Gospel: Luke
2:22-40
When the
days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, They
took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in
the law of the Lord, Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the
Lord, and to offer the sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,
in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord. Now there was a man in
Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting
the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been
revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had
seen the Christ of the Lord. He came in the Spirit into the temple; and when
the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in
regard to him, He took him into his arms and blessed God, saying: “Now, Master,
you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have
seen your salvation, which you prepared in sight of all the peoples, a light
for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel. The child’s
father and mother were amazed at what was said about him; and Simeon blessed
them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall
and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted —and you
yourself a sword will pierce— so that the thoughts of many hearts may be
revealed.” There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the
tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her
husband after her marriage, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She
never left the temple, but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer. And
coming forward at that very time, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the
child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.
When they
had fulfilled all the prescriptions of the law of the Lord, they returned to
Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong,
filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.
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Reflection:
What is
the status of many modern families today? They are always wired to their gadgets
that connect them to the World Wide Web. What was the status of the family
twenty five years ago? They were strongly connected with each other for they
often communicate. They were wired also not by any means of high-tech gadgets
but they were wired to each and every member of their family. For life then was
so simple, there was no internet or any kind of high-tech gadgets.
The
modern family of today seldom talks with each other; they have more time with
their gadgets than with their fellow human being. What a sad fact of modern
life! But this is the reality of the modernity of life: We have more time with
gadgets and internet yet less time for person to person interaction.
Twenty
five years ago life was very simple and serene; children were more respectful
to their parents. And the parents of yesterday had more time for their children
than the modern and high-tech parents of today. We need not go far to prove
this sad fact of modern family life we simply have to look at our own
respective families today.
Today we
celebrate in a very special way the feast of the Holy Family of Joseph, Jesus
and Mary. The simple and humble model family that we must all emulate, they had
no means of material wealth yet they were happy and they had contentment. Why?
For the simple reason that God was at the center of their lives.
They
worship God as a family and they faithfully observe the teachings of their
Jewish faith. How many of us worship God as a family? How many of our modern
family faithfully observes the discipline of the Catholic Church?
Many parents
today are disheartened by the actuations of their grown-up children. Many
parents would say, “I never brought you up to become so arrogant and so disrespectful
to me. But on hindsight, did these parents invest time on their children? Did
they bring them to church for Holy Mass? Did they teach them our Catholic
faith? Did they open to them the life of Jesus which is always available in the
bible?
The Holy
Family of Jesus, Joseph and Mary is telling us to go back to the basics of
family life. Keep family life simple and pure, communicate more often have more
time for face to face family interaction. Listen more to your spouse and your
children for they have so many personal stories to tell you. And last but certainly not the least is to
bring your entire family to church for Holy Mass.
How’s
your modern family today? - Marino J. Dasmarinas
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