Published in the bulletin of Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Knoxville, TN, on the 1st Sunday in Advent.

My dear Parishioners,

Peace! The third article of the Apostle’s Creed is “Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary” There are nineteen (19) In Brief passages in the Catechism of the Catholic Church regarding this article of the Creed. The following is a reflection on article 564.

After the Lord Jesus was found in the Temple, teaching the doctors of the law at the precocious age of twelve (12), Sacred Scripture teaches us that the Lord Jesus went home with Mary and Joseph and was “subject to them” (cf. Luke 2:42-51). Here, a Joyful Mystery of the Rosary is mixed with one of the Sorrows of Our Lady (the joy is that He was found; the sorrow was that He was ‘lost’ albeit “about His Father’s business”). We see here the life of the Holy Family which we celebrate liturgically on the Sunday after Christmas each year.

Part of the mystery of the Holy Family is the reality of humble work. It is rather ordinary to wash the laundry or clean the dishes or cook another meal or make another chair or table… yet this is our daily lot… and God means it as a means of our sanctification. The Blessed Virgin Mary was not the first or only housewife. Saint Joseph was not the first or only carpenter. But their daily labors were made extraordinary because they were done for the Lord and with the Lord.

When we do whatever the ordinary tasks which are ours with the Love of God in our hearts and love for our families (which God has given us) then these ordinary things are made extraordinary. And, for those of us with extraordinary abilities and activities, these are all the more so when united to the ‘our Father’s business,’ namely the salvation of the world.

While some may use of Facebook, Twitter and the internet in general, as well as text messaging and cell phones (not to mention old fashioned letters…) in order to obscure our own ‘hidden life,’ most of us are not on the front page of the daily paper or on the evening news regularly, if at all. And that is fine. God knows and cares and follows what we are doing and is pleased with our good deeds and holds great rewards for us when we live according to His grace.

When we live our family life according to the Divine plan, husbands and wives loving, honoring and respecting each other and cooperating with God in the growth of the human family, we are following the example of the Holy Family. When we exert ourselves in our daily labors, participating in the common good we are following the example of the Holy Family. As a result, our families and relations are made holy by God’s grace and God is glorified. May the Holy Family, Jesus, Mary and Joseph, pray for us!

God bless you!

Father John Arthur Orr