Sir 3:2-6, 12-14
COL 3:12-17
LK 2:22-40

The readings for the Feast of the Holy Family focus on the importance of family. The first reading tells us about honoring our fathers. The second reading tells us how to live together as families. In the gospel Joseph and Mary take the infant Jesus to Jerusalem for the ritual of purification. 

The gospel shows Joseph and Mary as devout Jews, following the prescriptions of the Law of Moses. While in the Temple, Luke reports that Mary and Joseph encounter two devout Jews, Simeon and Anna, who recognize the infant Jesus as the fulfillment of Israel’s hope for redemption.

The Holy Family of Nazareth, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, are put before us by the Church as a model for our families. We call them “The Holy Family” but that does not mean that they did not have problems. Just as every family has to face problems and overcome them, so also the Holy Family had challenges.

In the gospels we learn of the birth of Jesus in a stable, the flight into Egypt to save Jesus’ life, the loss of Jesus in Jerusalem for three days when he was twelve years old, the misunderstanding and/or the mistreatment of Jesus in his ministry – even by his relatives, and Mary having to watch her son suffer and die. Although not mentioned in the gospels, Jesus and Mary at some point suffered the death of Joseph. What kept The Holy Family together and grounded throughout all these trials and crosses? The answer is love – love for each other and God, and Jesus’ love for Mary and Joseph, and Joseph’s and Mary’s love for Jesus, and together their love for God. 

Every family experiences problems whether minor or serious. Pope Francis provides us with these inspiring words, “We may not have been born into an exceptional family, one without problems, but this is our story – everyone must think: this is my story – these are our roots: if we cut them off, life dries up! God did not make us to be lone rangers, but to walk together. Let us thank [God] and pray to [God] for our families. God thinks about us and wants us to be together: grateful, united, capable of preserving our roots. We need to think about this, about our own story.” 

The words from the second reading provide us with a concrete way of living together as a family, whatever form that family may take.

COL: 3:12-17
Brothers and sisters:
Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved,
heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,
bearing with one another and forgiving one another,
if one has a grievance against another;
as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do.
And over all these put on love,
that is, the bond of perfection.
And let the peace of Christ control your hearts,
the peace into which you were also called in one body.
And be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,
as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another,
singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs
with gratitude in your hearts to God.
And whatever you do, in word or in deed,
do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him.

What are some difficulties you have successfully worked through as a family?

What part of Colossians do you find difficult to practice with family members? How can you change that?