Daily Gospel Reflection
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December 30, 2022
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.
Twice in today’s gospel, we hear, “Get up, take Jesus and Mary, and leave.” Twice those words are directed to Joseph. And twice Joseph responds with obedience.
I can’t help but wonder if Joseph already had any plans of his own for his family. Perhaps he had already settled on a future after Bethlehem that he thought was best. Did he hesitate to rise, take Jesus and Mary, and follow God’s plan?
We make plans. We spend time and thought putting things together, deciding when, where, and how things will get accomplished. We make plans and expect to follow them. And what happens when circumstances make them impossible to carry out? How do we react?
I wish I could say I respond in a holy way like Joseph, but I don’t. Often I find not being able to work my plan a disappointment. And while I’ll begrudgingly change my goal, I’m not usually quiet or peaceful about it. Why can I not be more like Joseph?
It would help me to remember that while I might have some things in common with Joseph, what I don’t always have is his proximity to Mary and Jesus—not because they aren’t with me, but because I lose my awareness of their presence. How can I keep Mary and Jesus close?
I can rise and make my first thoughts my morning prayer, setting me up to take Jesus and Mary with me throughout the day. I can make my first reaction to unexpected changes a “Come, Lord Jesus” prayer. If I can train myself to rely on “the child and his mother” to accompany me, I will be better able to respond in a way that exhibits peace and goodness.
We, like Joseph, must “Rise, take the child and his mother and go . . .”
Prayer
All powerful and ever-living God, may this time of Christmas keep us mindful of the ways your Son is present to us, in all we hear and see and touch. In him, the one whose name we call Emmanuel, is our joy complete. We pray this in his name. Amen.
Saint of the Day
The Feast of the Holy Family is an important feast in the life of the Congregation of Holy Cross. Blessed Basil Moreau, the founder of the Congregation, envisioned a community of priests, sisters, and brothers, all united together just as Jesus, Mary, and Joseph were united together in the Holy Family.
In fact, Blessed Moreau established the Sacred Heart of Jesus as patron of the priests, St. Joseph as patron of the brothers, and Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, as patron of the sisters (she is also patron of the congregation as a whole as well).
Blessed Moreau wanted this community to be rooted in the virtues that were present in Jesus’ home in Nazareth. Following the model of love offered by the Holy Family, the Holy Cross community attends to one another in their struggles, assists one another in their good works, and celebrates together in times of joy.
All of us come from a family, and though few of our families are as holy as the Holy Family, the relationships between parents and children, spouses and siblings, continually offer opportunities to grow in virtue and in service to one another.
Today's featured image of the Holy Family comes from the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art on campus and is used with their permission. To enjoy more of the Raclin Murphy Museum's images on the Holy Family, visit their collection here. Relics of the Holy Family rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica, including a fragment of Jesus’ crib and a portion of the cloth band with which Mary carried Jesus when she and Joseph fled to Egypt.
On this feast of the Holy Family, may we serve each other and grow in holiness within our families!
To learn even more about the Holy Family watch this video lecture from the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame.
Image Credit: Simon Vouet (French, 1590-1649), The Holy Family, ca. 1604, oil on canvas. Raclin Murphy Museum of Art: Gift of Joyce McMahon Hank, 1983.023