Immediately following the awesome Solemnity of the Birth of Our Savior the Church bids us drink in this mystery more deeply. God’s Word become flesh is not some isolated event accomplished under antiseptic conditions. God esteems our humanity in such a way and to such an extent that it is “all or nothing” (save sin...)!

     With the Gospel passage from Matthew assigned for our feast this year, we hear an account of family life that easily resonates with our own. Someone in our family tree made the sacrifices and worked up the courage it took to arrive here, the home we always have known, or have come to know. And let’s face it; more than one ethnic, cultural, or linguistic group has known the sting of inhospitality or even outright suspicion and resistance. The arc of finding a home here or anywhere can be a very long and gradual curve, requiring persistence and patience. “...over all these put on love...”

     Then, even when home is here, life can demand distance in miles and time to pursue what will serve the best, immediate and long-range needs of our families.

     We listen for that voice within which lets us know if we are facing the risk or creating it. We observe ourselves and our families to know if we are utilizing time, tools, and our talents to sort through the challenges or simply using them to shut out or hide from the challenges. We strain to hear the voice of “the angel of the Lord,” to know the merits of the choices set before us. In our family lives, may the joy proclaimed by the prophets be fulfilled!