Jesus with His mother Mary and his father Joseph, the carpenter.

    The stained glass portrayal of the Holy Family is striking in its quiet simplicity. We see Joseph, provider and breadwinner, working his trade while Mary is present nearby, attentive to her Son. The depicted moment is tranquil and contented, showing us a loving family – happy and at peace. What a model for our frenetic, often frantic world where we are witnessing a breakdown of the traditional family and its values. Imagine what a typical moment in our own households would look like. What can we learn from the example pictured here?

 Jesus’ miracle at the wedding at Cana.

    This image captures the first public miracle performed by Christ, fittingly at the request of His mother. An awkward moment has occurred at the wedding of their friends - insufficient wine! - and Mary has advised a young boy to do whatever her Son requests. At the direction of Jesus, water is brought forward. In the background, one can see the apprehensive look of observers – perhaps the hosts of the celebration – and the confidence of Mary that all will be well. Miraculously, Jesus changes the water into wine and, later, a guest will be heard to say “Usually, one serves the better wine first, but here they saved the best until last.”

“When the Lord had been baptized, the heavens opened and the Spirit came down like a dove to rest on Him. Then the voice of the Father thundered: ‘This is my beloved Son, with Him I am well pleased,’ “ (Matthew 3, 16-17) In the presence of angels, we see Christ illustrating – once more – His humanity by being baptized by His cousin, John. Anointed with water (poured upon His Head) and by the Holy Spirit (symbolized by the dove), Jesus provides us with the example of our own baptism and our calling to a higher life. Almighty and eternal God - keep us, your children born of water and the Spirit, faithful to our calling and ever close to You.

It is hard to envision a pain more devastating than the loss of one’s child…burying our young seems to contradict the expected nature of things. Jesus understood that grief fully when He responded to the call of Jarius and beheld his sorrow. Surprise, wonder, and prayerful trust are portrayed by the three figures who witness Christ’s remarkable intervention as He summons the young daughter back to life. By overcoming the death of this little girl, Jesus prefigures His victory over the death of alienation from God. St. Mark, in his gospel, brings out that Jesus is the prophet of the end-time. He has come to bring life…in other words, to restore our relationship with the God Who made us. (St. Mark, Chapter 5).

When Lazarus, brother of Jesus’ good friends Martha and Mary, became ill, the sisters appealed to Jesus to make him well. By the time Christ reached Judea, however, Lazarus had died and had been entombed for four days in his final resting place. Recounting the story in his gospel, St. John tells us that Jesus ordered the stone blocking the tomb be moved and He called out loudly, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man emerged, bound hand and foot with linen strips, his face wrapped in a cloth. “Untie him,” Jesus told those gathered, “and let him go free.” Many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary saw what Jesus did and they put their faith in Him.