Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

Way too many of us come into the Feast of the Holy Family with memories or current experiences of less than holy families. If you’re here today with mostly positive experiences with your family, then take a moment or two to thank God for that gift. If there are unhealed wounds from your past or current hurts in your family, we can pause to be grateful our faith teaches us that our family relationships should be places we are loved, cherished and protected from harm. God offers us perfect love and adoption into His family and wants to heal our wounds, past and present. God desires for us to follow Him and grow in love so we can pass on a legacy of love to our children and future generations. May we be images of the exhortation in the reading from Colossians: clothed in compassion, kindness, meekness, and patience, forgiving and loving our way into God’s peace, especially in our families and communities. Prayer: For healing and peace in all families, we pray to the Lord. Father, Son and Spirit, you are yourself a family of persons, whose love is a gift for us all. Teach us to love each other in every interaction and moment. Make us practitioners of forgiveness and peace, images of your family that can bring about more love in the world. Amen. Reflection: CCCB #CatholicYYC #IamBlessed #SundayMass