HAWAK KAMAY

Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph

Sir. 3: 2 – 6, 12 – 14 / Ps. 128 / Col. 3: 12 – 21 / Mt. 2: 13 – 15

We have to accept the truth na walang forever! St. Teresa de Avila once said, “Let nothing disturb you. Let nothing affright you. All things are passing away.” The gifts which you received last Christmas have been opened. The bonuses and cash incentives have been spent. The sumptuous noche Buena have been digested. Slowly, in malls, there is a shift from hearing the songs of Jose Mari Chan to the beat of the drums with a loud voice, Sinulog, misiyagit og kusog, Pit Senyor, pit senyor, tanan magsaulog! Indeed, ang lahat ay may katapusan, walang forever!

And this is also true in the story of Christmas. After giving birth to Jesus, Mary and Joseph welcomed their guests, the poor and tired shepherds, the magi who brought their gifts, and the angels who sang their Gloria in excelsis Deo. However, all these visitors went back to their lives’ routine. However, something remained after their visitors left – the family of Jesus, Joseph, and Mary. In fact, amidst the terror that they have to face and the travel that they have to make t Egypt, the Holy Family of Nazareth remained together.

My dear friends, this is also a truth that we have to accept – kay haba haba man ng prusisyon sa simbahan din ang tuloy. This is also true in the family. No matter where our tadhana would bring us, everything still begins and ends in the family. Even after death, we still belong to a family – the family of God in heaven. And so, let us preserve and protect our families today from greed, desire for power, lust, and most especially from separation.

Thus, we ask ourselves, how do we protect our families? Well, Pope Francis has a lot of practical advices on this matter. And so, let me just share with you three points.

First, practice peace! Pope Francis has this advice for us, “Argue as much as you want. If the plates fly, let them fly! But never end the day without making peace.” And he adds, “we do not need to call the United Nations to come to one’s home to make peace. A small gesture, a caress, a hello is sufficient.” Practicing peace therefore means practicing the virtues of forgiveness, understanding, sensitivity, and many more.

Second, practice prayer! Some people would say, we do not need God in the family. But Pope Francis asks us in humility to accept the truth that we need God. We need his mercy, his love, his compassion in our families. That is why the Church insists on sacramental marriage! It is not for the priest to gain more but to instill in the couple, that all we need is pag-ibig; that all we need is the love of God for our own loves to work. Thus, we need to practice prayer!

Finally, practice your presence! In your family, you learn to dialogue, to communicate with one another. If in the family, you are the father then talk to your wife as a husband and as a father to your children. The same is also true for the wives and children. We need to practice our presence in the family because when problems come then we can easily learn where to go.

My dear friends, what remains in the end is the gift of the family. After all, God is not alone and lonely. God is family. God is a Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Therefore, let us protect and preserve our families by practicing peace, practicing prayer, and practicing our presence.

After my graduation last May, a couple invited me for dinner in a restaurant. While we were seated, a big family of 15 members arrived. I was afraid that their voices would overpower our conversation at table. However, I was wrong. When we left, I saw this family on the next table very silent. Why? Because everyone was holding their gadgets. Only the baby was holding his bibiron.

My dear family of God, in order to stay together as a family, let us hold on not to our gadgets, not to our vices, not to our pride. Rather, let us hold on to each other’s hand. And above all, let us hold on to the hand of God so that we can truly sing the song of Yeng Constantino, “Hawak kamay, di kita iiwan sa paglakbay, dito sa mundong walang katiyakan, hawak kamay, Dito sa mundo ng kawalan, hawak kamay!” Amen.

Photo taken from en.wikipedia.org