# Advent: A joyful journey and belonging to the family
*2009-12-17*

> Bill Young reflects on the importance of belonging to both a biological family and the universal family of the Church during the third week of Advent.

## A Prayer for Grace

Today is Saturday, December 19th, and we are in the third week of Advent. Before we dive into today's meditation, I want to share a prayer to obtain grace: Hail and blessed be the hour and the moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight in Bethlehem, in piercing cold. In that hour, I vow: Oh my God, hear my prayer, grant my desires through the merits of our Savior Jesus Christ. Blessed be God.

## The Lineage of Christ

Today's topic is belonging to the family. In the book of Isaiah, it is foretold that the Messiah would come from the house or the lineage of King David. Jesse was David's father. Jesus, being both divine and human, came from a family as a human being and inherited the traditions of his ancestors.

## Our Need to Belong

Some people can trace their human ancestry back several centuries, while others know only their parents. Some, like our son who was adopted, may know nothing about their biological parents. Regardless of our specific history, we all belong to a 'family of families.' We want to belong to something bigger than ourselves; we want to know that we all have a purpose and a reason to be in this place.

## The Church as the Universal Family

The Church provides us with a sense of history and progress. The Church is more than just our local house community with its meetings and chicken dinners; it is a body of people that is universal, representing every city and village on earth, gathering everyone around the altar to meet Jesus Christ.

## Advent Activities and Prayer

For today's activity, I suggest writing the third verse of the word on a card and letting your children decorate it with traditional symbols, such as a tree with plants showing the flower. We can also sing 'O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,' remembering that He comes to save us and bring us to victory. As we prepare for Christmas Day, we pray: Be born in us. Be born in our family.

*The Church serves as a universal family that gives every person a sense of purpose and a connection to a history larger than their own.*