Lesson from Fr. Paulus | Listening to the Lord’s Voice

Today the Church offers us the feast of the Holy Family. We celebrate and remember Mary and Joseph, who, with Jesus, give hope and inspiration to every family.

One element jumps out of today's gospel which is vital for every family. Listening.

Listening is an essential part of every happy family. There also three most important words in a family are "Please, Thank You, and I'm Sorry." All of these words imply listening.

And yet if people are going to truly listen to each other, there's a previous step. We have to listen to God. Today, Joseph offers an example of that.

God tells Joseph in a dream to take Jesus and Mary and go to Egypt. Joseph must have been used to listening to God, because it says that he arose and took them away by night. In other words, he didn't wait! He acted at once.

But God wasn't finished. Three times God changed Joseph's plans; three times Joseph listened and acted. He didn't argue with God. He didn't point out how inconvenient a trip to Egypt was at that moment.