Rest on the Flight into Egypt, Federico Barocci (1570)
Christmas is definitely about family. Many enjoy these festive days (which we celebrate here until the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord on Jan. 8th) by visiting with relatives, giving gifts, watching films and enjoying meals together. It reflects the joy that flows out of simply being together.
Here in the monastery we have the same kind of joy. God has put us together—much like the way he designs a biological family—as different people with the same things at heart. A shared love of Christ makes life flow with greater virtue than if we had just landed in the same house haphazardly. Greater virtue, that is—but not always the fullness of virtue!
Needless to say, we’re working on it. And we take the Holy Family as our model, working to bring Jesus more fully into one another’s lives in small but significant ways.
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