Feast of the Holy Family, Jesus, Mary And Joseph. Luke, 2:41-52

Holy Family Feast of Jesus

Today we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family, Jesus our Lord with the Blessed Mother Mary and His father Saint Joseph.  This celebration reminds us of the special relationship that our Savior had with those closest to Him in His life on earth, namely the mother who gave birth to Him and the father who cared for Him as his own Son.

 The first thing we have to understand is that Almighty and Infinite God actually does not need a family because He existed before all ages and times, was not created and has always existed, not bound by natural laws and regulations.  Having a family is part of the laws of nature and has a parent-child relationship, every family consists of a mother-father nucleus and has children as a result of a blessed union.

 But God made Himself part of the Law given to us, was born into a human family, a family consisting of Mary and Joseph, made Himself an integral part of the loving family structure.  He who is God, the Son of God not only symbolically became Man but took Himself fully human nature and was thus conceived and born in the flesh from His mother's womb.

 From the Holy Family, we see how God made Himself small and insignificant, needing love and affection as a Baby.  He is the King of kings and Lord of the entire universe, yet He chose to be a small and weak Baby in a manger, needing the protection and love of His mother and father.  So He took all of human nature, our own nature to show us how we should be.

 He was raised with great affection from His parents, He listened and obeyed them.  Through His parents He learned much about life skills and wisdom.  Therefore, His humanity grew like we all have and He became an example for us. The perfect Man, the New Adam through His obedience and love for the Father became the source of our salvation.

 In relation to the members of the Holy Family, Mary shows us the role of a loving mother, full of love, care and compassion, who of her own flesh and blood stayed in her womb for nine months.  Mary is devoted to her Son, caring from birth, throughout life and even to the very last moments before the death of her Son on the cross.

 Mary shows her love as a mother very generously to everyone especially her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.  As a mother, she stands beside her Son, caring for Him with love and also loving her husband Yusuf.  The same love Mary shows to all of us and by virtue we become brothers and sisters in Christ when He entrusted His mother to His disciples and vice versa at His crucifixion.

 Through this action, Mary for the Apostles became a motherly figure, our mother and a loving woman who always cares for the welfare of her children.  With that Mary is recognized for her role as Mother of the Church and how she has also appeared many times throughout history, in Guadalupe, in Lourdes, at Fatima and elsewhere with a message and intending to call us, her children through Christ, to repentance of sin.  -sin and return to the grace of God.

 Nor should we forget the important role that Saint Joseph played in the Holy Family.  As a father figure to Jesus, he took and made his legitimate son.  Joseph took care of Jesus and Mary, as indicated by his important presence when census time came, he and Mary had to travel all the way from Nazareth to Bethlehem in Judea.

 Mary could not have traveled alone because of that Joseph played a role in protecting and caring for the needs of Mary and the baby in her womb throughout the long and arduous journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem.  Even when they got to Bethlehem, their problems were not over because all the inns were full, Joseph must have been going through a very difficult time and was trying to secure a place for his wife to give birth, because the time for his wife to give birth was near.

 His strong decision and commitment to God made Joseph known as the Protector of the Church, as the one who stood beside the Church and protected it just as he watched over and protected the Holy Family, Jesus and Mary during times of hardship and persecution, especially when they had to flee.  to Egypt to escape from the hands of King Herod who wanted to kill the Baby Jesus.

 We see a great love present in the Holy Family because every member of the Holy Family really has that love in them for one another.  This is the pure, selfless love and commitment that Jesus had for His mother and His father, Mary's love for her Son and for her husband and Joseph's protection and affection for Jesus and Mary.

 It is important for us to take the Holy Family as an example and inspiration.  Each of us is a child, son, daughter and can also be a father or mother, or even a grandfather, grandmother, or grandson to our family members.  When we neglect love and love one another in the family, that's when problems arise in our family.

 Remember, the devil knows this very well and he will intensify his efforts to try to destroy the structure and foundation of our family.  We must realize that the Christian family is a very important basic unit of faith and an important part of the Church.  Every Christian family is a small part of the great Church and through a loving functioning Church, faith is well nourished among us and we become God's faithful people.

 That is why the devil is busy working hard to undermine the institution of the family and its marriage by taking advantage of many temptations, pressuring us to yield to the temptations of worldly pleasures, fornication, adultery and unfaithfulness in the family.  The devil tempts us to be disobedient, disloyal and creates problems in the family which can eventually lead to the breakdown of family integrity and structure.  The family is so vulnerable, the devil and his army will continue to attack.

 We should appreciate what we have in the family and reflect on our actions and deeds as family members, either as fathers or as mothers and as children.  Have we made our family like the Holy Family?  If we haven't already, maybe this is why there are so many problems in our families.

 Let's imitate the Holy Family in our families and put God at the center of family life by spending time together in prayer, if possible every day.  Families who pray and work together, God is in their midst and is the anchor of the family.  That's where true love blooms in the family.  When true, selfless and unconditional love of family members develops, this world feels beautiful not the selfishness that is often found in our world today.

 We pray that Christian families remain strong and faithful in the midst of challenges and difficulties.  May we continue to imitate the Holy Family and imitate the great love that is present in the Holy Family.