THE HOLY FAMILY: Model for all Human Families

Sermon by Rev. John Paul Shea

Solemnity of the Holy Family, Dec. 28, 2014

Saints Peter & Paul Parish, Tucson, AZ

       This weekend we celebrate the Solemnity of the Holy Family. 

The fact that today’s celebration comes on the heels of Christmas is not a coincidence. No, today’s Solemnity of the Holy Family is a reminder of God’s will.  God Himself was born into a family to bring salvation to all mankind. So, for God, the family is the cradle for salvation. 

Joseph, Jesus and Mary are models of holy family life.  We can see in their lives how God designed the family for mankind.  

Let me focus on three points. 

Devotion to God

The first point of what constitutes a holy family is devotion to God. What does this mean? It doesn't mean family members are perfect. Even Jesus' family was not perfect. No, such a family puts God first. 

Family members learn and strive to follow God’s commandments. And parents are the first teachers of the faith to their children. As we hear in today’s first reading from Sirach 3:2-6,12-14, “God sets a father in honor over his children; a mother’s authority he confirms over her sons.”

Parents must teach children good moral values, and children need to learn godly values taught by their parents. 

Families need to read the Bible together. They need to learn how to understand what God says to us in Scripture. As the saying goes, “A family that prays together stays together.” 

Families are to inspire vocations to the Church. The Church needs holy priests and sisters. Holy vocations are given life in the family. We see this thorugh the example of the lives of many saints. When Saint Therese joined the Carmelite religious order at the early age of 15, she joined  two of her elder sisters in the convent, who had helped form her relationship with God.  Saint John Paul II was inspired to a life of holiness through the influence of his father, who he would often see on his knees praying. 

Devotion to Holy Matrimony

  

The second point of what constitutes a holy family is devotion to holy matrimony. God teaches us that marriage is sacred. God calls the husband and wife to give themselves fully to one another. 

The marriage act is a unity that is fully expressed in the conjugal act. During this act of love, the man unites with his wife so intimately that the two become one flesh. So a holy marriage inspires a holy family. 

God teaches us that the sacrament of marriage can only be celebrated between a man and a woman. God has made this teaching clear throughout the scriptures.  As Pope John Paul II states in this book, Covenant of Love, “Familial love is precisely the union of a man and a woman in total self-donation, which is physically expressed through their masculine and feminine bodies.” Saint John Paul II further says, “Since it is impossible for two men (or two women) to give themselves physically to one another, any attempted union between them ceases to be a gift. It becomes a using of each other, or, at least, a using of each others’ bodies.” 

Devotion to Sanctity of Life 

Tis the Season to be Pro-Life

The third point of what constitutes a holy family is devotion to holiness of life. Families are to respect life. God made each of us unique, wonderful and special.  Before we were conceived, God knew each one of us. So we are to respect one another as God’s children, those who are born and those who are unborn. 

Through the gift of life, we are to respect each other’s bodies, and we are to respect our own bodies. We are to learn how to control our passions and desires. Mary and Joseph are a good example of this. Although Mary and Joseph were betrothed, they did not have sexual relations. And when Mary became mysteriously pregnant, Joseph did not want to put her to shame. He respected her out of love. Nor did Joseph abandon Mary. No, he loved and cared for her! 

Devotion to sanctity of life means that we do not use birth control. We are to be open to the gift of life in God’s time, not our time. Sexual union expresses love in its fullest meaning, and this love must be kept sacred and special. It is not something to be tossed around or thrown out to the dogs.  No! Sexual union is a bond of communion in the life of the Trinity and is therefore open to new life. 

My brothers and sisters, today’s Solemnity of the Holy Family emphasizes the wonderful gift of the family! It emphasizes our need to strive to live as holy families. This is what our Church needs! This is what our society needs! This is what we need! Holy families! Why? Because we live in a time when the life of the family is under a severe attack. 

The family is the basis for everything that thrives in our human societies. Families are the backbone of the life of human civilization. Once the family goes, society goes.

As we celebrate today’s Solemnity of the Holy Family, let us praise God for the gift of the family. Let us pray for our families here at Saints Peter and Paul, and for all families that we will strive to be devoted to God, devoted to Holy Matrimony, and devoted to  the sanctity of life. 

Through the intercession of the Holy Family of Jesus, Joseph, and Mary, may each one of us grow in a deeper relationship with God who is the Father of all families. May God bless you and your families this day and always.

Wedding Feast at Cana: Mary to Jesus, "They have no wine."

Merry Christmas! Our Salvation is Born!

Sermon by Rev. John Paul Shea

Christmas Day, Dec. 25, 2014

Saints Peter & Paul Parish, Tucson, AZ

Merry Christmas! Today is the day our Salvation is born! 

In today’s Gospel passage (John 1:1-18), we hear the beautiful words  from the prologue to the Gospel of John: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word was made flesh. And made His dwelling among us…  The world did not know him…But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God…” 

My brothers and sisters, these words from our Lord emphasize God’s plan for each one of us! Since the very beginning God created each of us to be His children.  He created each of us in His image so that we can be His sacred, special persons. But we turned away through sin. 

Yet, our God does not give up on us!  He has continued to call us back to Himself. He has given us the commandments. He has given us the prophets. And finally, He has given us His Son, a small child, born in a manger. This small child would grow into a man. He would live with us! He would teach us! And He would prove to us the seriousness of our need to turn back to God by dying the most excruciating death—death on a cross!

Some of you know that I was raised Mormon.  I left the Mormon Church at the age of 12. Although I can remember having spent many wonderful Christmases with my Mormon family, it was not until I became Catholic several years later that I came to understand the full significance of Christmas—that Christmas is the celebration when the divine dwells with creation. You see, Mormons believe in Jesus, but they do not believe that He is divine.  They believe that Jesus is God’s Son, but they do not believe Jesus is God.

My brothers and sisters, if Jesus was not fully human and fully divine, then the whole meaning of Christmas loses its identify. The Catholic Church teaches that our Lord was born into our world so that each one of us can become a new creation. As we heard in tonight’s Gospel passage, God was made flesh, and to those who will accept Him, He will give “power to become children of God!”

Through His nativity Our Lord identifies with us in everything but sin. In order to save us from our sins, our Lord had to be conceived and born. He had to go through the whole process. Jesus got angry. Jesus got tempted. He felt what it was like to be sad. He felt what it was like to cry. He lived among us and died and rose again so that our disordered nature could be healed.  

 Today’s celebration therefore teaches us that God has a plan for each of our lives! No matter what we have done, no matter where we have been, God calls us to be one with Him. But if we want to live God’s plan for our lives we must humble ourselves. Our Lord humbled Himself by being born in a stable and dying on a cross. All He asks is for each of us to humble ourselves by repenting of our sins and by following His teachings and adhering to His commandments!

In just a matter of days our world will enter into the year 2015.   A lot has changed during the past 2000 years  since our Lord walked the earth. The most drastic changes have taken place during the last 100 years. On the outside we seem to be much better off than we were 2000 years ago. We have more stuff, and we can do a lot more things. Yet, on the inside we, the whole of humanity, seem to be more lost than ever. We have gained a lot intellectually and materially, but we are rapidly losing our spirit and joy. 

Throughout Advent the readings for Mass has focused on the second coming of our Lord. So our Church wants to remind us that our Lord is coming again, and He is coming soon. At our Lord’s first coming, which we celebrate today, our Lord came mostly unnoticed by the world around Him. He did not come into our world by riding on the clouds. He did not come with a bang. No. Our Lord came small and humble. And He died small and humble. But when our Lord comes again, it will not be the same. No! He will come riding on the clouds in great power and glory! The earth will shake. The heavens will tremble! And then He will send out His angels who will gather His elect, those who strive to live holy lives. Those who refuse to acknowledge their sinful ways, and refuse to ask for repentance, will be thrown into everlasting fire. 

Today we celebrate the day when our salvation was born! Yet this celebration is not a celebration only in words. It is celebration of action!  It is a celebration of change! Our Lord was born into our world to lead us into a life of holiness. He has come into our world so that we can live in His world. He wants us to live in His light. He wants us to live in His love. He wants us to live in His truth. As we celebrate Christmas, let us focus our hearts on what truly matters: Eternal Salvation. And let us rejoice because our savior has been born! Alleluia! 

CANADIAN PRO-LIFE WITNESS LIKELY TO SPEND CHRISTMAS IN JAIL ON BEHALF OF UNBORN CANADIANS

MARY WAGNER IS ARRESTED OUTSIDE ABORTION CLINIC IN TORONTO

Reprinted with permission from Witness

www.torontocatholicwitness.blogspot.ca

(Editor's note: The pro-life movement is weaker in Canada than in the U.S. in the sense that it lacks support from some Church leaders, and its legal standing is much less secure.)

Mary Wagner arrested outside abortion "clinic" ~ a report from Radio Maryja, Poland

posted by Barona

Photo: Mateusz Marek, Nasz Dziennik

From Radio Maryja, Poland: 

Mary Wagner, the Canadian pro-life defender, will, most likely, spend the holidays [lit. holy days] in prison. She was arrested yesterday, Dec 23, 2014, and charged with the obstruction of a business. 

Mary Wagner went to an abortion clinic in Toronto to talk with women who had scheduled to kill their unborn children on the day of Christmas Eve.  Her hope was to save at least a few children. In an interview with pro-life defender, Jacek Kotula, Mary stated that she had informed her mother about the arrest. 

 "This is a sad news. There, the  abortion clinics are constantly operational, there is no Christmas, there is no freedom, there all the time is the killing of innocent children.  Mary could not just look at this, and for some time she has gone to clinics, prayed and converted girls; urging them to ensure that they do not kill their children. Yesterday she was arrested. I am in contact by email with Mary Wagner's parents.  They requested of us Poles, for prayers for her; that, at our Christmas Eve vigil suppers, we pray for her, and to be with Mary, for this will be another Feast Day spent in jail", said Jacek Kotula. 

Mary Wagner,  for prayer and conversation with women at abortion centres had previously been imprisoned for more than two years. She shared her life's testimony during her visit to Poland this past October.

(Trans. Barona)
Please pledge to pray the Rosary for Mary and her intentions @Twitter #rosaryformary

See also Witness' article, Poland is Praying for Mary Wagner

Fr. Paul Nicholson was with Mary Wagner when she was arrested. This is from his Facebook page: 

Early this morning, I was with the remarkable Mary Wagner, as she prepared to rescue mothers from committing the abomination of abortion. She enters the abortion mill and presents each tragic mother with a rose, gently admonishing her to think over her scheduled abortion. She is direct, but she is very gentle. We were only a small little group, as we went out to support Mary. She was eventually arrested and taken into custody. The three big police officers, who came to collect, seemed to be as cold as a day in December. But I am sure something inside them felt, that this was no ordinary prisoner. She, like the unborn child, was an intruder. She, like the unborn child, had to be removed. Mary expressed the radical form of solidarity. She will be spending Christmas in prison, as a prisoner of conscience. Will you spread the news that Mary has made herself a victim with all the little victims of abortion? Or are you too concerned about what people will think of your Facebook posts? Look, we all are subject to human respect, but at least we should be brave enough to publicly praise such a modern day hero. Think of Mary Wagner when you are with family and friends this Christmas. She deserves your respect!Remember the babies who have no one to speak for them.

Fr. Nicholson has made a YouTube Editorial Concerning the Event: Solidarity with the Babies: The Heroism of Mary Wagner

Reprinted with permission from Vox Cantoris of Toronto, www.voxcantor.blogspot.ca

Wednesday, 24 December 2014

Mary Wagner - Heroine for Christmas, heroine for Christ!

While we are busy preparing all our Christmas treats and gifts, yesterday on December 23, someone else prepared some gifts. Her name is Mary Wagner and she is a heroine for life. In the early hours of the morning, Mary prepared roses and little cards which she would give as gifts to women causing her to be placed under arrest for violating a 35 year-old "temporary injunction" against the civil right of standing in front of an abortuary. Mary crossed into the so-called "bubble-zone" and entered within its doors. The zone is to keep any person from counselling or praying or quietly standing within it away from any abortion mill in Ontario. Three burly officers "as cold as December" to quote Father Paul Nicholson, arrested Mary and led her away.

This is not the first time, Mary has spent time in jail before for protecting children, aiding women and trying to force the courts to overturn this unjust injunction. She is a champion of human and civil rights and lawful civil disobedience.

Mary has chosen the better part. She has chosen to spend her Christmas in jail from where she does her best work counselling and praying for the women there and helping them resist the temptation to kill their babies.

TO READ THE REST GO HERE

Mary Wagner previously incarcerated for pro-life witnessing outside abortion clinics
Use this hashtag #RosaryforMary to pledge to pray a Rosary for Mary on Twitter.
If you don't know the Rosary, any prayer for Mary is welcome.
God is the Father of all mankind!

DON'T MISS THE LATEST NEWS ON Mary Wagner
Canada's Shame: Peaceful Pro-lifers get Prison, Canadians Killed Seconds Before Natural Birth