A Message from Fr. Jay
Dear Friends,
Wish you all a happy new year 2024.
As we celebrate the feast of The Holy Family this weekend, let us dedicate our own families to the protection of the Holy Family: Mother Mary, Joseph and Jesus. More than ever before, the institution of the family is attacked badly from every side. In our American society, the numbers of broken families, divorces and abortions are drastically increasing. Children and Seniors become vulnerable of not having a family bond and potentially facing psychological and social discomforts. In such situations, the celebration of the feast of the Holy Family brings in a few reflections.
When God created the world, it was all ‘God Centric’, and everything was found in perfect order and harmony. Due to Sin, disintegration and division started in human society and resulted in macro level units like races, nations, regions, clans, linguistic groups, community neighborhoods, etc. But at the micro level, family is the only foundation on which we could set up any macro level community or nation.
Applying the same logic of making the families once again ‘God Centric’, we find that it is only by growing in holiness step by step, that we can bring about stability, peace and joy. The Holy Family stands as a model and example of that. The members of the Holy Family were not equals (particularly Joseph), and they had misunderstandings. They had to go through a lot before the birth of Jesus and also after the birth of Jesus. But our gospel narrative explains that Joseph grew up in holiness along with Mother Mary, day by day with the intervention of the angel of the Lord. With Jesus born, the family becomes an ideal Holy Family that we all adore during this season!
The first and second readings explain how a family could grow in holiness keeping the Lord as the center of their lives, and the gospel explains how Jesus himself grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. Our Catholic living trains us with the wisdom of growing in holiness. Let this new year bring many more opportunities to grow in holiness!
God Bless
Fr. Jay Raju
- Reading 1: Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14
- Reading 11: Colossians 3:12-21
- Gospel: Luke 2:22, 39-40
