“When Israel was a child, I loved him; out of Egypt, I called my son. The more I called them, the farther they went from Me, sacrificing to the Baals and burning incense to idols. … they did not know that I cared for them. I drew them with human cords, with bands of love; I fostered them like those who raise an infant to their cheeks; I bent down to feed them.” (Hosea 11: 1-4)

Dear Friends,

On this Feast of the Holy Family, HOLY Church offers for our mediation the story of the Holy Family fleeing the Promised Land of the Covenant and finding refuge in the Land of Ancient Slavery. In this journey, Jesus reverses the journey of the People Israel and brings liberation to the place of slavery and to the whole world. Allow me to share a reflection, rather a prayer on this event in the Christmas story.

Each year, Heavenly Father, I take a moment attempting to reflect on the incredible mystery of Your Pure and Unconditional Love as You revealed it in the Incarnation of Your Son. Shamefacedly I admit that it is always too brief a moment, in comparison to the significance this reality has in relation to my life both in this world and in the world to come. The Blessed Life of Jesus, the Word made flesh, is filled with so many profound episodes that implore us to examine more seriously and intentionally. This year, His mysterious journey to Egypt has become the focus of my reflection. Assist my effort, therefore, to discover Your Presence in the midst of my confusion over the incredible events that define this precarious journey that He made so early in His life and inspire me to receive the grace of your everpresent invitation to enter into a deeper understanding of Your ways, to grow stronger in my trust in You alone and to foster a more intimate relationship with You, who alone can satisfy the most profound desire of my poor heart. Amid the dread darkness of ignorance and error; Your Beloved Son, Lord, is forced out of the very land You promised to our father, Abraham, whose beloved son, Isaac, You spared … the land to which You called Moses to lead the people of the Covenant out of the bondage of Egypt.

Yet, Jesus, the Son of the Eternal Father: Jesus, the Word who was from the everlasting; Jesus, the very realization and fulfillment of the Covenant and the New Moses is driven into the arid desert of fear and loneliness fleeing into the embrace of very place from which You, mercifully hearing the cries of Your people, with mighty arm liberated us, His people, Your people from the slavery imposed on us by this world and selfish human choices. Strangely, this flight into Egypt turns upside-down the great story of Your peoples’ Exodus.

Then, fleeing the oppression of external enemies, God’s beloved people, with Bread made in haste with human hands, are guided by You, Father, from a foreign place of domination to the Promised Land of liberation. This time, however, the enemies from within wage war against themselves with excess, unbelief and selfishness reigning supreme. Despite our hard-heartedness which thwarts our openness to receive Your Self-Gift, the Gift of Your Life. You, Father, remembering Your promise of Mercy, (Lk 1:54) with profound humility liberated us not simply from the slavery of this world but from sin and death, Satan’s ancient captivity. By the Incarnation of Your Son, You prepare Bread for us from before time began to sustain us on the arduous journey of life in this world. This is the Bread of Life, nobly begotten in the Divine Heart (Jn 1: 18) and sent from heaven, born in Beth-lehem (the House of Bread) of the Virgin Mary and laid in a feeding trough for animals (Lk 2:4-7). Your Son, Jesus, is rejected and exiled from His earthly homeland … the land of the Promise; Your Beloved Son, the Promise-fulfilled, the Holy Bread that came down from heaven, is carried in haste through Sinai’s desert by His and our Blessed Mother and St. Joseph and returns to the very place of the ageless slavery (Matt. 2:13-15), not just to free the people of the Covenant, but all peoples from the slavery to self. A LIGHT shines from all eternity … WORD of the Creator … SON of the Father … EMMANUEL, GODWITH-US. Jesus enters our human nature completely and remains with us in every aspect of our lives, without sin; even in the dark places that we would rather not admit in ourselves, the areas in our lives that enslave and oppress us. He comes to us there! He is with us patiently and gently waiting for us … waiting for me … to enter the light of His Truth and the warmth of His Love, to eat the Holy Bread come down from heaven and share communion with Him and You, Our Father, with all the holy ones in the fullness of life.

Be of good cheer! Have a joyous Christmas and a blessed and safe New Year!

Msgr. Grous

Thank You!

In anticipation of the solemn liturgies we will experience over the next week in celebration of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, enhanced by the beautiful music provided by our cantors and choirs under the direction of Charles Paschall; enriched by the service of our Altar Servers, Lectors, and Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion and Collectors; comforted by our Outdoor Stable, courtesy of the Knights of Columbus and the young men and women of our Parish Youth Group, and our splendidly decorated Church, I wish to thank everyone who has taken a part in providing all of us the consolation and welcome of “coming home” to St. Isaac Jogues Church to celebrate Christmas in this Holy Year of Jubilee 2025.