Feast of the Holy Family - Jesus, Mary and Joseph
We live in a global village, and although it may seem to us that we are so close to each other as never before, modern man experiences radical loneliness. We create, for example, a "Facebook family", but we still feel more and more alien, not keeping up with each other in this virtual space.
Mother Teresa of Calcutta wrote: Let us not make the mistake of thinking that hunger can only refer to a piece of bread. Today there is a much greater hunger, which is to be loved, to be wanted, to be accepted, to be cared for, to feel that you are someone. I see that this hunger is much greater than when someone is threatened with death for lack of food.
We want love, and at the same time we are helpless in its need. We build houses, arrange apartments, organize fantastic holidays, work until late in the evening, invest in children, in their education, but we cannot cope with the most basic concern of just being with each other and meeting without superficial relationships.
Today's Feast, in which we gaze at the Holy Family, prompts us how to fulfill the basic condition of happy relationships. Jesus' thirty years in Nazareth. At first glance, nothing spectacular is happening: Christ does not preach, he does not work miracles. Christ IS, as if he would like to remind that the first Revelation of God is His name I AM, which the exegetes say: I AM for you, I AM with you. This presence was made tangible by the Incarnation. The mystery of Emmanuel is the healing presence of God among us - hope for the healing of our human relationships.
The first tip for a happy life tells us that, first of all, we should learn to be patient and persevere with other people, and to listen to each other. The Holy Family provokes questions for us: do we have the courage to "waste" time for our loved ones? Do we have a love that listens patiently to what is the mystery of the heart of the other in front of us; her/his desires, joys, weariness and sorrow? If the loved ones do not have enough time for each other, the process of seeking understanding outside will begin: the spouses may be tempted to fall in love with the new "love", the children will seek acceptance outside the family, perhaps at the cost of being lost.
The Holy Family succeeded. The secret of happiness hidden in a faithful presence, patient and listening with faith. The common dreams of Mary and Joseph have been undergoing a test of faith and love since the Annunciation. Mary asks, "how will this happen?" Joseph doubts and struggles with awareness that he is not a real father. Then this wandering: lack of space in Bethlehem, fear of Herod and the experience of being refugees in Egypt. And yet the "power of the Most High" was supposed to protect them. Why they must experience all these inconveniences?
Why the Almighty is silent? Why not destroy Herod? No, because they have to live by faith. God did not make life easier for those He put next to his son; He demanded of them a faith so pure and so limitless that only souls of such profound humility can live in it. God did not offer the Holy Family optimal conditions for existence. However, he invited them to a mature faith in which a mutual and faithful presence could be matured. What makes a family? St. Paul answer: Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, (cf. Col 3:12)
It was all born of listening, because as Abraham Levi said: habit close to words, truth close to silence. Before the Word came to live in Mary's womb, it was previously accepted in her heart, and then in Joseph's heart. Be silent, because only then God will pronounce the Word of this birth in you, and you will be able to hear it. Because if you keep talking, He will have to keep quiet. His Word can be best served by silence only.
And by the way, let us praise the Son of God that by assuming human nature, he took upon himself not only the need to eat and drink, the need to sleep and rest, but also the need to be loved by his parents. And let us not be surprised that we are overcome by holy jealousy when we think that Mary and Joseph could have had the deepest intimacy with the Child Jesus. That is why we love Mary and Joseph so much - these two people to whom the Son of God, when he was born as a child, entrusted himself, his human fate and his human security.
Finally, let us note the shadow of the cross that already appears over Jesus, when he is still a baby. It is a scary to think that human wickedness can even be directed against a child. Little Jesus must be defended against Herod. Yes, we have fallen to such an extent that sometimes we can even turn against our own children. Indeed, we really, badly need a Savior.
At the end let me quote the words of Lao Tzu, a mystic philosopher of ancient China, best known as the author of the Tao Te Ching (The Way and Its Power), which is the original Taoist text published in the 3rd century. It is good to remember them in our family life.
Watch your thoughts, they become words;
watch your words, they become actions;
watch your actions, they become habits;
watch your habits, they become character;
watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.
One more thought
Please remember: The family that prays together stays together.
Until Tomorrow
fr. george