As we gather this weekend, we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family. As we will gather in the days following, we will celebrate the great Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God. To be aware of these great mysteries is a gift of faith and a privilege. To be called to celebrate these feasts as Church and to weave their meaning into our own lives is a gift of faith and our mission in this world.
In the 2nd Chapter of Luke we read this weekend: “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?”
In our families first, but then also in the various settings that constitute our communities of education, work, play, service, and personal development our faith enables us to find strength in this interplay of concern and expectation with both apparent realities and the deeper realities that come from God and lead us to God.
As we will celebrate Mary’s great Feast on the Octave of Christmas, we will read again from Luke 2: “And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.”
This time of year is a time for profound gratitude. It is also a time of deep reflection and of renewing commitments. The latter is often mentioned casually or half-heartedly by reference to New Year’s resolutions. There is a gratitude in my mind and heart for all of you who are St. Peter’s Parish community that is easy to keep and reflect on in my heart, if challenging to speak and live. We pray and worship together, seek to develop, strengthen and share our faith with each other, and we move out into the community at times of individual or shared, Gospel-based and Gospel- driven ministries of service. We steward the many gifts with which our community has been blessed. In the name of those whose lives you bless, and certainly in my own, thank you. Like Mary, I hope that this time will be an occasion for “reflecting on all these things in our hearts,” not just as cherished memory but as a renewed and renewing force by God’s grace!