12/29/2024
Strengthening the Family
By Fr Jerry Orbos, SVD
Somebody once asked: “Why can’t Monday lift up Saturday?”
Answer: “Because Monday is a week day.”
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Today is the Feast of the Holy Family. Why are some families weak? That’s because although they are strong financially and socially, they are weak spiritually.
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In today’s Gospel, (Luke 2: 41-52) we hear about the loss and finding of Jesus at the temple in Jerusalem by Mary and Joseph. And when they found Him, Jesus said to them: “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” Reminder for all parents: Don’t forget to make your own house the Father’s house where there is prayer, respect, love, and understanding.
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Return to Jerusalem. Parents, can your children say that your house is a Jerusalem, where they find peace and love and will keep going back to it long after you are gone? Or is it a place they want to leave as soon as they can to be away from problems, quarrels, and strife?
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I remember Christmas Day in 2014 when I went back to our old house which had been sold after Mama died. I just parked my car across the street, remembering the many happy memories we had as a family with our mother during the last years of her life. The house was no longer ours, but the memories and happy moments are forever in our hearts to keep and to cherish. It was good to stop by our old house that Christmas morning if only to feel, remember, and pray even for just a moment. Then it was time to go and move on again.
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As we come to the year’s end, may I share something I read somewhere: “Life is too short to be unhappy, so laugh when you can, apologize when you should, let go of what you can not change, love deeply, forgive quickly, take chances, smile when you are sad; Love what you got, and stay faithful to what you have; People change and things go wrong, but with God’s grace, life is, and will be beautiful.”
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I am deeply grateful to our parents who didn’t leave behind much to us financially but have given us good examples and fine values worth emulating, especially their humble love for God, and sincere service to people. I don’t remember Papa and Mama telling us to be wealthy. What they always told us was: “Be good, pray, study well, help people, don’t be proud, and be honest.” As they spoke, so they lived. They walked their talk.
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“The family that prays together, stays together” (Fr. Patrick Peyton). True. Prayer is the glue that connects us to God and to one another. It is prayer, not money and power, that makes families strong, peaceful, happy, and united. Let us give prayer a chance. Prayer has such a big value, more than we know.
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I experienced an unforgettable Christmas moment the other day when a family asked for prayer for a family member. Imagine my surprise when they arrived from Bulacan in an ambulance carrying a semiconscious 49-year-old Richard who had stage four brain cancer. What faith this family had, especially their mother Conchita. I was close to tears as I blessed and prayed over Richard and his family, holding on to God’s love and mercy! Lord, bless all families with your loving presence and love.
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Christmas goes on. I remember having breakfast with two missionaries at the Mission House one Christmas morning. The first one was Fr. Eugene Baldomar, SVD, who just arrived for his first vacation from Brazil, and shared his experiences in the past three years. The second one was Fr. Crispin Vejano, SVD, who was leaving that night for his first mission assignment to West Timor, Indonesia. Yes, incarnation goes on through people who continue to tell and retell the greatest story ever told about a God who loved us so much that He sent His Only Begotten Son to be one with us, to save us.
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Wishing us all a better New Year and a better new you! Let us meet 2025 with the Lord in our hearts who promised that He will be with us always and in all ways. Amen.
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A moment with the Lord:
Lord, remind us that prayer is the key to strengthen the family. Amen.
Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer
