Solemnity of The
Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
29 December 2024, Church Year C
2024-2025
Families in Love by Rev. Jack
Peterson
Luke 2:41-52
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Today’s solemnity falls
within the octave of Christmas.
This means that the
church spreads out its celebration of Christmas day over an
eight-day period. All
week we pray the Gloria at Mass, use the preface prayers for
Christmas Day and use portions of the Liturgy of the hours from
Dec. 25. The gift
and blessing bestowed upon us by God on that day cannot be
properly celebrated for one day, so we bask in the light and
warmth of Christmas morning for eight full days.
It is wonderfully
fitting that we conclude the Christmas octave with the Solemnity
of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. This celebration
proclaims the significance of the family in God’s plan for
humanity. Jesus,
the son of the Living God, took on our flesh and was born into a
family. He spent 30
of his 33 years on the earth participating in the life of a
family. Our Lord’s
first sign or miracle, as recorded by John the Evangelist, was
performed at a wedding. Jesus
confirmed for all Christians in his encounter with the rich
young man the need to be obedient to the Ten Commandments; and
the fourth one, which follows the three great ones dealing with
our relationship to God has to do with the family.
All of these realities
make clear that family plays a central role in the life of a
Christian and in the Good News proclaimed by Christ. The teaching of the
church is that marriage and family are of a divine institution. They are God’s idea,
not ours. As such,
they are sacred and permanent.
We often learn the most
important lessons in life in the family. Love is experienced
and molded in the family. In
the home, the seeds of faith are planted and nourished. Self-sacrifice is
required and encouraged in the day-to-day demands of family
life. Critical
virtues such as humility, patience, perseverance and forgiveness
help to build up the home, a domestic church. Home is where the
heart is formed.
Family life is often
filled with challenges. The
Holy Family was not spared this reality. Mary and Joseph needed
divine assistance to work through the circumstances of Jesus’
conception. They
had to give birth to our infant Savior in Bethlehem, a good
distance from their home and immediate family. Soon thereafter, they
flee from their homeland to Egypt to protect their newborn son
from the deadly threats of a fearful king. All throughout their
lives, they would beg for the grace to better understand and
accept the plans that God the Father had for his son, that were
shrouded in mystery and often puzzled them. Family life is never
easy.
It is no surprise that
the church serves up for us verses from Paul’s letter to the
Colossians. Paul
knew that we are all weak and broken, in need of God’s abundant
grace. He knew that
we are prone to get worn down by life’s constant challenges and
fail to treat one another in the home as we should. So, the great Apostle
Paul invites us to turn to Christ for the strength that he
promises and to practice the virtues that foster unity in the
home: “Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt
compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,
bearing with one another and forgiving one another.
The home is often the
hardest place to practice charity, and to live these virtues. That is why we need
Christ and the graces that flow from him in the sacraments, in
sacred Scripture, in the gift of Christian fellowship, in the
example of the saints and through the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit. “Let the
peace of Christ control your hearts . . . Let the word of Christ
dwell in you richly.”
Family life runs more
smoothly when children learn to honor their parents. This is one of the
greatest challenges in family life. As children grow up,
the desire to strike out on their own in nearly every area of
life builds up with time. Yet,
the grace to love and honor their parents even when they
disagree with them helps them to become wise, strong,
disciplined, and a blessing in the home. Ben Sirach, the author
of one of the great wisdom books, teaches; “God sets a father in
honor over his children; a mother’s authority h confirms over
her sons. Whoever
honors his father atones for sins
. . . he stores up riches who reveres his mother.” The commitment of
parents to draw close to God and follow his lead makes it easier
for children to obey and honor their parents. Regardless, family
life requires from all of its members profound charity.
May today’s solemnity
be an invitation to all of us to recommit to build up our
families in love. May
we give priority to spending quality time together, praying with
one another, being quicker to forgive, rooting our homes in
Gospel values and dying to ourselves that we may love others
sacrificially.