THE FAMILY FEAST ¹

Pater . . . panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie.
Father . . .give us this day our daily bread. (Luke xi. 2, 3.)

WE HAVE a Father in Heaven, and we address this prayer for bread directly to Him. But our Lord Jesus Christ has begotten us to the life of grace, to the supernatural life, and has thereby merited the title of Father. Our heavenly Father lives in Heaven; Jesus lives in this church. He is our Father on earth, and He wants to fulfill all the duties of a good father towards His children.

I
A FATHER lives with his family. He is the center and pivot of it. All its members are under his protection and act under his orders. He is the leader, the head of the family. He has supreme authority, even over the mother, who represents what there must be of tenderness in the direction of the family.

Now, Jesus Christ, our Father, owns a home, which is the Church. You are His family, His privileged family. In a family some of the children work for strangers, and others with their father, under his eyes: you are these happy children. Ah! Without our Lord, Who is your Father, this home, which has such an atmosphere of piety and presents such a fine idea of a family, would be nothing but a prison-house, or a workshop for girls bowed down beneath a joyless labor. It would lack the center, the source of love, which is the tabernacle of this chapel.

While you are working, think often of this good Father Who is always present among you, protecting you and looking down on you with kindness; for kindness is the great quality of this Divine Father. He cannot refuse you anything. This good Father will always welcome you and always remain with you. Your parents are dead; they left you nothing but regrets and tears for the rest of your life. But Jesus does not die, and He will never abandon you.

You are most worthy of esteem, to be sure, since you received Baptism and are children of the Church. Well, see what notice the world takes of you. Does it even know that you are here? Does it trouble itself about your needs? But our Lord inspired some souls, who are devoted to Him, to gather you together in this house. He has pitched His tent in the midst of you so that you might see Him at all times. The more helpless and forgotten you are, the more He loves you. You hear His words, not indeed words that strike the ear but that touch the heart and give it peace and joy. If you have faith in these things, if you understand your happiness, hold on to it at the cost of any sacrifice; here you have, for yourself and as your own, Jesus, for Whom no substitution can be found.

II
A FATHER feeds his children. He works unremittingly and wears himself out providing hem with daily bread. Our Lord feeds you with he Bread of life. He earned this good Bread for it with His death: this Bread is His very Self, His adorable Flesh and Blood. A father who gives his very self to his children! In what family has such a marvel of devotedness ever been seen?

Ah! Our Lord does not want His children to owe their bread to anyone but Himself! No, no! Neither Angels nor Saints will give you the bread you need! Jesus alone sowed the wheat from which that bread is made. He baked it in the fire of suffering. He Himself offers it to you. See what a loving Father He is! On the eve of His death He had His small family with Him, the beginning of the large family He has now. At the Last Supper He gave this heavenly Bread to each one of His children and promised them that to the end of time all His children would have this Bread to eat. How delicious indeed is this Bread! It has "in it all that is delicious." It is God Himself, God, the Bread of orphans. It does not nourish the body, it is true; but it fills the soul with grace and love. It enriches the soul and gives it the strength to repel its enemies, to perform good works, and to grow up for Heaven.

And with what kind-heartedness He gives it to us! We must work much to earn the bread of the body; we must pay for it. But this Bread cannot be paid for; it exceeds all cost. Our Lord gives it. All He requires is that we have a pure heart and the life of grace in us. Prepare yourselves therefore to receive it often, and for that, be pure. The purer you are, the more fruit you will gather from it and the more delicious you will find it.

Come and eat of this good Bread. Our Lord is glad to have you come and ask Him for it, just as a father is happy to know that his children will not lack bread.

III
LASTLY, a father ought now and then to treat his children to days of special rejoicings and amusement. They are a necessity in a family. They tighten the bonds of affection; on such days, children get together, see one another, and unbosom themselves freely. How beautiful and sacred are those family feast days when all the children are gathered joyfully around their father! And how beneficent they are! The children prepare themselves for them long in advance. They get ready their little speech and prepare some surprise for their father, a small gift or a beautiful bouquet.
Our Lord also has family feast days. There are, in the first place, the feasts of the Church, days on which you do not work. Then there are some of a more intimate nature, for you alone, like that of today, which will last three days. The Forty Hours is the real feast of the heart. Do you not see how beautiful everything is, how everything is music and joy around your good Father, Who is seated on His throne of love? You have undoubtedly prepared your little speech, and you are given nothing other to do than to gather around your good Father. All these beautiful lights, these lovely flowers are the fruit of your labor, the gift of your hearts. And Jesus is there, happy, His hands open and filled with graces for you.

During these days, therefore, all your thoughts and all your actions must be for Him.

And when your turn comes to go to adoration, give Him your little speech. Be sure to draw it from your own heart; do not borrow it from strangers. Talk to Him in your own way; He will answer you. And listen well to what He will say to your heart.

Offer Him a few good desires as your bouquet of choice flowers. Then make some act of virtue and offer Him some little sacrifices as a present.

All this is most real. These are the relations you ought to have with our Lord. Are you not His family?
Spend these holidays well. He is all yours. Gaze at Him and listen to Him attentively. He will shower you with His graces during life and one day He will unite you to the large family of the Blessed in Heaven.


1. This is the summary of a talk to little orphan girls for the opening of the Forty Hours in their chapel.

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