The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary And Joseph. Year C – (episode 511)
29th December 2024t
Readings: Year C
1 Samuel 1:20-22, 24-28
Psalm blessed are those who dwell in your house O lord.
1 John 3:1-2, 21-24
Luke 2:41-52
Image: https://creator.nightcafe.studio/creation/dKeusvSeHw6vas1HvBbd/the-presentation-of-jesus-in-the-temple-by-mary-and-joseph-and-watched-on-with-joy-by-elderly-simeon?ru=Paul-Evangelion
The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary And Joseph. Year C -
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Please listen to the audio recordings of the readings, prayers and reflections for the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary And Joseph. Year C - by clicking this link here:
https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-the-holy/s-0WNWOZPxJWW (Episode: 511)
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I came across a wonderful poem on the birth of Christ and the Holy Family by a British poet called Godfrey Rust, and it's called "Midnight in Bethlehem, 0 A.D." - In part, it says,
"No room at the inn, no room anywhere,
they gave him the only place they could spare,
and the promised Messiah was born that night
on the floor of a stable without any light,
and while Mary slept there exhausted and cold,
Joseph sat by feeling helpless and old.
This wasn't the way he had thought it would be,
when the angel had told him the destiny,
chose them to look after the Holy One.
No, this was a farce.
What God had done was
to trust the care of the Saviour instead
to a man who could not even find him a bed.
If only he'd planned it more carefully then,
if only he could go back and do it again.
But when the shepherds burst in all breathless and wild,
and stopped in their tracks when they saw the child,
they shifted their gaze from the baby's bed,
and their eyes met his, and he nodded his head,
standing awkwardly, not knowing quite what to do.
Now they all knew for certain the story was true.
They stayed there for minutes, it might have been years.
Not one of them spoke.
Their hopes and their fears were gathered around this helpless God,
as their minds tried to grasp what it meant.
Where he stood, Joseph was silent,
as finally he saw this was how it was planned to be.
That the smell and the dark and the dirt and the pain
were not Joseph's mistake, but God's choice once again.
Past midnight in Bethlehem, Joseph knew that men would be saved
despite all they might do.
He could not control it, he did not understand.
He felt like a baby himself in God's hand.
He remembered the angel had said that his name would be Jesus.
'God saves!'"
That's a beautiful poem.
It's a wonderful picture of confusion, chaos and uncertainty that occurs in times of crisis. It would be familiar to any family when things aren't going the way they were planned. It's a reminder that God is even at work in the messiness and thwarted plans and unexpected situations of our lives.
The helplessness felt by Joseph is actually reassuring to all of us when things aren't going well, or we don't understand where things are going.
Today we pray for peace, peace in the world, peace in our families, peace in our own hearts. As with every worthy desire, the holding of an idea is often easier than putting it into practice, we know that.
The readings today remind us of something extremely important. That God's peace indicates not an absence of external conflict. Peace doesn't promise an absence of differences.
True peace does not necessarily indicate an absence of misunderstanding, nor of opposing opinions. No, true peace implies holding contradictory or opposing forces in harmony. Perhaps such a definition might be more helpful when we seek the meaning of an ideal community, or an ideal marriage, or even an ideal family and so on.
We don't mean uniformity but rather two solitudes embracing. A unity, a communion of differences enriching each other, and respecting each other, reverencing each other.
Joseph and Mary have wonderful care and support for each other.
They're open to God's will in their lives and they're dedicated to supporting and assisting each other and their wonderful child Jesus as a family unit and in their individual vocations in life; and that's inspiration for us all and a wonderful model of every family and community. I mean is there really any family that can say we're perfectly average? Every family is unique and has its own individual characteristics, because it's made up of individuals.
In the gospel our Lord is already wise beyond his years. He's a smart kid and he quickly realizes that being about his father's affairs at this stage of life means that he must go back with his family, with his foster-father Joseph and his mother Mary and he must learn from them and grow as he learns from their wisdom and guidance. Mary realizes she must ponder and reflect and learn from Jesus and the events of his life and prayerfully contemplate the meaning of his vocation which is unique and special. We too must follow Mary in constantly reflecting on the meaning of Jesus' life and actions for our lives too.
We must be brave and open. We must be ready to have regular shifts of thinking and attitude of openness and discipleship. The Holy Family's respect and openness to listen and learn from each other, to support each other in the calling each person has, is very important.
We might all have plans and hopes for members of our family but the best thing we can do is ultimately listen and dialogue with them about their inner calling or vocation that is unique to each of them. They're called to search for and live that vocation out and this might be a vocational calling that's different from our hopes or expectations for them. In the end, openness to God, who is at work in the lives of each of us, is the most important thing and living and working with each other in respect and love, gentleness and mercy.
Where did that last year go? The years seem to speed up each time.
I pray that this new year will be a time of peace and grace for us all as we, with Mary, ponder and treasure the things that God is doing in our lives and may God grant us peace in our hearts and in our lives and give us open, prayerful and grateful hearts.
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References:
Fr Paul W. Kelly
Some ideas adapted from 'Sharing the Word through the Liturgical Year, by Gustavo Gutierrez.
Joseph and the shepherds. Written for the carol service at St John's, West Ealing in 1989. Of course, it is fairly certain that Jesus wasn't born in 0 AD (more likely sometime between 5BC and 2BC), and 0 AD doesn't exist as the calendar goes from 1 BC to 1 AD, and these days it's correct to call them 1 BCE and 1 CE, but hey, it's a poem. © Godfrey Rust,godfrey@wordsout.co.uk . See here for details of permissions for use.
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The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary And Joseph. Year C
(Sunday) (episode 511)
"How happy they who dwell in your house, O Lord."
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (or/ The Lord be with You)
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Brothers and sisters, let us acknowledge our sins,
and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries.
Lord Jesus, you are mighty God and Prince of peace. Lord have mercy// You are Son of God and the Son of Mary. Christ have mercy// You are Word made flesh, the splendour of the Father. Lord have mercy.
May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
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Memorial Acclamation
Save us, Saviour of the world, for by your Cross and Resurrection you have set us free.
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Nativity of the Lord II
Euch Prayer II
Communion side. pwk: RH
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Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.
Archive of homilies and reflections: http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email: paulwkelly68@gmail.com
To listen to my weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here.
NB - It is often a week or so Ahead: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks
Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:
"Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection" - Led by Rev Paul Kelly
Roman Missal, 3rd edition, 2010, (ICEL)
Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989, and 2009 by the NCC-USA.
"The Psalms" by The Grail - 1963, 2009.
Prayers of the Faithful - Robert Borg "Together we pray" - (1993).
St. Ralph Sherwin Gloria - written and sung By Jeffrey M. Ostrowski. 2011 ccwatershed.org.
Christmas Hymn - "Word Made Flesh" by Paul W. Kelly. Based upon: John's Gospel 1:14; 1 John 4:9; & Isaiah 9:2, 6, 7. (Written on 8/5/20; 10/9/20). Arranged and sung by Stefan Kelk, with adjusted lyrics. 2020. https://www.airgigs.com/user/stefankelk
Traditional hymns: performed by the Bobby Cole Chamber Choir, licensed via Shockwave-Sound.com (https://www.shockwave-sound.com)
[Production - KER - 2024]
May God bless and keep you.
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