Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Good morning. The Gospel reading for today, the occasion of the nineteenth birthday of our third child yesterday (Happy Birthday Noah!), and other recent challenging events in our life have given me cause to reflect upon just how fortunate we truly are. It likewise has caused me to consider how immense the responsibility is which God calls us to when asked to accept the responsibility of attending to the care and formation of his children. Like Joseph, we responded in faith and some uncertainty, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid…” but God has always been there for us and He has always provided everything we need. My wife, Linda, and I have been blessed with four wonderful children and the reading from the Gospel this morning reminded me of how our children draw from us, their parents, the fruit of our love for each other. It is our love for each other and the choices we have accordingly made which has made the difference in the lives of our children. Material things have mattered little; in fact the lack of things sometimes has tempered their character. I am truly grateful for a wife who has been willing to make the sacrifices we have made in order to provide the loving home that has enabled us to raise the four delightful children that we have. We would have gladly accepted more children from Him. From the beginning, thirty years ago, Linda and I have made a deliberate choice to provide a home environment which recognizes in the words of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta that the hunger for love far surpasses in importance the hunger for bread ("The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread"). We are reminded today in the loving marriage and family life of the Holy Family that it is in the family that children learn the necessary wisdom and love to live productive and virtuous lives. As the Church reminds us time and time again we are all “made for love and cannot live without love” and that love is the essential element which makes the difference in the overall outcome of our lives. Like Mary and Joseph, may we always be faithful in our obligation as parents to care for His children lovingly and responsibly; and, as Mother Teresa reminds us, we are the pencil in God’s hands. What beautiful stories will we write today? Make a great day!

Today we celebrate the Nativity of our Blessed Mother.