Saturday, December 25, 2010
FEAST, HOLY FAMILY
FEAST, HOLY FAMILY
SIRACH 3:2-6, 12-14
The Lord honours the father above his children and upholds the rights
of a mother over her sons. Whoever respects a father expiates sins,
whoever honours a mother is like someone amassing a fortune. Whoever
respects a father will in turn be happy with children, the day he
prays for help, he will be heard. Long life comes to anyone who
honours a father, whoever obeys the Lord makes a mother happy. My
child, support your father in his old age, do not grieve him during
his life. Even if his mind should fail, show him sympathy, do not
despise him in your health and strength; for kindness to a father will
not be forgotten but will serve as reparation for your sins.
COLOSSIANS 3:12-21
As the chosen of God, then, the holy people whom he loves, you are to
be clothed in heartfelt compassion, in generosity and humility,
gentleness and patience. Bear with one another; forgive each other if
one of you has a complaint against another. The Lord has forgiven you;
now you must do the same. Over all these clothes, put on love, the
perfect bond. And may the peace of Christ reign in your hearts,
because it is for this that you were called together in one body.
Always be thankful. Let the Word of Christ, in all its richness, find
a home with you. Teach each other, and advise each other, in all
wisdom. With gratitude in your hearts sing psalms and hymns and
inspired songs to God; and whatever you say or do, let it be in the
name of the Lord Jesus, in thanksgiving to God the Father through him.
Wives, be subject to your husbands, as you should in the Lord.
Husbands, love your wives and do not be sharp with them. Children, be
obedient to your parents always, because that is what will please the
Lord. Parents, do not irritate your children or they will lose heart.
MATTHEW 2:13-15, 19-23
After they had left, suddenly the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph
in a dream and said, 'Get up, take the child and his mother with you,
and escape into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, because Herod
intends to search for the child and do away with him.' So Joseph got
up and, taking the child and his mother with him, left that night for
Egypt, where he stayed until Herod was dead. This was to fulfill what
the Lord had spoken through the prophet: I called my son out of Egypt.
After Herod's death, suddenly the angel of the Lord appeared in a
dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, 'Get up, take the child and his
mother with you and go back to the land of Israel, for those who
wanted to kill the child are dead.' So Joseph got up and, taking the
child and his mother with him, went back to the land of Israel. But
when he learnt that Archelaus had succeeded his father Herod as ruler
of Judaea he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he
withdrew to the region of Galilee. There he settled in a town called
Nazareth. In this way the words spoken through the prophets were to be
fulfilled: He will be called a Nazarene.
REFLECTION
The family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph is the keystone of Christian
family life. This family has come to be called in Christian tradition
the Holy Family. It was holy, not simply because the Child born of
Mary was holy, and the source of all holiness, but because this
particular family put into practice all the wise counsels which the
Hebrews had accumulated for happy home life. Several of the wise
counsels are to be found in our first reading today. They include
respect, honor, love, obedience and kindness.
The good Christian family allows the person to exist and grow in his
or her own right. Parents who care, provide food, home and clothing.
More importantly, they inculcate a code of conduct and a scale of
values that will form the characters of their children. In this way
the family is the basic unity of every society. It establishes a
family closeness that is possible nowhere else.
The strongest tie that knots the family together is love. Christ's
self-sacrificing love is the model for home life. Love pulls together
the heart-strings of the family, husband and wife, parents and
children, brothers and sisters. Self-sacrificing love compensates for
many other things that are missing from family life. Members of the
family may be successes or failures in their individual lives, but
they still count as people. Sick or disabled members do not lose their
personalities within the family. In the world today, a sense of
departure or remoteness characterizes the modern family.
Parents and children have their specific duties. The reciprocity of
duties, accepted in a spirit of love, makes for an exchange of views.
Parents and children who are not on talking terms cannot bridge the
generation gap. The questions or problems that arise between them as
they grow up have to be talked over together for better mutual
understanding.
Of all experts in a nation, parents are the best and the most
necessary. To succeed at their job, they do not need long years of
training. All they need is a caring heart. From the heart comes the
sunshine in which their children will grow. No family is perfect, but
no better place for raising children has been devised.
In the modern world we attach more importance to having a nice home
than to having a loving home. What use is a warm house if the members
of the family are cold with one another? The greatest gift that
parents can give their children is their love for one another.
As we honor the Holy Family today, let us pray for the grace that the
family can really relax and find true love and peace, the kind of love
and peace that reigned in the holy family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Vicky Fabella
- Susan
… for the personal intentions of
- Josefina Hong, Laurent Cabuloy, Haressh Mirchadani, Maxienne Ponce
De Leon, Rosauro Canta, Joaquin Co, Francisco Madilar, Mark Anthony
Lao
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Celso F. Bate
- Birthday: Dionisio R. Opelanio
- Birthday: Lilia B. Yang
- In Memoriam (+): Romualdo V. Suyosa
… for world peace and reconciliation.
Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers
and for those who need our prayers the most.
Have a good day!
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