Word to the Wise
Sunday, December 29, 2019 - Sunday within the Octave of Christmas: The Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph - ABC
[Sir 3:3-7, 14-17a; Col 3:12-21 or 3:12-17; Matt 2:13-15, 19-23,82]SUNDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2019 THE HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS, MARY AND JOSEPH [Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14; Colossians 3:12-21; Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23] ""Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him." [Matthew] Yesterday we celebrated the feast of the Holy Innocents, the children Herod slaughtered in a paranoic effort to eliminate a "newborn King." The gospel passage for today speaks of what happened just before, when Joseph is warmed to flee to Egypt to save the life of the newborn Jesus and his mother. This gospel should help us to keep in mind not only the perils that children still face but the perils that families face as well. Our Christian brothers and sisters in the Middle East have had to flee their homes, often with only, a very few belongings, to escape the Islamic state! Similar conditions have sent families fleeing from Central America and drug gangs that threaten their very lives. All the virtues that St. Paul speaks of in the passage from Colossians for today's second scripture are sorely tested not only in the emergency warlike conditions of the Middle East, but in our very own society. The widely reported breakdown of family life in America has had terrible consequences for our . society. Those who work in Child Protective Services agencies can testify to the daily horrors that many children and families experience on a daily basis. It is not only drugs and violence, but also legislation from our own government that contributes to the hardships. I thank God for the gift of my own family that nurtured and supported me and encouraged me in the decision to enter religious life. Every family encounters challenges to its unity in love. We are all human beings with our individual faults and virtues. Our faith and God's grace must build on that human foundation, and today we can pray for that grace to strengthen our faith as members of a family. AMEN