1 Samuel 1:20-22, 24-28 / 1 John 3:1-2, 21-24 / Luke 2:41-52

Once again, Merry Christmas to all of you! I hope that Jesus has truly been born once more in our hearts.

On the Sunday after Christmas, the Church celebrates the Holy Family: Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

God loves families. God wanted a man to leave his father and mother and be united to his woman, and for both to become one flesh. God wanted the love of a man and a woman to be fruitful and for new human beings to come into the world from it.

God wanted Jesus - God the Son who became flesh to save men from their sins - to have a family, to have a biological mother and an adoptive father. Jesus, Mary and Joseph are a model and inspiration for our families.

Today the evangelist Luke tells us about the loss and finding of the boy Jesus in the temple of Jerusalem, at the feast of Passover. We see that Mary and Joseph passed on their faith to Jesus. We see the parents’ care and concern for their son’s safety and protection. We see how the son was obedient to his earthly parents and to the Father in Heaven, advancing in wisdom and age.

With this motivation, may fathers and mothers fulfill their mission of caring for the children that God gave them, educating them in the faith of the Church.

Today we read in the first book of Samuel about Hannah’s love for her son. She understood that Samuel was a blessing from God to her, that he was God’s answer to her prayer. So Hannah offered Samuel to the Lord in the temple in Shiloh.

May fathers and mothers baptize their children, consecrating them to God as adopted children and heirs of Heaven.

Today we read in the first letter of John about Jesus’ commandment to love one another, in the confidence that our petitions will be answered when we pray.

A Christian must love his neighbor, starting with his family. Let us present the needs of our families to God with confidence. In due time, God’s answer will come to us.

Let us defend families, all expressions of family, defending conjugal fidelity and life from conception to natural death. May the family be a sanctuary of life, a domestic Church. May there be bread and love in every home!

Local: Springfield, MA, EUA

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