Feast of the Holy Family: A Different Take on "Family"

 

by Fr. Cas Paulsen CMM

I have a different take on the meaning of "family". Here in South Africa, 60% of the families are single parent households. Children, more and more, find little or no love at home and run away. I think a new way of defining family is "where one is loved and accepted unconditionally, whether it is with fellow run-aways or druggies, under the bridge or around a fire in the field, or in a shared doorway. No questions asked, just, yes, come on in and join us. Here, we can share my blanket."

What do you think? Very few families today have the same experience as many of us have had. We pray for all of them and pray that they grow up learning how to transfer that unconditional love and acceptance to their new relationships as they grow older. And we pray God to bless those who try to bring some love into their lives.   What do you think?

- Fr. Cas Paulsen CMM.

Fr. Cas, born and ordained in the USA, has been a Marianhill missionary in South Africa since the late 1960s. 

Christmas Sounds and Smells

 

Things that have long stuck in my mind about the Christmas manger scene are the sounds and smells. Our mangers are dusted and clean when we put them out, but any place that has animals will have the sounds and, especially, the strong smells that go with God's creatures such as cows, donkeys and chickens: urine and, of course, poop patties and droppings. One chicken produces approximately 8–11 pounds of manure monthly!

An enjoyable Christmas carol that our family has enjoyed since the kids were in kindergarten was each person choosing the sound of an animal and then all of us making our animal noise at the same time. The delightful cacophony would go on for as long as everyone was smiling and laughing. In my opinion, I make a particularly good turkey gobbling sound! Yes, I believe this is a Christmas carol that gives glory to the Saviour whose birth we celebrate each Christmas.

O Radiant Dawn,

splendor of eternal light, sun of justice:

come and shine on those who dwell in darkness and in the

shadow of death.

O King of all nations and keystone of the Church:

come and save humanity, whom you formed from the dust!

O Emmanuel, our King and Giver of Law:

come to save us, Lord our God!

Spiritual Reflection for December Meeting

 

Selection by Deacon Steve

“Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” (Lk 21: 27 – 28)

As we journey in this season of Advent, a time of preparation for and anticipation of the coming of Christ in the Incarnation, which has taken place and is ongoing, we also remember that it is a time of preparation for the Second Coming, for as our Gospel for the First Sunday of Advent tells us, 

“Then they will see, “the Son of Man coming in a cloud” with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” (Lk 21: 27 – 28)

Yet as Thomas Merton reminds us, 

“More important than the eschatological sign of renewed life, is the sign par excellence; “The Gospel is preached to the poor.” This means that the prophetic message, the fulfillment of the divine promises is now formally announced to the ‘anawim’, to those who hungered and thirsted for the Kingdom because they had no hope but the Lord…. This fulfillment has begun because now Christ has appeared in the midst of the poor as one of them, and has taken them to Himself so that they are, in a most special way, Christ. What happens to them, in a most special way, happens to Christ (Matt 25:37-45). The Last Days have come not merely because the poor have heard about Christ but because they “are” Christ. The poor themselves now become an eschatological sign of Christ, a sign by which other people are judged, for “if the wicked servant says in his heart: ‘My Lord delays in coming’ and begins to strike his fellow servants, and eats and drinks with drunkards, the Lord of that servant will come on the day he does not expect and in the hour which he does not know, and will cut him off (from Man in Christ) and give him his portion with the hypocrites.” (Matt 24:48-50)”

Thomas Merton, “Seasons of Celebration: Meditations on the Cycle of Liturgical Feasts” p. 79

Hills, Valleys and Rough Roads

 

"Make the rough ways smooth."

A friend sent me a refection on the readings for the 2nd Sunday of Advent by Louis J. Luzbetak SVD, of the Catholic Theological Union. In it he does a simple but striking job of creating similes out of the mountains, valleys, rough and crooked roads we hear in these readings. He writes:

"How do these images from Isaiah/Luke... invite us to reflect upon the implications of “preparing the way of the Lord” for us as Christian individuals and families during this time of Advent? What are the hills of self-centeredness and pride that need leveling and the deep valleys of depression, addictive patterns, and poor self-esteem that need to be acknowledged and filled? What are the rough ways of broken relationships, loss, and trauma due to COVID, that need to be smoothed out and healed?

"I suggest that we are invited to move from not only a personal and family level of reflection to include also the broader context of our society and church when we reflect on the implications of “preparing the way of the Lord.” Can we apply the “level ground” of Baruch to “creating a level playing field,” in our common language today? The past twenty months have made us more aware of the “age-old depths and gorges” of racism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and all forms of prejudice from our “us-them” categories in our institutions, country and Church itself."

When we take the first steps in tackling these challenges, we are not acting alone. "The One who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion..." (Philippians 1:6)