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Living the Gospel – December 27, 2020

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Belated Christmas greetings to all of you. I was asked to “pitch-hit” this weekend and share a few thoughts concerning this Gospel on the Feast of the Holy Family so I hope you don’t mind me invading your space today. He was the light of their lives….but that light darkened for a time. His addiction “pierced” the lives of his entire family. But with patience and sacrifice, they got their son help and managed to heal the wound that cut their family so deeply. Today his mom and dad are part of a group of other parents who have gone through the same nightmare and offer support and counsel to families living through it now. Because of them, many hearts are “revealed.”

Some “piercings” are harder to heal: for three summers, she volunteered for two weeks to serve as a counselor for a camp for city children at risk. Then came the phone call that “pierced” their hearts. The night before she was to come home, she and a group went out for pizza. Two in the group were hurt but survived the crash, but their daughter lost too much blood. Now her mom and dad and brother have formed a foundation for the camp program in her name. Their daughter and sister’s light continues to shine. Every parent’s heart is “pierced” as they suffer with and for their children: illnesses, disappointments, break-ups, and stumbles. The roads our daughters and sons travel from infancy to childhood, from teen to adulthood, can be hard to negotiate and treacherous….and Mom and Dad’s hearts are “pierced” every step of the way. Parenthood requires patience, wisdom and generosity that many first-time mothers and fathers especially don’t believe they possess….but they discover over time that their love makes them better moms and dads than they imagined. They come to realize God’s grace in their Nazareth.

I think that today’s Feast of the Holy Family reminds us that being a family is a journey of changes and challenges…. what Simeon calls “piercings” in today’s Gospel….and that it’s the love of our spouses and children and brothers and sisters that enables us to negotiate and survive those “piercings,” to learn from those challenges, to move on from those difficult situations wiser and more loving. Our belonging to a family means that every one of us…parent and child…reflects for one another the selfless, limitless and unconditional love of Christ, both in good and bad times. The Holy Family is a model for our own families as we struggle together to adapt and change and cope with the many tensions and crisis that challenge the stability, peace and unity that are the joys of being a family. Blessings on your family today.

Fr. Jerry

Sincere thanks to Fr. Jerry for rescuing me during my period of writer’s block!! Peg