Holy Family 10.1.16 Healing a broken world.
Mary stored all these things in her heart! She knew a lot anyway, but she could still add to it.
The mysteries of God's working among us take a lot of understanding. If even Our Lady has things to learn, what must that mean for the rest of us?
People of little or no faith will make demands of God. If He exists, let Him show me! Or angry accusations: why does He let such and such things happen?
First lesson: we cannot tell Almighty God what to do. He is a great deal smarter and better and more powerful than we are.
The smartest thing we can do is agree with Him before we start. He is always going to be right. And whatever way He deals with the situation is always going to be the best way.
Mary agreed with Him at the Annunciation, and now during the childhood of Our Lord, and then more again during His adult life.
We have the benefit of having the whole story laid out before us. The temptation for us is to be too hasty in hearing the story but failing to give it its full significance.
One thing we need is Patience. The Holy Family teaches us this virtue.
They went about their work without trying to set the world on fire – yet that was the ultimate aim.
God had a message to deliver but was in no apparent hurry to deliver it.
Not only did it take a long time for the Messiah to come to the world; even when He had come He was content to wait thirty years before making Himself known.
God is teaching us patience – be prepared to wait for the desired blessings. And trust – God does not forget His promises. And humility – He knows best.
God put Himself in the position that He asks us to take! He was prepared to wait years for what had to come. And He wanted these things more than we do: I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! (Lk 12,49).
If we want to solve the world’s problems - of which there are many - one of the best things we can do is attend to the basic daily obligations we have.
There is great power in a lot of people doing God's will in small humble ways.
In fact if we all did this, or at least a sizeable number of people, we would see a great improvement in the state of the world.
If we would obey His commands about family life: such as charity to each other (epistle), not committing adultery, being generous in having children, looking after the very old and very young (no euthanasia or abortion) - these things add up, and present the world with a strong witness.
Our Lord was not wasting time by spending so long in Nazareth. He was showing us what we have to do to help Him save the world.
Just be attentive to whatever obligations we have. Do them well. Do them again and again. And we have a revolution (of goodness).
We don’t try to set the world on fire, and so we do set it on fire (with love for God and man).
There are two levels to what is happening here:
One is that the family has its own very useful purpose (such as making good citizens).
The other is that the family provides the means for faithful humble service to God from millions of His children. This service to God will win His graces which will in turn have a healing effect on all that is wrong with the world.
Jesus, have mercy on us. Joseph and Mary, pray for us.
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