The family that prays together stays together. Do you pray as a family, daily and at Sunday Mass? Some do, many do not. So many say: How can we? We are too busy?

    We all know that families, especially young families, race from one place to another. Yet do we race to keep our faith?

    Prayer is not inconvenient. Prayer is a necessity as is food and water. Thinking it is never a good time to pray as you are too busy, means you are not praying rightly.

Right prayer humbles us to discern God’s will. What do we need to do. In prayer we see our need for God, his help, strength, blessing, mercy, and forgiveness.

Praying the Our Father as a family, around the table, is not extraordinary. It is simple. Praying the Rosary together, as a family, is powerful and beautiful. It reflects the simplicity of the Gospel becoming our source of great strength!

Prayer sees the needs of others. We pray for each other. A husband for his wife, the wife for her     husband. Together they pray for their children. Children for their parents and grandparents.

Prayerful families need to keep the faith. Yet, how? To see our faith as a treasure that gets handed down.

Families that pray are missionary. They are the salt and light, wheat and yeast of life. They, enlightened by the Spirit bring food, faith and friendship to others as well as to themselves.

Christian families experience joy. They have hope knowing their lives have meaning and purpose      behold Christ. They also bring Christ to others.

Hope, belief in the eternal God, causes joy for we understand the difficulties and dilemmas have   meaning. They teach us trust and love in Jesus.

Joy is the essence of family life. Home should be a place of joy, celebrating feast days, anniversaries, birthdays, graduations, etc. On these days, the festivities create a new spirit within, the Holy Spirit. Joy is not superficial. Not new toys and clothes. Nor is it material, financial, or emotional. Joy comes from knowing your purpose which is to love. In love, we love God and family members. This causes joy.

Joy is deep, penetrating, and renewing. It comes from a profound harmony between persons, a friendship as does marriage and lasts forever.

Harmony in our hearts makes us enjoy each other. It is an experience of mutual love, mutual support along life’s journey. It creates a sense of play in our lives harmoniously interacting. Harmony in the   Family, then, reflects the beauty of divine love.

Ultimately, deep joy is the presence of God dwelling in the family. His love, which is inviting, reveals his mercy, that ability to forgive the failures of others and offer help, not condemnation.

Delving into the Scriptures reveals they are more than quaint, trite fables of past figures. St. Paul encountered the figure of Christ, and that experience completely changed his life. Instead of being a threat to Christians thinking they were heretics who needed to be stoned, he became an apostle who preached:

I Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called to be an  apostle and set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised previously through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, the gospel about his Son, descended from David according to the flesh, but established as Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness” (Rom 1:1 – 2).

St. Paul witnessed to the Gospel with his life. His actions were nothing less than miraculous. But why would a man who wanted to destroy a budding belief in a false messiah, suddenly change and become one of the most prominent preachers of this Truth?

The prophets, most explicitly Isaiah, foretold the coming of a Savior who was not merely an earthly messiah but a Divine Messiah. Matthew also radically changes his life when he encounters Jesus. He quotes an obscure passage hidden:

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, they shall name him Emmanuel, which means ‘God is with us’”  (Mt 1:23). 

God is with us? This is strange, unbelievable even. Why would the God of Creation, the God Who Is, the God of Heaven humble Himself to dwell with us? St. Paul answers. God made a promise, a covenant in which He bonded Himself with us. He is a God Who keeps his promises. Do we our promises?

The Gospel Truth becomes real when we understand the Prophet’s prediction. The young maiden who has yet to be married or have marital relationships is found with Child, and not just any Child, but the God-Child. This is Isaiah’s prophecy. This fulfills God’s promise to his people.

St. Paul comments on this “fable” telling the Romans it is not a myth but is the Gospel: God became Man!

Jesus fulfills not only this prophecy but others as well. The Messiah would be a great King and live  forever (2 Sam 7:12). The Messiah would be born of David’s lineage (Jer 25:5-6). That He would be a  Holy Child, The Prophet who would die a prophet’s death in Jerusalem (Lk 13:33). That He would be born in Bethlehem (Mc 5:2). That the kings of Sheba and Seba would offer gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh (Ps 72).

St. Paul knew these prophecies and by the hand of God, understood them. He received the gift of faith — understanding. We who celebrate Christmas ought to open our hearts so the hand of God will bring about in us an obedience of faith, for we too are called to be an apostle, a true prophet, preaching the Gospel Truth!  Emmanuel is with us forever.

Aristotle speaks in his classic work, Nicomachean Ethics – a book everyone should read – that happiness is the one thing we choose for itself.

“Play” is the essence of happiness. We play for the sole reason of receiving joy from the game we play. Whatever we play: sports, music, art, adventures, etc, we do them for the sole purpose of receiving joy from that particular activity.

People love music, it fills them with joy. Others who do not enjoy music will choose to do something else, such as hike.

But even more amazing, Aristotle teaches that this one concept, “Joyful Happiness,” is at the root of every decision, especially those powerful ones:

¨ Does my life have real meaning?

¨ Is my life successful?

¨ Do I value the lives of others?

¨ Is my life worth living?

Joyful Happiness is powerful, it makes us do things that makes us joyful and happy.

From the foods we eat, to the clothes we wear, to the friends we keep, to the places we worship, we make choices dependent upon the amount of joyful happiness we think we will enjoy from them.

This is a much different notion than was it fun. Fun lasts for the moment. Joyful happiness lingers,     knowing it was the best thing. It touches my future.

Sadly, many people make choices based upon pleasures and personal achievements rather than on what they can contribute to others and what transcendent values by which they will live.

Christmas is a time of immense happiness, for during Advent and Christmas, we not only enjoy the pleasures of eating and drinking, but we also connect with justice, peace, kindness, and charity. These bring joy!

Even the greatest skeptics of Christmas encounter the transcendent values of charity and good-will     revealing a deep profound joy because Christmas touches on the transcendent values of peace, justice, beauty, goodness and ultimately love. Christmas then is the Happy Time of the Year because this happiness fulfills all four levels of happiness.

Trust founds every relationship. It is the basis for healthy conflict that does not degrade, but    sharpens the other. Trust breaks us free of our fear of commitment and openly demands accountability. Both parties are accountable because both focus on results — the goal and purpose of the relationship: trust.

   Trust begins with understanding who the other person is. He is not an obstacle, nor a chain, but  each person is an encounter to grow in God’s likeness.

Some people are blessings,

others are to teach us a lesson.

   Trust reveals authenticity. Instead of living in shame, healthy relationship understands the other’s short-comings; but more importantly, demands from the  other growth based on authentic affirmation. Trust then joins not because of pressure, but the bond between the two inspires the other to “betterness”.

   Ultimately, trust is rooted in courage. Courage believes one another and courage risks self for the good of the other. Trust then anchors the friendship.

   Trust is an act of faith in the other for both are God centered — not human focused. To trust others       including ourselves, we first have to trust the Lord:

Trust in the “LORD” with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge  him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes;

Fear the ”LORD”, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones” (Prov 3:5 – 8).

   Self-trust is a paradox. We cannot trust ourselves for we know we fail. We know we are sinners, so how do we trust ourselves? We trust in the Lord, casting all our cares and fears upon Him knowing He heals and strengthens as He wounds.

   Trust does not fear either, for we clothe ourselves in a mantle of meekness and humility. Both empower our trust, for our strength comes from the Lord Himself — not from ourselves.

   In contrast, self-trust is distrust!

Many pridefully trust in themselves; and so,

distrust invades their friendships and faith.

   Instead of trusting in ourselves, we bind ourselves to Jesus first. In relationship with Jesus, He directs our choices to trust in the Lord despite all our troubles. We cast all our fears upon the Lord, for we know He will strengthen us in all stages of our lives for He cares about us with his very life.