Today we arrive at the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Jospeh. They serve as the perfect example for us concerning family life. They direct our sight towards Christ and thus too towards Heaven. We know Jesus, Mary, and Jospeh and the love found within their family to be a perfect example for us on how to be holy.
Some see holiness as something which cannot be obtained. Nevertheless, throughout the Christmas season we are shown ways in which holiness comes to dwell in rather mundane everyday areas of life. Therefore, we encounter a God whose love for us is so great that He takes on our human flesh and dwells among us. With that, this child is placed at the center of our faith and yet He is God made Flesh.
Out of the many ways that God could of chosen to dwell among us He chose to enter into the confines of a family. With this, this child needed the love, support, and protection of Mary, His mother, and Joseph, His foster father. He was unable to feed Himself and relied upon the assistance of his family. His life came to be endangered thanks to the fear of Herod and yet Saint Joseph protected Him and his family.
Through the Holy Family we are being shown that holiness is something which can be obtained within this life as well as within our own homes. We are shown that this is something that we must each strive for. It is not enough for us to keep the pursuit of holiness out of our reach to the point that it becomes something which cannot be obtained. To do this would be a grave mistake because Christ and the Blessed Mother show us that this is something which can be obtained.
Today’s feast finds it foundation in Canada and from there spreads throughout the whole Church. The purpose of this feast is to reenforce the importance of the family in the midst of the world which has forgotten about its importance. At times the hope for the future for family life may seem to be bleak, but we cannot allow this attitude to take hold of us. After all, we just celebrated Christmas where we came to acknowledge that great light which came to dwell among us that is God made Flesh.
With this great light held firmly in our perspective, so too should our homes become a reflection of this great light which caused angels to chant with joy: “Glory to God in the highest.” There is nothing bleak about this realty because through it hope is always found. Let our homes become places where this hope is allowed to dwell and where holiness is chased after.
It is important that Christian homes become places of prayer with Christ is placed at the center. Pray together as a family, have a common place of prayer within the home, and make sure that a crucifix is placed in each room as a constant reminder of Christ’s merciful love for each of us. Let this feast become a feast of joy which fills our homes with the light of Christ which cannot be hidden, but rather must be shared throughout all the world.
