Home Daily Meditation Matthew 2,13-15.19-23

Matthew 2,13-15.19-23

by Fr. Michael Della Penna
Matthew 2, 13-15.19-23

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 2,13-15.19-23. 

When the Magi had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.”
Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt.
He stayed there until the death of Herod, that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
When Herod had died, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt
and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.”
He rose, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel.
But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go back there. And because he had been warned in a dream, he departed for the region of Galilee.
He went and dwelt in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He shall be called a Nazorean.”

Peace to all my brothers and sisters listening in today

Patience. Presence. Pardon

  1. Patience. Today is the feast of the holy family and it all began of course with Mary’s yes
    Her fiat (her consent) to the Father’s invitation allowed her to conceive Jesus and become the mother of God. Simply put No Mary- No Jesus- Know Mary, Know Jesus. Joseph, Mary, and Jesus are the three holiest people to ever walk the face of the earth and so serve as a Model for every family. BUT don’t succumb to the temptation to domesticate them- or romanticize them. They are a model of patience- which means long suffering. They knew suffering.

    They Lived in Poverty, Imagine the suffering Joseph felt in his heart when he felt betrayed by Mary, Imagine Jesus being born poor in a stable, Joseph adopting and raising him, running to Egypt, because King Herod wanted to murder Jesus, Imagine how Mary felt when she lost her child for three days, Imagine being widowed, They called her son crazy, out of his mind, hated him, Finally they murdered Him on a cross in the most shameful way-crucifixion. Therefore the holy family did know trials tribulations suffering- but that makes them able to relate to all of ours.
  2. Presence. So What made the Holy Family so holy? Same thing that makes every family a family- Love, TRUE LOVE- PURE LOVE. First and foremost this is communicated through our presence, just being there and being attentive to who is before us and the people around us. What I learned in my ministry at the school was that the children wanted most was my attention, then they felt the love that comes through me from God that affirms their human dignity and the value they hold. The Holy family were present and Loved each other like no one ever did before-
  3. Pardon. What Jesus did was to extend the whole concept of family and even redefine it by giving it a new meaning. He said whoever does the will of my Father is my brother, my sister, my mother. What’s the will of the Father? To love one another with TRUE LOVE. To love someone truly is to be willing to forgive them. Mercy is the most solid foundation of any relationship because it insures its longevity. Jesus came to reconcile us to the Father and so taught us to pray – the Our father prayer. That Prayer not only reminds us of the truth of who we are, the family we belong to, but how to maintain and restore family. Do you know what the most important word in the Our father is? Can you guess? I will give you a clue it is the smallest word in the whole prayer. You give up -it’s the word as. Why? listen to what we pray: Lord forgive us our trespasses AS we forgive those who trespass against us. Imagine if God said okay I will forgive you the way you forgave Joe or Susan or your mother-in-law? Would you want that? In order to pray that prayer with any integrity we have to be people of mercy, willing to always forgive.

Today let us be present to our families and not get distracted or negative or critical and let us be patient in trials and most of all let us forgive those who have wronged us because we all make mistakes.

May God bless you and the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy spirit
Always remember Heaven is our goal

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