READINGS:   Sirach 3: 2-6. 12-14   /   Psalm 128: 1-2. 3. 4-5   /   Colossians 3: 12-21   /   LUKE 2: 41-52

 

HIS WORD…WHY WERE YOU LOOKING FOR ME? DID YOU NOT KNOW THAT I MUST BE IN MY FATHER’S HOUSE?

my words…The Sunday after Christmas is always celebrated as the feast of the HOLY FAMILY of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. And short-cut expression as “susmariosep” and short-cut name as “Jejomar” are always reflective of the names of the members of the Holy Family! But the one I like most is the giving of the meaning of word FAMILY used as acronym, to mean; Father And Mother ILove You. True enough; the Family is never complete without a Father Anda Mother begetting a Child born out of true love to Love them in return; hence, the reciprocity of love in the FAMILY that gives the warmth and life in the family.

This is what the Holy Family in the Manger has modelled for every Christian Family. Jesus is born in a home; the home for animals, the manger. But what transformed the home of animals into the Home of the Holy Family is the love of God the Father, the love of Joseph and Mary, and the love of the Son (of God); and that LOVE metamorphosed the foul odor of the home of animals into the fragrance of holiness and love of the Holy Family living there for a moment. And around us we see newly-built houses rising up by way of government projects and/or private firm developers. And we have heard from a lyric of a song that goes; “a house is not a home unless there are people living there…” True enough, the love and sanctity of people living in a house transformed that house into a “home”.

Brothers and Sisters, on this feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, try to look into your homes; are they reflective of the holiness of the home of the Holy Family? And if not, what is lacking in there? My dear unwed parents… please receive the Holy Sacrament of Matrimony in the Church to complete your homes. Provide the aura of sanctity in your dwelling place; scent it with the fragrance of your love and harmony in family life. Make God always as the center of your home and family. Be holy as the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph is holy. Sanctify your home with your blest LOVE.

St. John Paul II proclaimed “the family as the Church in the home.” And what qualifies your family to be “a church in the home” is no other than the Holy Sacrament of Marriage that you received on your wedding day. House blessings, enthronements of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary are just supplementary blessings to the primordial blessing brought by the Sacrament of Marriage into your home and into your family. Preserve it and make it live forever…

HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS, MARY, AND JOSEPH… BLESS OUR FAMILIES AND HOMES!!! (By

Fr. Julius C. Lupot)