Gospel: Luke 2:41-52
Each year Jesus’
parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, and when he was twelve
years old, they went up according to festival custom. After they had completed
its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem,
but his parents did not know it. Thinking that he was in the caravan, they
journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances,
but not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him. After three
days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers,
listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were
astounded at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they
were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you
done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great
anxiety.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know
that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he said
to them. He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them;
and his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus advanced in wisdom
and age and favor before God and man.
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Reflection:
How’s your family
today?
Today we celebrate
the feast of the Holy Family a very appropriate feast for our times today. The
families of today are a lot more different from the families of yesteryear. I
think there are more broken families today; I think the family of today is
constantly under attack from various secular environments.
Father Patrick
Peyton the famous rosary priest has beautifully said: “The family that prays
together stays together.” This was more than fifthly (50) years ago when
families were still conservative and closely knit. Today we seldom see families
going to Mass together everyone in the family nowadays have their own personal
activities that tend to destroy the close bond of the family.
Today there’s the
influence of the internet everyone in the family now has its own smart phone
and tablet that keeps family members selfish and busy. Fifthly, thirty or even
twenty years ago there was no internet and smart phones families were so simple
then; so unlike of the modern and complicated families of today.
So what should we do
to bring back the close bond of the family and to prevent families from
breaking apart? We have to infuse back
prayers and worship for God in the family. How many families are still praying
the Rosary today? How many families are still worshipping Jesus at Holy Mass
today?
The domestic church
that is, our respective families are under attack today. By whom? By the devil disguised
as a hi-tech gadget such as smart phones, tablets and the like. High tech
gadgets are not evil per se, it becomes evil when we allow it to control and
enslave us.
We must do our
humble share to re-energies our respective families and we could only do this
if we will put Jesus at the center of our family. Nowadays many families are
somewhat hesitant to put or adopt Jesus as a member of their family they
instead willingly adopt the many inducement of the world. That is why there are
many families that are breaking apart.
Let us invite Jesus
to become a member of our family and the first step that we must do is to
faithfully go to Holy Mass and live the valuable teachings that it bestows upon us.
How’s your family
today? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
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