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We make a special effort to gather as a family at this time of year. People travel long distances to be with their loved ones. Today’s feast prompts us to reflect on our own families... As we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family, we recall that even this family knew suffering and the hardships of life. They were forced to flee their home and escape to another country to avoid violence... We cannot help but think of all the families today who are displaced because of discrimination, war, persecution, or poverty. Many families live with the fear of separation, the fear of deportation, especially those affected by immigration enforcement policies. We remember in prayer those who live with uncertainty, those who risk being torn apart, and those who seek safety for their children. We pray for families on the move, families waiting at borders, families longing for stability and peace. The Holy Family reminds us that no family should have to flee in fear, and no family should be separated from one another.
The Holy family calls us to compassion, to solidarity, and to a deeper commitment to justice. Today’s feast also reminds us that although we are members of our own blood families, we also belong to a wider family—the family of all God’s people. We are brothers and sisters in Christ, sons and daughters of God, entrusted to one another’s care. As we honor the Holy Family today, may we recommit ourselves to nurturing our own families—both the ones we were born into and the one we share in Christ. May our homes become places of welcome, forgiveness, and hope. And may our parish family continue to be a refuge of hope for all who seek belonging, healing, and peace.
"No room in the Inn." A simple sentence that carries great weight in the human heart. Today that story continues. Families at the border, immigrants facing detention, workers struggling to survive or children growing up in fear. So many stand facing doors that remain closed and doors guarded by fear. The Holy Family knew this pain. They too were turned away, fled and faced danger, searching for a place to rest. If Jesus were born today, would He find room, be welcomed or find compassion? When life shuts doors in our lives, Jesus teaches us to open them. When the world shuts the door, the Church must be the one to open them. This Christmas may we refuse to let fear have the final word.
May we make room for peace, justice and for the stranger who bears Christ in our midst. And today, as many stand before shut doors, seeking safety, parents searching for dignity, children longing for a place to belong. May our hearts be the Bethlehem for those unwanted to find welcome, where the fearful find shelter and where Christ finds room. May we make room in our hearts for forgiveness, for healing, for God who chooses the lowly places in the human heart. And may Christ be born again in us, through us an for the world that still awaits Him.
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