Good morning and Merry Christmas to you all! Yes, it is still Christmas! For us Catholics, the Christmas season has only just begun with today being the Second Day in the Octave of Christmas. For some of us, we celebrate the Christmas season until The Epiphany of the Lord, while others (like myself), we continue to celebrate the Christmas season until the Baptism of the Lord. What does this mean and not mean? This means that we have a legitimate reason not to put away the Christmas tree, lights, and decorations quite yet. However, this does not mean that we get more Christmas presents!
Speaking of presents, Saint Paul gives parents one of the best gifts in today’s second reading. This is what he wrote in his letter to the Colossians: “Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord.” Parents, put your hands up like this and repeat after me: “Thank you, Saint Paul!” Kids, Saint Paul is right. Listen to Saint Paul and obey your parents for it is pleasing to God. Even Jesus, who is the Son of God and the Son of Man, obeyed his parents, Mary and Joseph. Let us listen to what the Bible tells us: “[Jesus] went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.”. Therefore, be like Jesus and obey your parents as he obeyed his parents.
Of course, there is more to what Saint Paul is telling us and we look to the first reading to help us understand its deeper meaning. The Wisdom of Ben Sira tells us about the relationship between parents and their children and the blessings that flow from family life that is lived to honor our Father in heaven. I would invite us to take a moment and reflect on these words as I read them again for us. “God sets a father in honor over his children; a mother’s authority he confirms over her sons. Whoever honors his father atones for sins, and preserves himself from them. When he prays, he is heard; he stores up riches who reveres his mother. . . Whoever reveres his father will live a long life; he who obeys his father brings comfort to his mother.” Now, turn your attention to our beautiful creche (or Nativity) to my right and, as you gaze upon the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, ponder these two questions in your hearts. Children, do you honor your parents as God commands you? Parents, do you exercise your authority over your children with the heart of the Father, the tenderness of Mother Mary, and the faith of Saint Joseph?
Today, we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph and, for me, one of the most enduring images of the Holy Family is Saint Joseph holding Baby Jesus close to his chaste heart while Mary sleeps peacefully behind them. This image came to my mind on Christmas Eve as I watched my sister-in-law stood by her children - who are my goddaughter and nephew - while they prayed the Hail Mary, the Our Father, the Saint Andrew Christmas Novena Prayer and then read the Nativity story from their Precious Moments Advent Calendar. My nephew was so excited as he removed Baby Jesus from the box in the Advent calendar and, with great love and care, placed Baby Jesus between Mary and Joseph. As I watched him, I could imagine the same excitement in Mary and Joseph’s hearts when Jesus was born. It was such a special moment, such a tender moment, a moment that moved me to tears, and one that will forever remain in my heart. My goddaughter and nephew understood the true meaning of Christmas because their parents (as the leaders of their domestic church and the first formators of their children’s faith) taught them the reason for the season.
As a deacon, I am grateful to God for the many blessed opportunities to journey with families in the various stages of family life. I work with parents and godparents who are seeking the Sacrament of Baptism for their children. I prepare young couples to receive the Sacrament of Marriage and work with married couples experiencing difficulties in their marriages. I grieve with families who have lost loved ones and celebrate with families who are joined together when their children enter into the covenant of marriage with God. I accompany families with loved ones who have health problems, praying with them and praying for them. Recently, the day before Christmas Eve last week, my wife and I visited with a brave little girl who was in a fatal car accident, in which her father did not survive. Even as she faces a difficult recovery ahead of her, this little girl felt she needed to grow up fast and be strong so that she can take care of her mother. What these families shared is the peace of Christ, a peace that controlled their hearts. In sharing these moments of great joy and deep sorrow with these families, I am reminded of the joys and sorrows that the Holy Family experienced and how, through it all, Mary and Joseph each gave God their fiat - their “Yes” because the peace of God controlled their hearts.
The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph also teaches us about our human condition and how it sometimes forms the way we respond to unexpected and challenging circumstances in our lives. Recall from the Gospel that this is what Mary asked Jesus upon finding him in the temple: “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” My sisters and brothers in Christ, do we not sometimes ask God, “why have you done this to me?” The truth of the matter is, nothing tests our faith or causes us to question God’s will and plan for us more than unexpected and challenging circumstances that arise in our lives. A dear friend of mine shared with me about how her children have fallen away from the Church and their Catholic faith after they lost their father to cancer. They felt that God abandoned their father and ignored their family’s prayers in their hour of need. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Even though they encountered many challenges, the Holy Family always trusted in God's goodness and faithfulness. In the example of Mary and Joseph, we are called not only to trust God’s will for us as they did and, in faith, follow the plan that He has for us as they did but, most of all, we believe that God is with us always - in times of joy but, especially, in times of sorrow.
Finally, in the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph - the first domestic church - we have the model of the family and family life as God intended. Saint Paul described so beautifully the virtues that all families should strive for in his letter to the Colossians. God desires families to be filled with “heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another. . . [filled] with gratitude in [our] hearts to God. . . giving thanks to God the Father through [our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ].” We see all these virtues on display, in today’s Gospel, in the interaction between Mary and Joseph when they realized that twelve-year-old Jesus was missing from their caravan. Could you imagine the conversations that Mary and Joseph might have had during their day-long journey back to Jerusalem to look for Jesus - a difficult journey filled with anxiety and fear? However, I am sure they were not blaming each other for losing Jesus, saying, “I thought he was with you the entire time?” Nor would one of them make the other one feel even more guilty by saying, “Well, you should have kept a better watch of him,” Rather, I believe that Mary and Joseph would have treated each other with “heartfelt compassion, kindness. . . gentleness, and patience. . .” and, more importantly, “bearing [the burden of losing Jesus] with one another and forgiving one another.” And then, when they found Jesus safe and sound in the temple, they would have been “[filled] with gratitude in [their] hearts to God. . . giving thanks to God the Father.”
My sisters and brothers in Christ, in a few moments here, we will do the consecration prayer to the Holy Family. As we do, may we always know in our hearts that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is truly Emmanuel - “God with us.” - and his mother and father - Mary and Joseph - are our spiritual mother and father.
