December 26, The Holy Family

Blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways. — Psalm 128:(see 1)

Mass reading: Sirach 3:2-7,12-14 / Colossians 3:12-21 or 3:12-17 / Matthew 2:13-15,19-23

In Our Hearts

It’s about 250 miles from Jerusalem to Cairo. Not bad if you have a plane or car. I doubt the Holy Family even had a donkey or a camel. No matter, it was no picnic. But, as a Dominican poet said of their journey with the child: “What they guarded, guarded them.” Centuries earlier, the Israelites journeyed through the same desert looking for the promised land; Mary and Joseph journeyed with God right in their laps.

We, too, wander through many deserts on our way through life, sometimes forgetting that the child Jesus is right there in our hearts. As Thomas Merton said, “the journey to God is a journey inward,” finding God right there in our hearts.

Prayer: Holy Family, help all families draw closer to “our heavenly Father.”