A Holy Family

Today's Gospel Reading: John 1:1-18
"He was in the world, and the world came to be through Him, but the world did not know him." John 1:10

Wednesday's reading: 1 John 2:2-12
"Do not love the world or anything that belongs to the world. If you love the world, you do not love the Father. Everything that belongs to the world-what the sinful self desires, what people see and want, and everything the world is proud of-none of this comes from the Father; it all comes from the world." 1 John 15-17

On this last day of 2009, I wanted to write about the Holy Family. Last sunday, it was the feast day of the Holy Family and the Holy Family has been on mind and on my heart. I listened to my favorite podcast, Father Robert Barron, talk about the Holy Family. He mainly talked about that all of us families are all called to be Holy. We are to model our families after Joseph, Mary & Jesus. He went onto say that Joseph and Mary lived only for God's will and during their early lives especially, God's will wasn't exactly what they had hoped and planned for. However, they were obedient. Same goes for our lives. We might be leading a life we never dreamed of...good or bad. Our paths with our husband might be different then what was expected on the alter. But no matter what has happened or is to happen, we are to always pray and hope for God's Will. We are to remember the main purpose of marriage is to help each other get to heaven. We have to remember the greatest love is to lay down your life for a friend (family). We can't get caught up in what the world thinks is "good" or "right" for the family, instead, we have to look towards eternity and pray for God's will to be done with every step, decision, and action. God's will is usually not easy. Father Barron states, "Whatever is prompting you in the course of your decisions that you make, whatever is prompting you to greatest love, greatest justice, greatest truth and integrity and greatest self gift...that is the voice of God in you. Is it easy? Almost by definition, NO. That is why Thomas Merton said, 'If you are looking at two different decisions, which one is harder? The harder one is probably God's Will'. Which one is calling you to greater self gift? That's the will of God".

This up coming 2010, let's be the leaders in transforming today's definition of a family towards God's definition of a family....a holy family, through prayer and dedication to our little holy families2.

Blessings to you this New Year's Eve!