2: Emmanuel - God with us: Over 100 years ago Father Damien deVeuster, a Belgian priest, began working with lepers on Molokai, a small Hawaiian island. Father Damien found a source of fresh water in the mountains and developed a system to bring it down to the colony. He built the first sanitation system and clinic. He and the lepers constructed a chapel for worship. Each Sunday Father Damien would begin his sermon with these words: "You lepers know that God loves you." This went on for years. Finally, one Sunday Father Damien began his sermon this way: "We lepers know that God loves us.” Father Damien had contracted leprosy. Yet he went on loving and serving until his death in 1898. Even as Father Damien cast his lot with the lepers, Jesus, Emmanuel, invested himself totally with us sinners. "He was bruised and wounded for our sins. He was lashed, and we were healed." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel"(Mt 1: 22-23). (Dr. William R. Bouknight).
3: Beauty and the Beast: Today’s Gospel message is a bit like the story of Beauty and the Beast, the animated film nominated for the Oscar Award in 1991. In that film, Beauty stepped into the ugly world of the Beast, not because he was loveable, not because he deserved her, but because she loved her father. But the world of the beast did not change right away, even though Beauty was there. The servants, who shared the curse of the Beast, warned him that Beauty might be the one they had been waiting for, but the Beast continued to rage and scream and roar, finally sending Beauty away. On her way home, she was attacked by the wolves, and Beast saved her. As Beauty returned and nursed the wounded Beast back to health, they began to bicker and blame each other, until in one beautiful moment, Beauty stepped into the heart of the ugly beast. From that moment on, the Beast began to change slowly. He started to laugh and play. And then, finally, Beast realized that he loved Beauty, and in an amazing act of love, he released her to find her father. Beauty and her father returned to the ugly world of the Beast to warn him of the danger of the townspeople's attack, but they were too late. In the fighting, Beast had been stabbed, and as he lay dying, Beauty confessed her love for him. And the spell was broken. Beast was changed by the love of Beauty. Because Beauty stepped into the ugly world of the Beast, Beast was changed, little by little, until one day he was transformed into a wonderful handsome prince. In Jesus, God stepped into our ugly, beastly world as Joshua (Savior), and Emmanuel (sign of God’s permanent presence with us), to change it, to bring to it – to us – the beauty of the love of God's kingdom. But change comes slowly. Yes, just look at our world. There are so many ugly people, so many beastly things happening. But, there are some people who are changing and some who have been changed by the beauty of God's love, and both begin loving others. Today’s Gospel describes the changes that occurred in St. Joseph and in the Holy Family.
