Dear Friends, just yesterday we celebrated Christmas and now we honour the Holy Family of
Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Of course, it is most appropriate to reflect upon Jesus’ family in
the context of the Christmas season. It is a happy setting. Mary and Joseph were full of joy because
God, who became flesh, lived in their midst. They were cheerful even though they were facing great
difficulties. For example, the Holy Scripture tells us that they were refugees in Egypt
as king Herod wanted to kill their young Son. Our modern families face a lot of challenges as well.
They suffer from different types of illnesses, addictions,
financial worries, or domestic violence. Sometimes our homes are full of tension and stress.
In order to create a beautiful atmosphere, we need to fight for each other, not with each other.
Brothers and Sisters, I encourage you to keep no record of mistakes done by your family members.
Forgive them and forget any hurts done by them to you.
Offer to others your mercy not expecting anything in return. If we have good
intentions towards others, our arguments will be always transformed into something beautiful.
Henry Kissinger said, “A diamond is a chunk of coal that did well under pressure." Yes, sometimes
we live under pressure but, as Christians, we are called to convert our daily stresses into
the beauty of the diamond. And it is possible only with the grace of God. We need to offer our
life to Him in order to be truly committed to each other in our homes. Today’s Gospel tells us about
a pilgrimage of Mary and Joseph who took the child Jesus to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover.
When they were on the way home, they realised that Jesus wasn’t with them. They lost him.
The other day I had a conversation with a 25-year-old man who felt lost even though
he was not a child anymore. No matter how young or old we are, we can all find it hard to cope
with life’s challenges. It is important to seek a professional help if we feel depressed too often,
but today I would like to focus your attention on the importance of faith and relationship with God.
Decide to pray daily. Talk to Jesus about your struggles.
Bring your crosses to church every Sunday and spiritually place them on the altar.
Christ has already taken our problems on his shoulders.
Now he just wants us to make a conscious decision to offer everything we deal with to him.
Especially we should ask him to take care of our family problems.
Brothers and Sisters, an awareness of God‘s love can bring to our families only positive feelings.
Knowing that we are loved by our Heavenly Father, will help us to live peaceful lives.
Let us never be discouraged, even if we make mistakes.
Let us try to pass on God’s love we experience to the people closest to our
hearts even though it is difficult sometimes. Let us try to live like the holy family of
Nazareth. Let us be creative in sharing our love and appreciation of each other.
Let us be encouraging and positive in our conversations with parents,
brothers, and sisters. May our families be places of reconciliation, mutual love, and peace.