Feast of The Holy Family- Christmas Octave (Fr. Francis Akkara OP on Lk 2: 41-52)
Like us on facebook at / dominicanministriesgoa write to us: [email protected] Website: www.dominicans.in “And may the peace of Christ reign in your hearts, because it is for this that you were called together…” My dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, Today the mother church celebrates the feast of the Holy Family, and this day we are all called to imitate this holy family so that our families too may be one that experiences God every moment of their lives… just before going into what an ideal family requires to be… at least something closer to the Holy Family of Jesus a small experience of mine during the studentate… this happened to me during my novitiate where we used to go to old age homes to render our service there. We use to spend our time speaking with the old men and women left in these homes to be looked after by the sisters and try to let them feel that there are still people who care for them… on one such visit of ours a lady one day called me by her side and then she pulled out her hand bag that she always carried around then she began to search for something desperately in the bag. After a minute or so she found it and pulled out from her bag a piece of white paper which was nicely wrapped around with a plastic so as to avoid it being spoilt. She very carefully opened the plastic and handed me a photograph of a handsome looking boy… she looked at me and said that it was her son and that one day her son would come to take her away from that old age home… when I enquired about the lady with the sisters who were looking after her, they said that it was that very son in the photograph who left her at this old age home because she was becoming a burden for him… I was speechless seeing the pity condition of the poor old lady… My dear brothers and sisters this is one of those harsh realities that we need to face as we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family, what has happened to our families in this present generation is a question that we all need to sit down and reflect over. Are we facing a similar situation where families are no longer power houses of love for God but rather of hatred? It is sad to hear about families where there is hatred to such an extent that every member of the family live as though the other is a total stranger. And here one need to ask oneself what is the reason that most families now are becoming more of a burden than community of love… All three readings of today very beautiful puts across what kind of a family we need to build up and this day I would like to place before you three quotes of St. Paul’s letter to the Collosians which we heard in the second reading that clearly tells what actually can strengthen our family and be able to imitate at least 0.1% of the family of Jesus… First and foremost, St. Paul says “Let the Word of Christ, in all its richness, find a home with you”