The Holy Family
December 30, 2012
1 Samuel 1:20-28; Psalm
84; 1 John 3:1-2, 21-24; Luke 2:41-52
After
many years of dashed hopes, Hannah is able to conceive a son that she names Samuel.
She pleaded with the Lord for years and thought that her prayers were not
heard. The shame, confusion, and abandonment she must have felt were heavy on
her heart. Now that her son is born, her husband goes to make the sacrifice at
the Temple, but she does not join him. Instead of making a small gesture to the
Lord, she decides to offer her son totally – to become a servant of the Lord. Her choice shows her great generosity and
gratitude. She waited all her life to become a mother and now she gives her son
away. She will always be his mother, but she will not have the chance to be a
mother to him. Her sacrifice is great, but she gives freely to the Lord what is
most important to her.
The
Gospel tells us of the annual trip to Jerusalem of Joseph’s household during
the Passover feast. This feast is ingrained in the yearly rituals of Jesus. He
knows it is the feast that tells of God’s steadfast presence to the Israelites
as God delivers them out of slavery in Egypt. He decides to stay in the Temple
to hear more about this God with whom he feels a special relationship though
his parents are distressed at his negligence. He impresses his teachers with
his understanding and answers to theological questions. These conversations
certainly energize him and spur his imagination, though it causes his parents
worry and heartache. They must have felt like they lost their son in some way,
but he goes home with them because they are his family.
St.
Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, inserts this contemplation into the
heart of the Spiritual Exercises. His point is to show the Jesus learns
obedience from his mother and father. He cannot be faithful to God if he cannot
be faithful to his parents. He cannot go to the cross in fidelity to God unless
he first knows what it means to be faithful to his parents. This is the reason
he returns to them where he could advance in wisdom and in age. By doing so, he
finds favor before God and friends and family.
The
human family is where we learn to relate to one another. We hope that we grow
in holiness and develop practices where we share respect, forgiveness, love and
caring. It is a place where we learn to balance our needs against the desires
of others. We experience great pain from our families because we sometimes do
not learn healthy traits and coping mechanisms. All too often, stories of alienation,
intense unexpressed anger, irreconcilable differences, and shameful secrets
tear families apart. These incomprehensible situations erode the peace and
harmony within individuals and families. These tensions sneak out at certain
times like funerals and weddings and despite the great drama it brings, it
reveals fundamental hurt that comes from wanting to be loved more
fundamentally. Everyone deep down in their hearts want to have reconciliation,
but we allow certain minor incidences to distract us from reaching for our
goal. It is into this world that God chose to be born to us.
Families
are the places where hope is nourished. Almost everyone wants to be home for
the holidays. Hallmark greeting cards and computer images reveal peaceful,
serene, and happy endings and thoughtful sentiments. Classic Hollywood movies
show idealized family gatherings where gifts are exchanged, warm embraces are
shared, disagreements are resolved, and everyone sings a meaningful song or
prays together. This is the type of family life we want. We remember the good
old days and we want them again in our present time. These beautiful images
stay with us as we anticipate spending time with loved ones and friends.
With
wisdom, we are able to see that the good times are right now. We are able to
see the wholesale affection we have for those who are placed right before us.
Yes, we wish others were with us and we miss people because we love them a lot,
but there is no better thing to do than to enjoy the people with whom we find
ourselves. We are God’s family. Family is the people we are with. Jesus
redefines family once and for all. Anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord
is to be treated with an amazingly indescribable mercy. We can find joy today
because that is all we have. We have to train it to let it grow and deepen
within us. Allow yourself to feel the growing gladness that God loves the
person beside you in the same radical way that God loves you – and we are
called to love like God too.
Hannah
gives away what she loves most. Joseph and Mary lose and recover and lose again
their most prized possession. We might be called to give something away that we
strongly cherish in order for us to see the beauty that is before us – God’s
gift to us of one another. Sometimes what we give away can free us for a new
life that we cannot expect. Life always has its pains and sometimes these pains
make us grow wiser to God’s ways. Let’s take a great chance today. Let go of
those things that separate you from one another and find a way to uphold,
revere, and cherish the person who is standing in front of you. God may
surprise you and take your breath away.
Themes for this Week’s Masses
First
Reading: John, in his first letter, is dealing with many
deserters of the faith. He encourages the people to hold fast to the anointing
that comes from the Holy One in the face of adversity. (On New Year’s Day):
Moses blesses the people: “The Lord bless you and keep you! The Lord let his
face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! The Lord look upon you kindly and
give you peace.” (Back to 1 John) John tells the people that one who is a liar
cannot be a disciple. Anyone who denies the Son does not believe in the Father.
The reason that the world does not know the disciples of Jesus is that they do
not know Jesus. If they did, they would recognize that the disciples imitate
the life of Jesus. One’s behavior will testify to beliefs. If one is righteous,
his actions will be righteous. The disciples have heard that from the beginning
they are to love one another. Acts of violence, deceit, and dissension show
that one does not truly believe in the commandments of Christ.
Gospel:
The Prologue in John’s Gospel is read to highlight the identity of Jesus and
the knowledge of God’s plan of salvation. (On New Year’s Day): We hear the story
of the shepherds as they come to the manger and gaze upon the infant the angels
tell them about. When the eight days since birth had pass, Jesus is circumcised
and is given the name entrusted to him by the angel before he was conceived in
the womb. (Back to John) The Jews questions the Baptist to see if he was the
Christ. He tells them that one mightier than he is coming after him. Later on,
John the Baptist identifies Jesus to his disciples and tells them “Behold the
Lamb of God.” The disciples leave John to follow Jesus. One of the disciples,
Andrew, seeks out his brother, Simon, to bring him to Jesus, who promptly
renames him Peter. Jesus then calls Philip from Bethsaida. Philip tells
Nathaniel about him. Nathaniel dismisses Jesus becomes he comes from Nazareth,
but Jesus seeks him out and calls him as a disciple. Nathaniel is amazed that
Jesus knows much about him.
Saints of the Week
December 30: The Family of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus,
was a feast instituted in 1921. It was originally the 3rd Sunday after
Christmas. The Holy Family is often seen in Renaissance paintings - and many of
those are of the flight into Egypt.
December 31: Sylvester I, pope (d. 335), served the
church shortly after Constantine issued his Edict of Milan in 313 that publicly
recognized Christianity as the official religion of the empire and provided it
freedom of worship. Large public churches were built by the emperor and other
benefactors. Sylvester was alive during the Council of Nicaea but did not attend
because of old age.
January 2: Basil the Great and Gregory Nanzianzen,
bishops and doctors (fourth century), are two of the four great doctors of
the Eastern Church. They are known for their preaching especially against the
Arian heretics. Basil began as a hermit before he was named archbishop of
Caesarea. He influenced Gregory who eventually became archbishop of
Constantinople. Their teachings influenced both the Roman and Eastern Churches.
January 3: The Name of Jesus was given to the
infant as the angel foretold. In the Mediterranean world, the naming of person
stood for the whole person. Humans were given the power to name during the
Genesis creation accounts. If one honors the name of the person, they honor the
person. The name Jesus means “Yahweh saves.”
January 4: Elizabeth Ann Seton, religious (1774-1821),
was born into an Episcopalian household where she married and had five
children. When her husband died, she became a Catholic and founded a girls’
school in Baltimore. She then founded the Sisters of Charity and began the
foundation for the parochial school system in the U.S. She is the first
native-born American to be canonized.
January 5: John Neumann, bishop (1811-1860),
emigrated from Bohemia to New York and joined the Redemptorists in Pittsburgh
before being named bishop of Philadelphia. He built many churches in the
diocese and placed great emphasis on education as the foundation of faith.
This Week in
Jesuit History
·
Dec 30, 1564. Letter from Pope Pius IV
to Daniel, Archbishop of Mayence, deploring the malicious and scurrilous
pamphlets published against the Society throughout Germany and desiring him to
use his influence against the evil.
·
Dec 31, 1640. John Francis Regis died.
He was a missionary to the towns and villages of the remote mountains of
southern France.
·
Jan. 1, 1598: Fr. Alphonsus Barréna,
surnamed the Apostle of Peru, died. He was the first to carry the faith to the
Guaranis and Chiquitos in Paraguay.
·
Jan. 2, 1619: At Rome, John Berchmans
and Bartholomew Penneman, his companion scholastic from Belgium, entered the
Roman College.
·
Jan. 3, 1816: Fr. General Brzozowski
and 25 members of the Society, guarded by soldiers, left St. Petersburg,
Russia, having been banished by the civil government.
·
Jan. 4, 1619: The English mission is
raised to the status of a province.
·
Jan. 5, 1548: Francis Suarez, one of
the greatest theologians of the church, was born at Granada.
