Father Rafael de Mosteyrín offers this article on the liturgical feast of the Holy Family, God’s family in the world.
“When the Magi had left, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him. ’ So Joseph got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. This is how what the Lord had said through the prophet was fulfilled: ‘I called my son to come out of Egypt’” (Mt 2:13-15).
In this Gospel passage, the three persons of the Holy Family appear: Joseph, Mary, and Jesus. We celebrated the birth of Jesus on December 25. The Church has wanted the liturgical feast of the Holy Family to be celebrated on the Sunday following Christmas Day. Specifically, 2021 is the day after his Birth and coincides with the Year of the Family, convened by Pope Francis until June 26.
The Son of God becomes a member of a humble family. Jesus, the man-God, lives the family love of a father and a mother. Saint Joseph acted as Jesus’ father. Today’s feast takes on special importance when parents and children face many threats to the family being truly Christian.
Saint Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer, when referring to the family of Nazareth, used to speak of the Trinity of the earth. In this trinity composed of Joseph, Mary and Jesus, Saint Joseph had the difficult role of governing the God of heaven and earth, and the Mother of God. The help she received was essential to carry out the mission she had received: “Take the Child and his Mother and flee to Egypt.” Certainly, the Holy Family is unique because it is the family of God in the world. That is why we must look at it with faith, and seek in it the fullness of God’s love. It is the best example for all Christian families. That is why love for parents is of vital importance before God: “He who honors his father will rejoice in his children, and on the day of his prayer he will be heard.”
The Church, in celebrating this feast, wants us all to value and support the family, which brings great benefits to society. However, in our days, it finds itself faced with a society that undervalues it, as if it represented values different from modern society. It is, therefore, time for Christians to face up to its defense without complexes. We are concerned about the numerous marital breakups and the consequences for poor children, the spread of divorce and the increase in de facto couples. The social acceptance of abortion and euthanasia, as well as the easy recourse to assisted reproduction. Saint John Paul II affirmed, in the apostolic exhortation Familiaris consortio, that the future of humanity is forged in the family.
On the other hand, it is a joy to see the good that a truly Christian family does. With its virtues and its defects, but aware that each one is called to be better than he is, and to love others as they are. Pedro de Rezende and Keny Abaroa are a Brazilian couple, and parents of seven children. Pedro told Pope Francis that, on one occasion, he was helping his six-year-old son to do his examination of conscience. That is, a review of how the day had gone, before going to bed, to thank God for what he had done well and to ask forgiveness for his bad actions. Then he heard his son pray: “Jesus, forgive Sara for hitting me.” His father told him to first ask forgiveness for the things he had done wrong. His son then continued: “Jesus, forgive me because I hit Sara first.”
A healthy family is, for Christians, the best school of how to reach holiness. St. Paul, in the Letter to the Colossians, teaches how we should behave in the family. There is advice for everyone: husbands, wives, parents, children or relatives, and a major exhortation: “Above all these, have love, which is the bond of perfection, and let the peace of Christ triumph in your hearts, by which you were called in one body, and be thankful.”
We can all examine our conscience, on the occasion of today’s feast, about our concern for Christian life in our family, with our thoughts, words, and deeds. Also about the fulfillment of our responsibilities, to see if God is happy with each one. If this were not the case, it would be necessary to rectify, with the help of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the Trinity of the earth and model of every human family. So that our prayers may be better received, we place them in the hands of Saint Mary and Saint Joseph, who had the good fortune to care for the son of God on earth, offering him the love of a home.
Oh Joseph, holy Patriarch, guardian of Jesus and Mary, help our parents and brothers in all their spiritual and material needs, so that they can eternally bless our divine Redeemer in glory.
