The Tribune

By REV. ANGELA PALACIOUS DURING this time when we reflect on the holy family and the showing forth of God's plan of salvation to the magi, we cannot help but pause and ponder the message that is intended for us as individuals and as a people. What are the changes that we may set in motion as a result? Jesus came so that we may see ourselves in a different light. He came to reveal what it means to be a genuine human being made in the image of God, following the will of God, and reflecting the glory of God. In such a reflection, we become like the holy star leading others to worship the King with us. We know that only Jesus is perfect, yet we see in His parents persons who had come to allow God to direct their destiny. Faced by the angel's proposition, the answer was all up to Mary, and she said "yes." All of her future plans were then placed in God's hands, and she followed an inner star that would lead her from one place to another, and one decision to the next. Joseph, likewise, was confronted with the choice to cancel his wedding, or let his dreams take a totally different direction. His "yes" to be the step-father of our lord meant enduring social shame and ostracism concerning Mary's condition; postponing his honeymoon until the baby was born; journeying from Bethlehem to Egypt and then back to Nazareth, among other things. His obedience at that moment in time made him a well known saint in the Christian church. The boy Jesus began to embrace his future ministry as he talked to the priests and scholars in the temple. He faced the pain of the cross so that we could taste the sweetness of salvation. He rose and fell and rose again so that God's plan would be accomplished through him. Now it is our turn. The answers we give to the leading of the holy spirit are all up to us. God's dreams for us are only a yes away even now. Do we want each day that we live to be a day to give the best back to God? God says to each one of us "now is your time". Some moments are great ones when life-changing decisions have to be made, while others are smaller ones that either take us to those great ones or lead us away from them. How do you intend to handle the chances that will come this year? Are you considering making your family more of a holy one? Are you allowing the holy spirit to so operate in your life that your home will become more holy ground? Will you give God full control as Mary and Joseph did in the nativity story? Say yes to God and you will be more than you thought you could be, and so will we.