In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. My Lord and my God, I firmly believe that you are here, that you see me, that you hear me. I adore you with profound reverence. I ask your pardon for my sins and the grace to make this time of prayer fruitful. My Immaculate Mother, St. Joseph, my father and lord, my guardian angel, intercede for me.

 These blessed days of Christmas give us a special chance to observe and learn from Mary and Joseph as they encounter one unexpected event after another. After the harrowing search for a place for his wife to give birth, St. Joseph had every right to be bewildered. Just think of Joseph talking things over with the Lord and asking, what next? And then the next surprise, a dire message delivered in the middle of the night: "Behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, 'Rise! Take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child to destroy him.'" We ask Mary and Joseph to teach us how to respond to the unexpected with faith and with a rock-solid confidence in God's loving providence. Life is, in its essence, a pilgrimage of faith. The Holy Father just sent a letter to married couples for the Year of the Family. It is dated December 26 and offers powerful considerations for dealing with the current uncertainties.

 Pope Francis begins by citing the example of Abraham, that giant of faith: “Nearly 2000 years before the birth of Jesus, the patriarch, Abraham, received a calling from the Lord to set out from his land and his father's home towards a foreign land that God himself would show him.” Abraham's greatness lies in his faith, shown by his total abandonment to the will of God. As we look back over these past two years, it can help us to try to imagine all that Abraham experienced during that long journey filled with mystery and uncertainty.

 The Holy Father continues, "We too have experienced uncertainty, loneliness, the loss of loved ones; we too have been forced to leave behind our certainties, our ‘comfort zones’, our familiar way of doing things.” We can't be surprised if we find within ourselves a certain amount of trepidation and bewilderment, wondering what our world will be like a year from now. More than ever, our current circumstances require our rapt attention. As the saying goes, the past is history, the future a mystery, and the present a gift. God is truly present here and now, waiting for our loving and faith-filled response.

 The Holy Father writes, "Our Christian faith makes us realize that we are not alone for God dwells in us, with us and among us.” This bedrock truth of our existence necessarily changes our attitude towards the future. Life is, after all, by definition, a journey into the unknown. Francis continues, "Like Abraham, all husbands and wives ‘set out’, so to speak, from their own land at the moment when, in response to the vocation to conjugal love, they decide to give themselves to each other without reserve. Becoming engaged already means setting out from your land, since it calls you to walk together along the road that leads to marriage.” This journey requires flexibility, a willingness to change or, in the words of Pope Francis, “a readiness to embrace anew their commitment to one another. There will be challenges– the passage of time, the arrival of children, work, illness– that's life. Couples need to leave behind settled habits, certainties, and security and to set out towards the land that God promises, which is to be two in Christ, two in one.”

 The Holy Father speaks about realism, recognizing the fact there will be difficulties. A book was recently published by an eminent wedding photographer with a very suggestive title, The Perfect Imperfect. He chose that title because his specialty happens to be arriving, getting involved in a wedding, the whole- everything around a wedding, and in a very real sense, disappearing. And as someone who is practically invisible, so to speak, this particular photographer is able to capture very special moments that a normal photographer would not be able to capture. And so, he captures moments that- that are not perfect. But then again, life is not perfect. And so, the charm and the- the power of the photographs in this book come precisely because they are so human, so realistic, so imperfect.

 Well, that can help us as we look ahead towards these coming months. We know in advance there will be difficulties. We also know we have God's grace. This is a vital role for parents. You are called to be a bedrock- rock-solid source of confidence for your children. As Francis says, "Being parents calls you to pass on to your children the joy of realizing that they are God's children, children of a Father who has always loved them tenderly and who takes them by the hand each new day. As they come to know this, your children will grow in faith and trust in God." We really cannot under underestimate the importance of this for children.

 Years ago, St. John Paul II wrote the following, especially with regard to mothers: “Experience confirms that there must be a social re-evaluation of the mother's role, of the toil connected with it, and of the need that children have for care, love, and affection in order to develop into responsible, morally and religiously mature, and psychologically stable persons. There are no shortcuts. There really is no substitute for the love of a mother." These are powerful thoughts. Children need that care, love, and affection in order to become responsible, morally mature, religiously mature, psychologically stable.

 Pope Francis, in his letter just a couple of weeks ago, goes on to say, using a graphic image: "Marriage, as a vocation, calls you to steer a tiny boat – wave-tossed yet sturdy, thanks to the reality of the sacrament – to steer that tiny boat across a sometimes stormy sea. How often do you want to cry out like the apostles, 'Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?' Let us never forget, though, that by virtue of the sacrament of matrimony, Jesus is present in that boat; he is concerned for you and he remains at your side amid the tempest. It is important that you keep your eyes fixed on Jesus." The Pope continues, "Only in this way, with your eyes fixed on Jesus, will you find peace, overcome conflicts, and discover solutions to many of your problems. Those problems, of course, will not disappear, but you will be able to see them from a different perspective. Only by abandoning yourselves into the Lord's hands will you be able to do what may seem impossible. Recognize your own weakness and powerlessness in the face of so many situations all around you. But at the same time be certain that Christ's power will thus be manifested in your weakness. It was precisely in the midst of the storm that the apostles came to know the kingship and divinity of Jesus and learned to trust in Him.”

 Practically, at the end of the document, which is only a few pages long, Pope Francis says, “Before concluding, I would like to greet grandparents, who during the lockdown were unable to see or spend time with their grandchildren, and also all those elderly persons who felt isolated and alone during these past months. Families greatly need grandparents, for they are humanity's living memory, a memory that ‘can help to build a more humane and welcoming world.’"

My dear friend, perhaps you and I can resolve to pay more attention to our parents and grandparents. We really do need them. Let us make it easy for them to share their wisdom, their experiences with us; ask them to tell stories. They can provide us with much needed perspective. It just might happen that their stories of living through various crises such as World War II or even the Great Depression will help us to put our current situation into better perspective. Perhaps we will acquire a new appreciation for resiliency in the midst of adverse circumstances.

 Speaking of stories, you will find it very interesting to hear just a couple of entries from someone's grandmother writing in 1935. This is someone- a woman with seven children in Birmingham, Alabama whose husband was out crisscrossing the United States trying to sell life insurance, having a hard time because no one had money in 1935. So, on September 23 of 1935 she writes in her diary, "No word from Frank (her husband) yesterday. We have no money. I redeemed milk bottles this morning for breakfast food. I'm all upset inside, waiting, hoping for some word. I have placed all my affairs in the hands of the Father- of my Father God and I know things will be alright." Later that day she writes, "My prayers have been answered. I received two letters from Frank in the morning mail with money in closed. The cloud is lifting. I went to see Greta Garbo and Anna Karenina.” And a couple of months later, “After days and days of rain, the sun shines again. One of the chickens died, but the family will not eat it- the seven children. Cluck, the other chicken, still walks around the coop looking very lonely." And finally, three days later, "Praise God for the two quarts of milk left by the dairy man this morning. I was broke, but he said he was going to leave us milk every morning. This is another evidence of God's goodness."

 Well, thank God for these stories, because they really do give us perspective. Let us finish this time of prayer by asking Mary, the Mother of God and our Mother, to obtain for us the grace of forging ahead in our own journey of faith with total confidence in God's providence.

 I thank you, my God, for the good resolutions, affections, and inspirations that you have communicated to me in this meditation. I ask your help in putting them into effect. My Immaculate Mother, St. Joseph, my father and lord, my guardian angel, intercede for me. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. God bless you.