Sir. 3:2-6, 12-14; Ps. 128:1-5; Col. 3:12-21; Mt.2:13-15, 19-23
“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph” is in itself a prayer to the Holy Family for our family. The Holy Family is an image of the unity of the Trinity in heaven. Just as we pray in the name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit as one to hear our prayer we can also call upon the Holy Family to come to our families in that same spirit of love, obedience, and healing. Do our families need healing? The holidays often reveal how separated, broken, or in need of healing is the family. The holidays call us to put aside the issues we have avoided, to reach out in an act of love, and to bring the spirit of peace and good will in reconciliation. Jesus, Mary and Joseph teach us to walk in his ways.
Let us begin with Joseph who is spoken about but never speaks himself in the scriptures. Do we have holy dreams or are our dreams a battle that is carried over from our day into the night dream. The angel comes to Joseph because he is the chosen one who is a righteous man, a man with fear of the Lord who lives his faith through his hard work and prayer. Prayer opens Joseph up to receive the message of the angel and respond with obedience. Men are taught to work hard, provide for the family, but do we know how to pray, how to lead our family in prayer? Prayer should direct our workday to walk in the way of the Lord.
Mary is the handmaid of the Lord called to be the Mother of God the Son. She too is God’s chosen one, a gentle woman at heart but filled with the strength to a bear the Son of God and allow Joseph to lead her by trusting that God will lead Joseph in the right path. Women do you trust God with leading your husbands or have you taken over that role because mother knows best. The bond of perfect is not who is in control but whose love rises above the conflict to give witness that his chosen ones allow God to be in control.
Jesus, the incarnation born of a woman, human and divine is the great witness to true humility in obedience to the Father. Jesus always found time to be alone in prayer to the Father and to accept the will of the Father. The true God was obedient to his human parents even as he was their God, what humility. We give a lot of attention to teach our children to be proud, to believe in themselves with words like “anyone can grow up to be President”. How much attention to we give to teach them true humility and the obedience to truth. The source of freedom does not come from pride but from humility to place everything in right order. There is a God and we are not “it”.
The authority given to parents is not for control of their children but as their first teachers. Teach them in the way they are to grow, and they will not depart from it. If we only command their obedience, then as soon as they are free to leave, we will see them depart and send us a season’s greeting card with maybe a picture if they have time. Jesus, Mary and Joseph were attentive to each other’s needs. Jesus listened to his mother when they ran out of wine at the wedding feast and did a miracle for her. When we pray to Mary and Joseph, they can also intercede for us with Jesus to answer that prayer we need in our lives.
God calls us to be a holy family and gave us the witness of Jesus, Joseph and Mary to follow. The family is the domestic church at home. This means that prayer should also be a key element of our family tradition. As Father Patrick Payten, the Irish born priest in America who lived until 1992 said, “The family that prays together stays together.” He was also known as the “rosary priest” for his promotion of the rosary prayer. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, pray for us.
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