Feast of the Holy Family

The Holy Family composed of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph was Holy because God’s will was first in their lives. Or the feast of the Holy family, the Church holds up for our admiration and imitation the most perfect family that ever existed. The invitation is extended for us to see family as the ground on which the reality of love and virtuous living must be rooted. And the opening prayer asks the Father to help us “to live as the Holy Family, united in respect and love.”

               St. Luke’s Gospel tells us how Mary and Joseph put aside their own plans in order to secure safety for the child Jesus. And, the Child Jesus’ behavior reminds us that sometimes one’s obligations to God can supersede natural family duties. Yet, Jesus participated fully and flourished in His family. He was subject to them and He kept the whole Old Testament law perfectly. The heart and soul of the Holy Family is mutual love and respect not relations of domination. Like Mary and Joseph, all of society should cherish its children, for just elders are the treasury of the past, so children are the hope of the future.

               If we would allow the Holy Family to be the model for us in our struggle to be open, faithful and obedient to the Lord, then, we might find healing for the fragmented, fractured and disintegrated families in our midst. How might you show mere fully Christlike love in your family? The Holy Family is where you can be silent and still be heard, where we share, and love and grow together.