Fifth Day in the Octave of Christmas
December 29, 2009

Our Christmas week could best be described as though we were a family of baby birds,
sitting in a nest, in waiting for our morsel of sustenance each day from our Mother Church.
How fitting as we entertain the poetry of 'The Twelve Days of Christmas',
that so much of the Christian symbolism is represented through~

...the partridge in a pear tree,
...two-turtle doves,
...three french hens,
...four calling birds,
...six geese a-laying, and the
...seven swans a-swimming

The unique gift presented by each 'family of birds'
in this Christmas carol, seems to resonate to me this year,
a sense of mission, expressed uniquely, that serves the 'loving unity of all people'.
The essence of vocation, as a response to the will of God in the life of our family,
has blossomed, even as we witnessed
to the marriage of Jordan and Kelly this Advent at Holy Trinity Parish.

This theme of the family that grows in holiness,
has been lovingly expressed most especially this past Sunday,
the feast of the Holy Family, by our Father in Faith, Pope Benedict XVI.
At a time in history,
when the mission of the family is less understood
and clouded by the winds of secular advancements,
our Holy Father is there is offer us the words of encouragement,
and to unite us with the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
He reminds us that the family is precisely the way in which
God chose to enter into time and encourages us
to dedicate ourselves to this mission of family love.

I have posted some of Pope Benedict's quotes
from his address in Saint Peter's Square before praying the Angelus on Sunday,
December 27th, on the Feast of the Holy Family,
as he encourages us, as though he were sitting with us in our living rooms,
fortifying us in his apostolic blessings for our families.

Christmas Blessings,
Sharon

"God wishes to reveal Himself by being born of a human family,
and hence the human family becoming an icon of God",
He continues,"the human family is, in a certain sense,
the icon of the Trinity because of the love between its members
and the fruitfulness of that love".

"God, by having come into the world in the bosom of a family,
shows that this institution is a sure way to meet and know Him,
and a permanent call to work for the loving unity of all people.
Thus, one of the greatest services which we as Christians
can offer our fellow men and women is
to show them the serene and solid witness of a family
founded upon marriage between a man and a woman,
defending it and protecting it,
because it is of supreme importance for the present and future of humankind.

"In truth, the family is the best school in which to learn
to live the values that dignify individuals and make peoples great.
There too sufferings and joys are shared,
as everyone feels cloaked in the affection that reigns in the home
by the mere fact of being members of the same family".

Benedict XVI prayed to God that family homes may always experience
"this love of total commitment and fidelity
which Jesus brought into the world by His birth,
nourishing and strengthening it with daily prayer,
the constant practice of virtue,
reciprocal understanding and mutual respect.

"I encourage you - trusting in the maternal intercession of Mary Most Holy,
Queen of Families, and the powerful protection of St. Joseph, her husband
- tirelessly to dedicate yourselves to this beautiful mission
the Lord has placed in your hands.
Be sure of my closeness and affection", he concluded,
"and I pray you carry a very special greeting from the Pope
to those of your loved ones who suffer greatest need and difficulties".