A Family Album

This weekend in our Catholic Christian churches, we continue to celebrate the Christmas season with the Feast of the Holy Family. http://usccb.org/bible/readings/122913.cfm  All the reflections, sermons, and homilies speak of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus being the perfect family and a model for us all.  However, life for them was not perfect.  We know that they suffered from a political system that caused them to flee to Egypt.  Joseph had to trust his intuition, faith, and values - and leave his chisels, mallets, and saws behind – and begin anew. And as Jesus grew older, he became a presence that disturbed – especially the religious and political leaders. Thus being refugees and experiencing “up close” rejection and oppression, they grew in wisdom, grace, and age together.

Over this past week, it seems that folks in the U.S.,  became greatly frustrated with the fact that UPS and FedEx did not measure up to what was promised or expected.  People were “put out” because their orders were not delivered on time for Christmas.  No matter what reasons were offered, they were never enough to satisfy the inconvenienced parties.
But then I thought about all the people who were “inconvenienced” and without electric power (approximately 300,000 homes) for at least a week because of the ice storm on the east coast and Canada.  The linemen were working 18-24 hours a day to restore power.  They, too, were away from their families at Christmas, but believed it was their “call” to rescue these people.  The people were grateful to those who came to their aid and were happy just to be alive.  And what about all the other people across our planet who are still waiting? Waiting for relief, food, medicine, and to hear from lost family members, friends or relatives after earthquakes, tsunamis, and typhoons?

Here during this feast, I am pulled into remembering that we all are family as we share Earth.  However, Earth has had a difficult year with our humanity.  I will list a few of the “sorrowful mysteries” of our year–
• Floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, wild fires, monsoons, typhoons, and cyclones
• Sandy Hook victims,  Jersey Shores Hurricane
• Death of Nelson Mandela and Dustin Friedland (carjacking victim on Dec. 21st in Newark, NJ) http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/das-office-held-deadly-nj-mall-carjacking-21296900
• Bombing during Boston Marathon
• Three women kidnapped and held captive for 10 years in Cleveland, OH

And yet it was in the responses – financially, physically, spiritually, and psychologically, that we experienced the “joyful mysteries” as a family of Earth to bring hope and healing to all survivors of these devastations.  I will also provide a clip from Yahoo News of the highlights of 2013. May you pray it as you view it. It is a “family album” of the Joyful and Sorrowful Mysteries of our 2013 year across our planet.
http://news.yahoo.com/2013-front-page-news-183119205.html


And so we pray:
Creator of the Stars, God of Epiphanies, You are the Great Star.  You have marked my path with light.  You have filled my sky with stars naming each star, guiding it, until it shines into my heart, awakening me to deeper seeing, new revelations and brighter epiphanies.
O Infinite Star Giver, I now ask for wisdom and courage to follow these stars for their names are many and my heart is fearful.
They shine on me where ever I go: The Star of Hope, The Star of Mercy and Compassion, The Star of Justice and Peace, The Star of Tenderness and Love, The Star of Suffering, The Star of Joy.
And every time I feel the shine, I am called to follow it, to sing it, to live it, all the way to the cross and beyond.
O Creator of the Stars, You have become within me and unending Epiphany.                (From: Seasons of Your Heart by Macrina Wiederkehr)