The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph
Once
when Fr. O’Malley came into the classroom
to
visit the schoolchildren,
he
asked if anybody knew where the Holy Family lived.
There
was complete silence for a few moments,
and
them a string of incorrect answers.
Finally,
one little boy raised his hand and said,
“I
know, Father! The Holy Family
lives at 125 Main Street!”
The
puzzled priest asked how the kid knew this.
“Well,
Father,” said the boy,
“every
morning, when I walk by that house on my way to school,
I
hear somebody shout, ‘Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, why won’t you get up!’”
It
was sure nice to see our churches full for Christmas, wasn’t it?
As
I jokingly said to somebody after Mass Christmas morning:
it’s
nice to have so many visitors from out-of-town…
…and
it’s nice to have so many visitors from right here in town!
All
kidding aside—
full
churches at Christmas is a bittersweet thing for me
as
the “father” of this parish family,
just
as it is for so many Catholic parents:
I’m
awfully glad to have them here for that one Mass…
…but
what can I do to get them back here again every
Sunday?
I
came across an online interview with Carrie Gress,
a
Catholic writer who’s published a book I’ll be ordering very soon,
entitled, Nudging Conversions:
In
this season which brings families together,
which
brings a lot of lapsed Catholics to Christmas Mass,
and
which, for many, tends to bring religious subjects to mind,
she
makes some helpful suggestions
about
how to share your faith—with your family and with others—
in
a way that’s fruitful rather than divisive.
For one thing,
she
urges people to avoid starting arguments about religion.
We
often wonder, “What can I say that will win them over?”
But
this isn’t about “winning.”
It’s
pretty rare that a heated debate
actually
brings someone back to the Church;
more
often than not, it drives them farther away.
What
you want is for your faith to rub off on them—
not
to rub it into them.
So
don’t nag. Don’t get preachy.
Convincing
people with well-reasoned “proofs”
about the truth of the Catholic faith
about the truth of the Catholic faith
might
work on a few of the more intellectually inclined,
but
not everybody.
Dr.
Gress points out that hospitality is much, much more effective.
“When
we have people in our homes,” she asks,
“do
they feel welcomed?
Are
we attentive to who they are, their work, their interests?
Do
they leave our homes feeling drained and empty
or
edified with a better sense of feeling ‘known’ by us?
It
is little things like this that can open a heart to Christ.”
Hospitality
works because
we’re called
to imitate God’s graciousness and generous love.
to imitate God’s graciousness and generous love.
“While
no two conversion stories are exactly alike,” she says,
“the
most effective transformations [happen]
when
people [feel] they [are] loved and not judged.…
In
prayer, the idea came to me to give them back to God
and
just love them exactly where they were in life.
I
didn’t have to endorse every element of their lives,
but
just love them as they were.
What
happened was that our relationships
became
richer, fuller, and more genuine.
Trust
was established and they knew that I really loved them
and
treasured them for who they were.
Rather
than feeling pressure that ‘I’ll love you if…’
they
knew I already loved them.
Only
then did small changes start taking place.
Of
course, I was also praying and fasting for them
so
that grace was moving in their lives.”
You
know what else Dr. Gress suggests
if we
want to bring others back to the practice of the faith?
That
we make every effort to first grow in faith and holiness ourselves.
For
one thing, “in order to pass along the faith,
we
must first have it.
You
cannot give what you don’t have.”
But
she also points out:
“Looking
at the lives of the saints,
we
see that their holiness is attractive, not off-putting.
People
just wanted to be around them
because
it made them feel closer to God.
The
more we grow in our own faith,
the
more attractive we will become….”
It’s
every parent’s vocation to bring his or her children to God,
as is
played out so very vividly
when
Hannah gives over the young Samuel to the Lord’s service,
and
when Mary and Joseph take the twelve-year-old Jesus
to
the Temple in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover.
Even
when our children are now adults,
that
same vocation remains—
although
the means by which we fulfill it may be altogether different.
Like
Mary and Joseph,
we
should be anxious for those who seem to have lost their way,
never
giving up on them.
But
we must take our cues on what to do
from
our heavenly Father,
who
won’t compel or pressure us,
but
constantly attempts to move his children by the appeal of love.
Do
you want to help others find their way to the Catholic faith?
Turns
out that the secret to filling the Lord’s house lies in your house.
So
make your home a place of real welcome,
and
take every opportunity to grow in your own faith,
that
people can point to your address and say,
"I know a holy family lives there!"
"I know a holy family lives there!"
1 comment:
Very nice.
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