Fr. Simon's Letter - December 26, 2021

I hope you had a wonderful time to gather with family and celebrate Christmas. This Sunday, as we are still recovering from the after-effect of the holy day, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Holy Family. We are reminded of our twofold status, as members of particular families and  members of the family and household of God. At the heart of today’s feast is the reminder that in becoming man, God in human flesh, Jesus Christ, grew up under the direction of his mother, Mary, and a foster father, Joseph.

This feast gives us a glimpse of the puzzling tension of a God in human flesh, a divine person with a full human nature. We don’t have absolutely precise answers regarding the interplay of Jesus’ humanity and divinity as he grew and learned in his humanity. However, we do know Jesus was nurtured within a particular family, which is a punctuation mark on the mystery of the Incarnation. It further affirms God’s plan in creation for the fundamental role of the family, a loving relationship between a man and a woman through which new life is cooperatively brought into the world and nurtured. While we know that many children are nurtured without the full benefit of both parents, it remains fundamental to God’s plan. We must stand ready to help those unable to enjoy the richness of God’s plan for the loving, intact family.

The vocation of parents today is challenging as they strive to balance the many facets of raising a child. Unlike Mary and Joseph, parents are not entrusted with the care of God incarnate. Nor are parents literally expected to turn their children over to the Church for a life of fully dedicated service. Parents are entrusted with nurturing their children to become children of God through baptism, and raise them to appreciate what that means. Parents are entrusted with the task of raising their children to realize that whatever choices their children make, they are called to serve God in the world as members of his Body the Church.

The formation of children in faith, good character and right moral behavior is the special vocation of parents. As we are all together in the family of God, which is the Church, we all share in that formation. We participate by all we do to encourage and assist families. We do so especially through the education, service, spiritual and social activities that are fundamental to our school and our parish faith formation program. We support parents in their work as we gather alongside families around the altar to worship together. Most importantly we pray for them. Today, on the Solemnity of the Holy Family, in a special way we pray for the families of our parish, the families of our children and grandchildren and the families of our friends. 

Blessings!!