Sunday within the Octave of Christmas (Feast of the Holy FAmily) December 30th, 2012 Extraordinary Form of the Liturgy
Today we continue celebrating the Great Feast of Hope-Christmas. This Sunday falls within the Octave of Christmas, eight days of solemn and hopeful celebration of the Solemnity of Christmas-this is why the priest wears Gold vestments today. One day is not enough, so for eight days we solemnly celebrate that night when our Hope was born in the flesh, born as one of us, a man in order to be with us always—not just 2,000 years ago, but always; He is truly Emmanuel—God with us.
Last week I shared with you the Holy Father’s wonderful Christmas message; it was truly a message filled with hope for our troubled times. His Holiness Benedict continue this message of hope with his Urbi et Orbi, to the City and to the World, address on Christmas day to a crowd in St. Peter’s Square. In this yearly address, Benedict expressed hope, which springs forth from the birth of Christ; and he called for peace in the regions of the world where there is great conflict.
Benedict said, "In Jesus, born in Bethlehem of the Virgin Mary, kindness and truth do indeed meet; justice and peace have kissed; truth has sprung out of the earth and justice has looked down from heaven."
"God has done everything; he has done the impossible: he was made flesh. His all-powerful love has accomplished something which surpasses all human understanding: the Infinite has become a child, has entered the human family."
The Holy Father continued: "This same God cannot enter my heart unless I open the door to him. Porta fidei! The door of faith! We could be frightened by this, our inverse omnipotence. This human ability to be closed to God can make us fearful. But see the reality which chases away this gloomy thought, the hope that conquers fear: truth has sprung up! God is born!"
Going on to cite the scriptures, Pope Benedict said: "'The earth has yielded its fruits' (Ps 67:7). Yes, there is a good earth, a healthy earth, an earth freed of all selfishness and all lack of openness. In this world there is a good soil which God has prepared, that he might come to dwell among us. A dwelling place for his presence in the world. This good earth exists, and today too, in 2012, from this earth truth has sprung up! Consequently, there is hope in the world, a hope in which we can trust, even at the most difficult times and in the most difficult situations. Truth has sprung up, bringing kindness, justice and peace."
The Holy Father then called for peace in countries torn by conflict, such as Syria, which "does not spare even the defenseless and reaps innocent victims… I appeal for an end to the bloodshed, easier access for the relief of refugees and the displaced, and dialogue in the pursuit of a political solution to the conflict."
As you can see, Our Holy Father is giving us all hope in these times of great immorality and so great unrest, violence and lack of peace. He wants to give hope to our families which are being so attacked in our times; and just like he is calling for peace in countries torn by conflict, he is also indirectly calling for peace within our families, so often torn by conflict, including our parish families.
Speaking of family, today in the ordinary form of the liturgy we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family. The more we open our families to the Christ child truly present in the holy Eucharist the more our families are filled with hope and peace because the more they become by God’s grace and power, like the Holy Family of Nazareth. Joseph and Mary were graced with the presence of Hope incarnate. Their gaze was always focused on the Christ Child in their midst; the Sacred Heart of Christ was the Heart of their Holy Family. The Holy Family was a respite of great peace in a un-peaceful world. And it holiness sprung up as hope, justice and peace for the whole world.
WE too, our families are graced to have this same Hope incarnate, this same Hope become Man available to us, present to us through our Parish Family. We need to beg of God’s grace in order to imitate more and more Joseph and Mary and focus our gaze on the Christ Child. The Heart of our family needs to be the Sacred Heart of Jesus as well. Our families can then become as well places from which spring forth peace and justice and hope into our world.
Yes, the Divine Child of the Holy Family has come to give us all hope. And this hope ultimately points to the fact that we are called to share in the joy and peace of His own family. Not just the peace of the Holy family of Nazereth, but the peace of THE HOLY FAMILY, the Most blessed Trinity. As our first reading from Galatians points out: the Heir has become one of us, so that we who were children of this world might be heirs as well; so that we might become adopted children of Jesus’ own Heavenly Father and so members of God’s own Family thus living out already here on earth the hope of our baptism.
This is our hope. Because we are now adopted sons and daughters of the heavenly Father through Jesus Christ His Son, God has now sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts crying out Abba Father. We are not just servants of the Father but because of Christmas we are sons and so heirs also of the treasures of heaven, the treasures of love, joy and peace through God. What have we to be afraid of? No matter what happens if we keep our gaze on Christ, through Him the Heavenly Father keeps His gaze on us. What else do we need? What else can we hope for or in?
This is the fruit of Adoration of the Holy Eucharist, of keeping our Gaze on the Christ Child in the Holy Eucharist. Our hearts, and if we adore the Holy Eucharist as families, the heart of our family becomes one with the heart of Christ and through the heart of Christ one with the Heart of the Father in the unity and love; joy and peace of the Holy Spirit.
Let us turn to the Holy Family of Nazareth this day to help us, to help our family become like theirs. Let us turn to St. Joseph and Our Lady to help us keep our gaze on the Christ Child, both as individuals but also as families and as a parish family. May we all share more and more in the love of the Holy Family and the peace of the Holy Family. And then especially in this the year of faith which intensifies the call for a new evangelization, may our families become then beacons of love and joy; peace and justice springing forth for the whole world!!!
Let us now as a family turn to the divine crèche to find a refuge beside the HOLY FAMILY, praying in silence and listening to the symphony of angels singing at this Holy Mass, “
GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST AND AND PEACE ON EARTH TO MEN, (AND TO FAMILIES) ON WHOM GOD’S FAVOR REST, that is on those who adore the Son in the Holy Eucharist and keep their gaze on Him so they may follow Him as adopted sons and daughters and so carry out the Will of His Father and Who is now their Father and become one with Him. Amen.
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