September 22, Tuesday Weekday

Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.--Psalm 122:1

Mass readings: Ezra 6:7-8,12,14-20 / Luke 8:19-21

Family Beyond the Family

At first glance, today's passage from Luke is disturbing. How could the all-loving and loyal Jesus deny His family? Surely He cherished His Mother Mary and His ''brothers'' -- cousins or male relatives. Scholars assure us that Jesus wasn't turning His back on kin though the Gospels say some rejected Him. Instead, Jesus was trying to stretch our understanding of ''family.'' Real kinship, He said, is more than blood ties. When people have shared faith and a common purpose, something new is created. It has the family feel.

Twelve years before his sudden death in 1996, spiritual writer Father Henri Nouwen found a precious new family among the handicapped at Toronto's L'Arche community. After hectic years of traveling and teaching at prestigious universities, he was home -- needed and nurtured in the family.

Prayer: God, the Father of all families, strengthen each of Your families and make them holy.