The Holy Family
January 8, 2017
The Holy Family with Sts. Anne and Catherine of Alexandria, Jusepe de Ribera; 1648
THE GLORY OF THE HOLY FAMILY
— St. Therese of Lisieux
I come to sing of the Holy Family,
That Divine magnificence that brings me here.
In the desert, this sweet brightness glitters,
And charms me more than the glory of Heaven…
Ah! Who will understand this mystery?
Jesus is rejected among His very own.
He is wandering, a traveler on the earth,
And no one can discern His beauty…
But if the great ones disdain Your empire,
King of Heaven, Mysterious Star,
Long has more than one heart desired You,
For You are the hope of all the unhappy.
Divine Star, O deep Wisdom,
You spread Your ineffable gifts
On the little people, the poor of this world,
And You inscribe their names in Heaven.
If You grant a share of wisdom
To the ignorant, to the littlest of hearts,
It is because every soul is made in Your image,
And You have come to save sinners.
A day will come when, on the same meadow,
The gentle lamb will graze beside the lion,
And the desert, Your only fatherland,
More than once will hear Your name.
