Dear Parish Family,

I can’t believe Christmas 2021 is here and that we are celebrating this most wonderful Feast!! I found this meditation/writing by James Martin, S.J. and I thought it is a good reflection for us to reflect on for this Christ-mas.

“Praying with the Holy Family”

We think of them as nearly perfect, and perhaps they were. After all, Jesus was fully human and fully divine, Mary was conceived without sin, and Joseph was a saint. But we also need to remember that the Holy Family was a human family living in difficult times.

This means they faced many of the same struggles that families do today—worrying about money, to begin with. The Greek word the Gospels use for Joseph’s profession (tekton) means not only carpenter but, more precisely, craftsman. That meant working with wood, of course, but also building walls, and often scrounging for work. Mary had to undergo the physical pains of childbirth and, later, mourned the death of Joseph. (He’s not present at the Crucifixion, so we can presume that he died by then.) And there were misunderstandings in this family too. When Jesus was “lost” in the temple, his parents were frantic with worry about their young son. “I was in my Father’s house,” Jesus assures them. “But they did not understand” (Luke 3:48-50). The next time you think your family is the only one that deals with misunderstandings, think again.

Praying with the Holy Family may mean imagining sitting in the presence of the three and remembering that their lives were not without difficulties. In this way, they are more like our own families, than we might think. But they met all their trials with love, hope, and trust. Can we?

In all of my Masses that I celebrate this Christmas, I will be praying for all of you!! Wishing all of you Blessed and Joy Filled Christmas and A Happy, Holy, and Healthy New Year!!

My Love and Prayers,

~~Fr. Steve