The Heralds of the Gospel seek to bring the Good News of the Gospel everywhere. There where they are invited to act, in coordination with the pastoral guidelines of each diocese, the Herald priests seek to bring words of joy, trust and support to Catholics and to all men and women of good will. In order to take this message even further, the "Word for Our Day" programme seeks to offer a synthetic view of the essential points of the liturgy of each Sunday.
In the video we offered below, excerpts from some of the homilies delivered on Sunday, December 29, 2019, were compiled in the most diverse places of this immense and blessed Brazil:
- Pe. Célio Luís Casale – Chapel Nossa Senhora de Lourdes, in Mairiporã (SP)
- Pe. Francisco Magnos – Chapel Of Our Lady of Good Council, in São Carlos (SP)
- Pe. João Carlos Fidelis de Moura – Basilica Of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima, in Cotia (SP)
- Pe. João Carlos Gomes Barroso – Headquarters of the Heralds, in Campos dos Goytacazes (RJ)
- Pe. Maurício de Oliveira Sucena – Headquarters of the Heralds, in Cuiabá (MT)
- Pe. Mauro Sérgio da Silva Izabel – Basilica Of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima, in Cotia (SP)
- Pe. Paulo Sérgio Martins – Headquarters of the Heralds, in Curitiba (PR)
- Pe. Thiago de Oliveira Geraldo – Basilica Of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima, in Cotia (SP)
Summary
So much god loves the institution of the family that, in carnating himself, wanted to have one for Himself.
There is no historical time as in need of the example of the Holy Family as ours. We live in a time when we seek to end the family institution in every way, and so nothing better than having this archetype of family before our eyes, so that we can love and defend this institution so loved by God.
What lessons brings us to today's liturgy? The first lesson is humility, for in the Holy Family who was least commanded, and who was most obeyed. This humility in the family relationship leads us to have this respect that the first and second readings speak to us.
The second lesson is that of faith, knowing how to recognize God's action in events. That's what the Gospel speaks to us. St Joseph hears the angel's voice in a dream and does not hesitate a single moment to obey what has been commanded to him. Why is that? Because he recognized God's hand in what was happening.
St Joseph was experiencing a terrible affliction, seeing his Divine Son, who had just been born, already being the object of persecution on the part of the authorities. He saw his Most Holy Wife, who would later truly become the Co-Redeemer of humanity, also suffering from the situation to which the Incarnate Word was exposed. But despite all this, he knew where God's hand was doing what his will was.
What is God's act like he loves? Our Lord had just been born, and he was already being persecuted. There is no one God who loved as much as the Most Holy Humanity of Our Lord, and together with Him Our Lady and St Joseph, and as proof of this love gave them the honor of being persecuted…
So we must be, that is, we must know how to recognize God's action in events, discerning with whom He is, and choosing: either we stay with the Holy Family or with Herod. We will not be given to choose a "third option".