I have recently, truly grown very fond of the Holy Family. They have been the greatest example of many, many things in life, and it seems like as each day goes by, the list grows closer to endless! Mama Mary and Joseph have been one of the greatest examples of a humility, love and faith.
How trusting and loving must Mary have been to bear a child in the midst of her engagement with Joseph, finding peace in nothing else, but the love of the Lord through the message of an angel?
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How humble must Joseph have been to not only want to protect Mary by trying to let her go quietly to save her from shame and humility from everyone else once he discovered that she was pregnant? And how servant-like slave-like (in a divine and honourable way) must he have been to completely change his plans to protect Mary, accepting her as his bride instead, and loving her as his spouse and the spouse of God above all else, through the message of an angel in a dream?? How faithful must the two have been? How BLESSED must they have been to be chosen to bring His Son into this world? Emmanuel… God with us…
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Jesus never disgraced his parents. He never yelled at them profusely. He never ran away out of hatred for his parents. He never disobeyed the will of God… And above all, he never failed to love. He was hurt, angered, frustrated, humiliated, betrayed, persecuted, sacrificed (by man for our salvation), yet he never failed to love. Even as God told him that he must die to bring us salvation, although he was afraid, he never ran away. He respected his Father, our mother – Mama Mary, his father – Joseph, his disciples, His followers, all the strangers above all else.
My family and I do no always get along. We definitely disagree at times. We may have a few (or more) useless arguments, but when these arguments happen, I should look to Jesus as an example of the perfect Son. I should never yell at my parents with condescending tones and words. I should never intentionally make them feel guilty to get my way. I should never act like I know better because months and years later, I will see that I really don’t. MY FAMILY IS ANNOINTED. And it is in this that I can also say that it goes both-ways with my family of CFC Youth!
In service, I know that I will not always get along with EVERYONE around me. I may not always agree and come to terms with my upper leaders and those whom I serve the same way I do not always come to terms with my parents. And in the same way… I should never yell at them with condescending tones and words. I should never intentionally make them feel guilty to get my way. I should never act like I know better because years later, I will see that I really don’t. THE CFC COMMUNITY IS ANNOINTED. And also, as a leader, I must look to Mama Mary as an example of the kind of presence I must bring to those I serve. No matter what happens, I must always be humble, and trust, believe, love, hope and have faith that God is always there.
I must continue to look to the Holy Family as my example; especially Jesus. Jesus was able to respect his parents and those around him and hold his ground and act in love, not because he knew his place, but because he knew His place. It isn’t a matter of knowing my place, but rather knowing the place of God in my life. When I seek and see this, it is much easier to act completely with Love, as opposed to acting out of pride…
JMJ, thank you for constantly revealing to me, the beauty of a family through the love and mercy of God. JMJ, please be with us and pray for us, always! Amen.