Feast of Holy Family 8 January 2023 The epistle calls us to live in mercy, goodwill, humility, modesty and patience, bearing with one another, forgiving one another (Col 3,12-17) .
This might sound easy, but how many actually do it? All these words could be summarized under the one word Charity – the bond of perfection.
We need to be reminded of the place of charity especially in the family setting, and parish setting, or any other form of community.
These requirements can be very challenging for Christian life. These are mostly lesser sins, but somehow harder to avoid. It is easy not to rob a bank, but can we get through a day or a week without some nasty remark, or unkind thought?
With a little effort on our part, and calling on the infinite charity of God Himself , we could greatly reduce these sins against the community.
It is not in our own strength that we have to do these things; we are carried by the grace of God. It is not just that God inspires us to better things, but actually gives us the power to do and to be whatever is required.
Our unity is grounded in faith and charity. We believe the same things, and those beliefs translate into our behaviour.
Through prayer, sacraments and good works, we will gain insight into God's way of seeing things, and be moved by that.
The saints show us the way, and no more so than today’s Holy Family. How much charity was to be found there?
Today’s Gospel reveals some of Our Lady’s suffering as she was put through a test of trust, and a chance to grow in that trust. God would not want to see her suffer, but she would gain from this experience.
She came to new depths of love for her Son, realising more fully how important He was, for herself and the whole human race.
God stretches our faith sometimes - at which times He asks us to trust that the shadows will turn to sunlight again. We thank God for each experience of His providence, although we might still doubt the next time.
Eventually, we will drive out the doubts and the fears.
All this can come from talking kindly to each other! It may not look like an obvious connection, but the basic charity between us will enable the grace of God to act more powerfully upon us, and this will mean more trust, more faith for the next time.
We are at the beginning of the way back. Family life needs a lot of healing, particularly in current times when almost every aspect of traditional morality is defied.
God was in no apparent hurry to begin His public ministry. He gives us the Holy Family to absorb us into a longer-term view of His salvation. Salvation is not always today or tomorrow. It can take years to come to full fruit.
Remember, patience was one of those qualities we need.
Our Lady found her Son, and ever since has been helping people to do the same.
To find Him and to find His commands come to the same thing. We no longer need to be told what we must do; it will be obvious once we spend enough time in His company.
Did the disciples fight with each other on Easter Morning or Pentecost morning? Of course not, but why not? because they had better things to do.
Charity was just about automatic by that stage, as they were all consumed with the same objectives. So it can be for us.
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