Holy Family: [B]: Sira3:2-6,12-14,Colo3:12-21, Lk 2: 22-40

Holy Family: [B]: Sira3:2-6,12-14,Colo3:12-21, Lk 2: 22-40

Introduction:  Two thirds of United States families do not eat their meals together. Of the third who do, 50% are watching TV during the meal. The average child over 8 watches three and a half hours of TV daily, largely because the tired parents use the TV as a baby sitter at the end of a long day. (Economic Policy Institute) "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold. Mere anarchy is loosed on the world." When poet WB Yeats wrote these lines, he might have been speaking of contemporary family life. The Feast of the Holy Family is not as old as one might think. Its origins are found only in the seventeenth century.

Exegesis:  Family life today is a most difficult pursuit. One thinks of divorce, the scourge of alcohol and narcotics, the breakdown of discipline, and all the rest of the unhappy lot. We should pay attention to St Paul's letter to the Colossians in Asia Minor. Apparently word had reached Paul that Christian families in Colossae were falling apart. And so he notes the qualities that must be in a Christian home. Sit back and allow Paul's magnificent words to seep into your spirit. "Bear with one another. Forgive one another... Over all these put on love...Christ's peace must reign in your hearts...Be thankful. Wives, cherish your husbands. Husbands, love your wives. Children, obey your parents in everything." What a home it would be were one to find all the qualities Paul enumerates! They would be Hall of Fame material. People would fight to visit and just hope the family magic would rub off on them and their families. Why not allow it to be your home?

Today’s Gospel describes how Joseph presented Mary and the Child Jesus in the Temple for the ritual of the mother's purification and the child's "presentation." 

Practical Applications: "The lawyer is two, and the doctor is four," the grandma replied. We all have great ideals for our children. It is not that they need to become a lawyer or doctor to make us happy, but we do want them to grow up into the finest people they can be, using their potential, being happy in their lives. If this is what we really want for our children, then like Joseph and Mary in the Temple, we must dedicate our treasures to the Lord. For our children to fulfill their potential they must find the reflection of God they were created to bring into the world. Children must find the Lord not just in the Temple or the Church, they must find the Lord primarily in their families. This is the Feast of the Holy Family.  It is a day when we consider the spiritual life of our families. We ask ourselves today, "Can all the members of our family find the Lord in our homes?

Introduction: The feast of the Holy Family

Message: Family life is rooted in the unconditional love of God as witnessed by the Holy Family.  Mindful of his covenant, God blesses the faith of Abraham and Sarah in their son, Isaac.  The child Jesus and his parents are blessed by Simeon.

Saints and Events in this Week: 29 – Twenty Ninth – Monday – Fifth day within the Octave of the Nativity of the lord; Saint Thomas Becket, Bishop, Martyr; 30 – Thirtieth – Tuesday – Sixth Day within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord; 31 – Thirty First – Wednesday – Seventh Day within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord; Saint Sylvester First, Pope; First of January 2015 - Thursday – The Octave Day of the Nativity of the Lord: Solemnity of Mary, The Holy Mother of God, Holy Day of Obligation(USA); 2 – Second – Friday – Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops, Doctors of the Church; 3 – Third – Saturday – The Most Holy Name of Jesus;