By Bess Twiston Davies
“God encourages and comforts each of us according to our state of life: as husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, children and young people; as wider family members and single people; the elderly, the widowed, and as families who feel fragile, wounded, or incomplete,” he said in a pastoral letter issued for the feast of the Holy Family, Sunday Dec 28.
He added: “The Holy Family stands close to the members of every home as, moment by moment, we trust that God is present, even when the way forward seems unclear.” Wilson said Mary, Joseph and Jesus had “experienced upheaval and danger. They were refugees who fled to Egypt for safety, a reminder to us all to welcome those in need. Joseph kept faithful to what God had revealed, and Mary held everything in prayerful trust. (cf. Mt 2:13–23). When our own families face uncertainty, illness, grief, or broken relationships, we too need to hold fast in faith and prayer.”
Wilson enumerated the hardships facing many families in the Archdiocese of Southwark including “the cost-of-living crisis, the pressures of work or study, sickness or disability. Added to these are the loneliness that grows behind closed doors and the grief that changes everything.”
He said the Church was “a family of families,” adding, “In Christ, there are no orphans. When one member of the family suffers, all share the burden; and when one rejoices, all share the joy.”
Wilson said that parishes, schools and chaplaincies across the archdiocese, which stretches from south London to Kent, needed to be “places where people feel they belong and are known by name; where the struggling are welcomed, where wanderers know they can come home, where sinners find forgiveness.”
He said that in the mystery of Christmas, “the love of God took flesh and dwelt amongst us. How can we work together, co-responsibly, to help make that love real? How can we reach out and accompany those in need in our community: the housebound, the elderly, the bereaved, the isolated, the family new to the parish, and the person who sits alone at Mass? How can we strengthen what is already good amongst us: food banks, winter night shelters, parish support groups, care for prisoners, and school outreach? How can we make room for people who are troubled: those living with mental strain, addiction, or an uncertain future?”
Wilson entrusted the whole archdiocese to the Holy Family and thanked parents, grandparents, extended family, and carers “for your patience and quiet sacrifices that bring the truths of the Holy Family to life.” – The Tablet
