Friends,
Today, we are pleased to celebrate the Holy family, acknowledging with joy that God is pleased to become a member of the family. Through the birth of his Son Jesus in a family of Mary and Joseph, God entered the human family and dwells richly in it, granting us peace and helping us to love one another.
In the second reading, St. Paul prays that Christ’s peace will control our hearts, helping us to grow in virtues of humility, kindness, gentleness, and patience, which are essential for our growth in prayer and thanksgiving to God for the gift of life. In the first reading, Sirach, an elderly person full of wisdom, instructs the young to honor their parents because God rewards such people with long lives and progeny.
In the Gospel, Simeon praises God for revealing the eternal plan of saving love to his people on earth through his Son Jesus Christ, who came to be born in a human family to fulfill the hopes of the human family– God’s people.
This week, let us pray that Christ’s peace will control our hearts as we continue to live together as a family.
Joy and peace.
