Advent Daily Devotionals: A Home for the Holy Family: 18th December

A HOME FOR THE HOLY FAMILY

18th of December 2018

Readings of the Day:

First Reading: Jeremiah 23:5-8

Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 72:1, 12-13, 18-19

Gospel: Matthew 1:18-24

First Reading, Jeremiah 23:5-8

Look, the days are coming, Yahweh declares, when I shall raise an upright Branch for David; he will reign as king and be wise, doing what is just and upright in the country. In his days Judah will triumph and Israel live in safety.  And this is the name he will be called, 'Yahweh-is-our-Saving-Justice.' "

'So, look, the days are coming, Yahweh declares, when people will no longer say, "As Yahweh lives who brought the Israelites out of Egypt," but, "As Yahweh lives who led back and brought home the offspring of the House of Israel from the land of the north and all the countries to which he had driven them, to live on their own soil."

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 72:1, 12-13, 18-19

God, endow the king with your own fair judgement, the son of the king with your own saving justice,

For he rescues the needy who calls to him, and the poor who has no one to help.

He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the needy from death.

Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, who alone works wonders; blessed for ever his glorious name. May the whole world be filled with his glory! Amen! Amen!

Gospel, Matthew 1:18-24

This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.

Her husband Joseph, being an upright man and wanting to spare her disgrace, decided to divorce her informally.

He had made up his mind to do this when suddenly the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 'Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins'

Now all this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken through the prophet:

Look! the virgin is with child and will give birth to a son whom they will call Immanuel, a name which means 'God-is-with-us'.

When Joseph woke up he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do: he took his wife to his home;

Writer’s reflection

“Home is where the heart is” -goes the traditional saying, and there is much truth in it. But, what about your heart? Does your heart belong to Jesus? Could you make it a home for Him this Christmas? Only seven days from now we will celebrate the birth of our Saviour, and like St Joseph, we must be convinced of this reality and be ready to welcome him. We must make sure our hearts are in the right place, and then prepare them to be the home of the Holy Family.

I’ve had many different “homes” in the last few years. I’ve lived in different countries, and encountered many loving people who have welcomed me into their own homes with great generosity. I really have appreciated such hospitality and it has opened my eyes to the importance of a home. Of course, to spend time with my own family is the most special, for they know me the most- but this is only one small aspect of life. In the greater picture, the eternal plan of God, we have been made to be able to have God WITHIN US. This is immense; the human soul is created in such a way that God can come and dwell within. If we are in a state of grace, we can become tabernacles of God, like our dear mother Mary who gives the example. This is part of the Christian life and is so beautiful. As St Elizabeth of the Trinity says “I have found heaven on earth, since heaven is God and God is in my soul.” (Incidentally, St Elizabeth received a special grace by which she was fully aware of the presence of the Trinity in her soul)

The first requirement is to have our hearts in the right place. To do this, I try to distance myself from all distractions and spend my times of prayer well. We must know that it is only in, through and with God that we can live, love and have our being. Our hearts can’t be set on the things of this world, whether that is things, desires, places, people or something else; our hearts must be set on God- and everything else only because of Him. As St Augustine of Hippo beautifully said, ‘You have made us for yourself O Lord, and our heart is restless until in rests in You’.

Once our hearts are rooted and rested in God alone, the second requirement is to prepare them. Each person knows how best to do it for themselves. Confession is a beautiful sacramental preparation, because it gives us an abundance of grace, and through the forgiveness of our sins, our hearts will have a larger capacity to welcome Jesus into it.

Along with Jesus, let’s welcome Our Lady and St. Joseph into our hearts, for I believe it is the home that they desire this Christmas. They long for a true home in which they can bring Jesus Christ into the world, who didn’t come just for them – but came for us all. No longer in need of an earthly shelter, they long for a place which can be transformed by love. May this be us!

Prayer Reflection:

Lord Jesus, I long to welcome you into my heart, for where you are everything is transformed by love. Show me how to make my heart ready for you and grant me the grace to remain in your presence.

Our Lady, my Mother and St. Joseph, please pray that I may receive a special grace this Christmas in coming closer to Jesus than ever before.

All glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Writer's Bio: Luca McQuillan

Hey :) My name is Luca and I am half Scottish/Hungarian. I study Catholic theology and my aim is to work for the salvation of souls in whatever way God asks of me. I love adventures in any shape or form, travelling, people, art, rollerblading, climbing, swimming and even studying among many other things. Most recently I spent the past year in the St Andrew’s community in Aberdeen, Scotland.

My message to any readers would be, to live life to the full! By this you glorify God! “The glory of God is man fully alive” (CCC 294). God gave you this precious gift and there’s so much you can do if you abandon everything to Him. There is great truth in Jesus words “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.”

Your life is full when it is lived for God, and this pleases him greatly – so don’t let anything hold you back!! :D