritual reflection offers words and images which we hope will evoke for you an experience of God.
By: Sister Donna Del Santo
The Holy Family by Br. Mickey McGrath OSFS
Opening Prayer
Psalm 128 From Psalms for Praying © 2007 Nan C. Merrill
Blessed are you who reverence the Beloved, who walk in Love's way! You radiate an inner joy and peace where'er you go; compassion draws you to the gates of those in need.
Families and friends gather upon your doorstep;
Children run to greet you with open arms. Yes, blessed are you who reverence the Beloved!
Strangers feel at home in your presence;
the oppressed are comforted by your support.
Blessed indeed are you who reverence the Beloved! Peace be within you!
Reading
Luke 2:46-52
After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us?
Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.”
And he said to them, “Why were you looking 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. He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and people.
Reflection
Much of my life I struggled with the Feast of the Holy Family. The “Holy Family” often translated in my mind to be the perfect family, and I always felt like my family always fell short, we were anything but perfect and at times we were downright dysfunctional! Yet, at the same time, I know I was loved and that my parents did the best they could with six busy and unique kids.
Today’s gospel offers a glimpse of when the Holy Family wasn’t exactly measuring up. One writer reflected that social services would have been called for a child left alone in Jerusalem for three days. Wow, Mary and Joseph are human and struggled too. And like many of our Mothers, Mary kept all these things in her heart.
The Feast of the Holy Family is really an invitation to all of us to strive to be our best as the human family, in any circumstance we find ourselves, and to remember that God is with us, and loving us to become our best selves.
For the last year, I and my local community of Sisters have welcomed a family of six, seeking Asylum, into our home and into our lives. The initial invitation was to welcome them for a weekend which extended into a year. They now have their own home, and we continue to be a part of their family, and they are a part of our Joseph family. The four children call each of us Granny and the parents call me Sr. Afia, because Afia means one born on Friday, and I was born on Friday.
They have taught me much about life—about suffering and loss, about rejoicing and hope. In many ways, they are a representation of the Holy Family for me. Mary and Joseph sought to bring their child, Jesus, safely home and our family also wished to provide a safe home for their children as well.
The Feast of the Holy Family is a deeply human feast, it’s a feast of incredible courage; one that offers the hope and the promise of Emmanuel, God with us to everyone.
Closing Prayer
By Pope Francis, given in Rome, at Saint Peter’s, during the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, 2016
Holy Family of Nazareth, grant that our families too may be places of communion and prayer,
authentic schools of the Gospel and small domestic churches.
Holy Family of Nazareth may families never again experience violence, rejection and division; may all who have been hurt or scandalized find ready comfort and healing.
Holy Family of Nazareth, make us once more mindful of the sacredness and inviolability of the family, and its beauty in God’s plan.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, graciously hear our prayer. Amen.
Holy Family by Br. Mickey McGrath OSFS