DECEMBER 29TH 2024, HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS, MARY AND JOSEPH (YEAR C)

A father held his little daughter’s hand. They waited for the bus to take her to her first day at school. She had chosen to wear a tee shirt emblazoned with two words: Question Authority. “ Her father thought to himself, we knew we had a daughter with a strong soul, but could we have fathomed what her calling would be?” In the first reading, we hear of a promise Hannah made three thousand years ago. The vocation of her yet-unborn child was set. Samuel would be given to the Lord. John in the second reading tells us that we all have a calling to be “ children of God.” What path would we each take to fulfill this mission? Long-term Church crises such as those around abuse or racism may have led many of our youth to follow spiritual directions outside the institutional Church. Are they lost? Can we recognize that our youth may not all be astray, but rather about their Father’s business in unexpected ways? There should be no barriers to our welcoming acceptance of all God’s children, whatever their path or calling. Luke in today’s Gospel, tells us Mary and Joseph looked for their lost twelve-year-old son for three days. They found the young Jesus in the temple, in his “Father’s house.” They didn't understand that their child was not lost at all: he knew his vocation and had answered its call.

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