FAITH IN ACTION: FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY

POINTING TO THE SAVIOUR OF THE WORLD

Dear Friends,

On the last Sunday of the year, we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family.

Some of you, like myself, have been brave enough to enter into a relationship with the hope of having a family and thank God, we have been blessed with one. Others have found themselves unable to do so, or the relationship did not continue and you have been left disappointed. Others have had children but suffer the hurt of having their family broken for reasons over which you have little or no control. Others for religious or personal reasons have been unable have families and so have no children of their own.

Family can be the place where we experience our deepest joys and also our most profound and lasting hurts.

The scriptures today teach us about all things family life. They remind us that not only are we members of our biological family but that we are also members of an extended family , the human family, brothers and sisters, children of God. And that God our Father has a plan for each and every one of us.

In the first reading we hear God’s promise of numerous descendants to Abraham and its fulfillment when Abraham’s wife, Sarah, gave birth to Isaac.

In the letter to the Hebrews (2nd reading) we are shown the trusting faith of Abraham in 3 ways, 1st in his willingness to move his whole family; 2nd, in the way Abraham and Sarah trusted God’s power and finally, in his obedience, without hesitation, to sacrifice his only son.

Today, the Gospel of Luke teaches us how important it is to honor God’s plan for our children.

As we celebrate this feast, let us offer all the members of our own families on the altar for God’s blessing and ask forgiveness for the many times we have made life difficult for them. And sovresolve to try our best to make life pleasant for them from today.