Monsignor Enrique Díaz Díaz shares with Exaudi readers his reflection on the Gospel of this Sunday, December 28, 2025, entitled:  “Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph”.

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Ecclesiasticus 3:3-7, 14-17:  “He who fears the Lord honors his fathers”

Psalm 127:  “Blessed is he who fears the Lord”

Colossians 3:12-21:  “Family life according to the Lord”

Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23:  “Take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt”

Just as nature has suffered from climate change, adverse winds and difficult times have likewise ravaged the family, that key institution for the formation of society and the Church. It would seem that, faced with so much adversity, healthy families and well-rounded individuals cannot flourish in these environments. We are frightened by the gravity of the events we are experiencing and seriously question where these new times will lead us. How can a person flourish with psychological, emotional, and social maturity if they live in such a hostile environment? Attacks on the family are felt from all sides, from within and from without. And while it is true that we can complain about the enemies that, from the outside, like hurricanes, stones, and thorns, threaten to destroy it and prevent it from developing, we must recognize that it is also severely threatened from within. We can complain about the adverse environment, about a permissive attitude that only seeks pleasure, about migration that causes separations and new ideologies, about work and study schedules that do not allow for relationships, but the most worrying thing is what is happening inside the family: an inner dryness, a lack of spirituality and an individualistic environment that breaks the harmony and the sense of brotherhood.

This Sunday we encounter the small family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, who also lived in difficult and hostile circumstances. We see the threats of a ruler, Herod, who, obsessed with power, sought to destroy the small and defenseless family because he felt threatened. They were forced to leave their homeland and embark on an adventure to an unknown land, with a different religion, language, customs, and people. Yet, the strength and unity of this family shine through. This is not to say that there were no problems, as if poverty, distance, or adversity weren’t enough. But there are families for whom problems unite, compel them to be more considerate of one another, and sustain them in an atmosphere of prayer, faith, and community; in contrast, for other families, problems destroy them and reduce them to nothing. In his letter to the Colossians, St. Paul offers a series of tips that can help us cultivate a spiritual family life: “Be compassionate, kind, humble, gentle, and patient. Bear with each other and forgive one another… and over all these virtues put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” He bases his advice on God’s love for us, the forgiveness He has granted us, and our consecration to Him. “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.” These are practical tips that can help us find the harmony that is often lacking in our homes.

We will have to face serious challenges and seek new paths. It is not enough to tear our clothes in outrage; we must be aware of new options and new ways of living, giving them meaning and spirituality. As a Church and as a society, we cannot remain blind to the reality of single mothers who must face not only providing for their children but also their integral education. Cohabitation is on the rise, whether due to a lack of commitment, a lack of a sense of God, or simply because modern life is throwing us into fleeting and disposable situations. Teenagers leave our communities as young as can be and face the harsh realities of the city alone, where they find themselves lost and often fail. Many of them neither study nor work, nor find a place in society or even within their families. They feel marginalized and end up being a burden on everyone. Criminal gangs and drug trafficking organizations find easy recruits among young people who are dazzled by the models presented by consumerism, with its easy acquisitions and abundant pleasure, but who are then left empty and hopeless, unable to find happiness. How can we support them so they don’t fall into the world of drugs and alcohol, and succumb to the allure of easy money, power, and the sense of belonging and companionship that criminal groups seem to offer? Divorced people and their children are a group where they should feel a special love from God, who is community and love, and yet they don’t find it. The situations that lead to abortion are a challenge we haven’t been able to face. Immigrants arriving in new places have to adapt to a new kind of family life, so to speak. Today, as we contemplate the Holy Family, we cannot forget these families who, deep down, also long for peace and harmony, and whom we, as disciples of Jesus, cannot forget, for He came to become part of this human family.

This is what Jesus asks of us: to discover his presence amidst all these new realities, and to make people feel that his love gives meaning to even the most terrible situations. For him, no aspect of the human being is unknown, and that is how he loves us and how he seeks our restoration and to give us true dignity. Together with the Holy Family, let us today seek a new and revitalized spirituality that sustains and gives hope to families and to the groups that in many places serve as families. A great challenge for disciples will be to make each of our communities a space of welcome, understanding, warmth, and fraternity, keeping in mind first and foremost that every man and woman who comes to meet us is a person, with their rights, their needs, and their thirst to love and be loved. Each one is a Child of God who has the right to know they are loved and to be welcomed into community. We cannot forget that “with love, closeness, and faith, good fruits are obtained.”

Good Father, who invites us to contemplate our families through the image of the Holy Family of your Son, grant us to discover new paths that will bring forth whole persons, united by the bonds of love. Amen.