THE HOLY FAMILY - YEAR A
26 th December 2004
S: Good morning. I hope that you had a good Christmas day yesterday and that you are enjoying the weekend. Today we keep the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
B: Of course it’s great to have the break over Christmas and yet it can be a funny kind of few days can’t it. Many people will be still off work – still hanging around. It’s a great time for visiting and entertaining, especially with family members. So it’s appropriate that at this time so soon after Christmas we keep the Feast of the Holy Family. Sometimes our image of the Holy Family can be a very plastic one – all smiles, not a care in the world, everything perfect, no troubles.
S: Yes, they settled in Nazareth, but not without its fair share of trouble beforehand. They had to flee to Egypt just like some of our modern day asylum seekers are fleeing in fear of their lives. They experience the harsh realities of life very early in their family life. They did not have it easy and I guess we can have a notion that the perfect family has it easy. But this notion is dashed as we are reminded that it is not lack of suffering that makes the perfect family. Suffering and pain are part and parcel of family life and it is how we confront this that either divides or brings family closer together.
B: Families today come in all shapes and sizes and the model of family has changed enormously in the past number of years. Today is a day to be thankful for the family we have. We must realize that life includes pain and it includes forgiving and starting all over again. And what better time to let go of the old hurts than at the end of an old year. Our reflection this morning is asking God’s blessing for the New Year about to start at the end of this week.
S: The reflection is called “Bless us for the New Year”
Lord,
This New Year we face;
Let it be a year of grace,
A year of blessings that increase,
A year of favours and your peace
For all the human race.
For a new start we pray;
Let it begin this very day,
A time of hearings – for our woes
A time of mercies – when pardon flows,
For those who go astray.
B: You’ve been listening to ‘Just a thought’ with Brenda Cribbin.
S: And Seamus Madigan. We would like to wish you a very happy and peaceful week ahead and a New Year filled with many blessings.
S: We look forward to your company again next week, so in the mean time, take are
B&S: Byeee……
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