The
Christmas season offers us a time to reflect upon and be thankful for the many
ways God has graced our lives. Next to
faith, perhaps the greatest of God’s gifts is family. I am
very thankful for my own family and while I do not say it often enough, I love
them and thank God for the blessing they are in my life. They have formed me into the person I am today
(don’t blame them for the faults) and they have given me the best of foundations
for living the Christian life and sharing that life with others.
Today we celebrate the feast of the
Holy Family. Fixing this feast near
Christmas, the Church reminds us that family is central to the plan of
salvation and to our call to holiness. It
is in and through family life that we learn how to love and forgive one another. In family life we come to recognize our own giftedness
and our limitations. We learn how to fail
and then get up and start anew. What better
training ground for the Christian life? How
better to encounter Christ than to experience his presence in the love and community
of family?
Yet, families
today face many challenges arising from what Pope Francis calls a “culture of
the temporary.” It is not that the
problems facing families are new, but that our culture all too often encourages
opting out as a first response. To
engage in the struggle, to grapple with the problems of our human frailties and
to rely upon God’s grace is the very essence of what it means to live as
Christians in the pursuit of holiness. The
Holy Family provides a model for us and teaches us how to persevere in life’s
difficulties while remaining open to God’s grace along the path to holiness.
So what
can we learn from the Holy Family that will strengthen families of today?
Joseph
– In Joseph, we see a strong and quiet man of action. In the whole of Scripture Joseph never says a
word, but his presence is felt. He leads
his family and protects them. He
provides for them and humbly thanks to God for what he has. Scripture tells us that Joseph is a righteous
man which means that he is honest and keeps himself in proper relationship to God. Joseph provides the example of a quiet
doer.
Mary
– In Mary, we see a gentle and loving mother.
Mary was an unwed teenager when she became pregnant with our Lord. She trusted God and was not afraid to say
“yes” to God. Mary was a courageous
woman who put her family first. After
the death of her husband, Mary became a single mother raising Jesus on her own. Mary provides the example of courage and
obedience to God.
Jesus
– In Jesus, we see an obedient and faithful son. Though he was God, he did not regard equality
with God something to be grasped but emptied himself taking the form of a
slave. Jesus teaches us how to love
perfectly and to conform ourselves to the will of God.
So today, we thank God for the Holy Family
and for our own families. We pray for all families that God will give them the
courage and the grace to persevere. May you
enjoy the blessings of the season and may you and your families have a peaceful, happy and grace-filled New
Year.
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