December 29th
Feast of the Holy Family Luke 2:22-40

BACKGROUND

As in the prior sections of the Infancy Narrative, here, too, we find Luke pointing to a parallelism between Jesus and John the Baptist, emphasizing how Jesus is greater then the Baptist. The narrative is somewhat confusing because Luke combines two ceremonies, the presentation of the first-born son and the ritual purification of the mother. The emphasis is on the presentation of Jesus in the temple, the temple being for Luke a sign of the link between Judaism and the Christian community. Anna and Simeon, waiting in the temple for the revelation of salvation recognize Jesus as the one they hope for. Simeon, by professing Jesus to be the "light to the Gentiles" while at the same time warning that they child will be opposed and Mary's heart will be pierced, foreshadows the trials of the Holy family and of those who seek to follow the gospel.

STORY

Christmas the year Nora was eight was a day she will always remember. You see, Nora loved Christmas. Surprisingly, the gifts she received were not the main reason she looked forward to the day, although she was not opposed to receiving gifts and always left out cookies and hot chocolate for Santa. What she loved most about Christmas were the decorations and the music and the crèche at church and the big family gathering at Grandma and Grandpa's house on Christmas Day. The birthday celebrations for the Christ Child were her idea of a perfect birthday party, one she looked forward to with eager anticipation. A week or so before Christmas that year Nora overheard her mother say to her grandmother, "I'm afraid Christmas just won't be the same for Nora this year. I think she knows and is just pretending, hoping everything will be the same." Nora wasn't quite sure what her mother meant. She remembered her mother saying that Grandpa might not feel up to having big crowds around after his recent operation.Maybe Grandma told her mother that they would not be having the family Christmas party and her mother hadn't told her. Now Nora didn't want to cause her mother to worry more about Grandpa, so she didn't ask about the Christmas plans. Still, she was very sad that they would not be having a big birthday celebration. She kept hoping Grandpa would feel better or one of the aunts would have the party or maybe even her mother would have it. Imagine her surprise and delight on Christmas Day when, after opening their gifts from Santa and going to church, they began packing the car with gifts and food and headed for Grandma's house. She no longer felt sad. Her prayers had been answered. When she went to bed that night, she wondered why her mother thought this would not be a good Christmas for her. It was her best Christmas ever. Whenever she remembers that Christmas, she smiles, knowing that what her Mother meant had nothing to do with Grandpa.

Mary G. Durkin

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