Symbols: photographs of families placed around an image or a photograph of the Holy Family
Let us pray:
Gracious God, in your goodness you have called us to be evangelizers of the poor, thus following in the footsteps of your beloved Son, Jesus Christ and those of Saint Vincent de Paul. Yes, you have called us to be diligent and bold as we go out to provide for the needs of our suffering sisters and brothers. With the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, enable us to proclaim the Good News and to give witness to the Kingdom wherever we may serve. In that way no one living on the peripheries throughout the world will be deprived of the joyful proclamation of the mystery of salvation.
As we contemplate your Son, who lived among us, may we move from the table of the Word and the table of the Eucharist to the table of poor and there, may we share with others the Bread of Life. May we clothe ourselves in such a manner than we are able to respond effectively to the challenges of the present-day world. We pray in the name of Jesus the Lord. Amen
Scripture
A reading from the gospel according to Saint Matthew
While Jesus was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers appeared outside, wishing to speak with him. Someone told him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with you.” But he said in reply to the one who told him, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.” The word of God.
Let us listen to the words of Vincent de Paul
O wretched man that I am! To obey me who am disobedient to God, to the holy Church, to my father and mother from my childhood! And nearly my whole life has been nothing but disobedience! Alas, Messieurs! To whom are you rendering obedience? To the person who, like those Scribes and Pharisees about whom I was speaking to you a short time ago, is filled with vices and sins. But that is what will make your obedience more meritorious. I was just thinking about that again, and I remember that when I was a little boy, as my father used to take me with him into town, I was ashamed to go with him and to acknowledge him as my father because he was shabbily dressed and a little lame. O wretched man that I am! How disobedient I have been! I ask pardon of God; I also ask your pardon, and that of the whole Company, for all the scandal I have given you, and I beg you to pray for me, that God will pardon me and will always give me heartfelt regret for this (CCD:XII:351).
Reflection:
The family should a place where gratitude is frequently expressed: gratitude for the bonds that unite the members of the family, gratitude for the gifts of each members, gratitude for the support and solidarity that is mutually expressed to the members when experiencing difficulty. There is no doubt that the family is called to be the place where gratitude is freely and frequently expressed and in doing so the family gives witness to a consumer society that is guided by personal interests, a society that runs the risk of becoming disfigured and hardly recognizable as human. Some situations such as the accelerated divorce rate, drug addiction/alcoholism and spousal abuse, etc. have led to the disintegration of the family.
In the film, Monsieur Vincent, we hear Vincent state: this child needs another home, another mother, who will take her in? l am not talking to those who have everything but to the woman who barely has enough for her own children. May that one only move forward … to take the child in. The Lord will bless her because he who was poor and alone. In that situation Vincent recognized the need of the orphans, the need to have a home where they will feel protected and loved. As members of the Vincentian Family we are called to create “family” in the many different situations in which we might find ourselves.
Questions:
[1] Can families today become those place that mitigate the possibility of social exclusion?
[2] Do we view ourselves as members of Jesus’ family?
[3] Do I feel that I am able to create a home where God and the neighbor are the primary focus?
[4] What value is Vincent transmitting to us when he asks for forgiveness because he was frequently a disobedient child?
Closing Prayer and Blessing:
Let us Pray:
Loving God, set our hearts on fire with the desire to serve you! You have called us to evangelize our neighbor and to work on behalf of their salvation in imitation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Teach us by your example and grant us all the virtues proper to true evangelizers. Fill us with zeal so that we might set the world on fire. In your mercy grant us these graces, you who live and reign forever and ever. Amen.
Photo by Kevin Delvecchio on Unsplash
