The mystery we will look at today is that of Jesus who lived in a family.

Feast of the Holy Family. December 26th, 2010

Merry Christmas. Just yesterday we celebrated the wonderful day of Christmas. We are again back at Holy Mass today to celebrate the feast of the Holy Family. As part of our prayer and reflection of Jesus coming into this world, the birth of Jesus is just one of the mysteries we will look at over the next eight days of the octave of Christmas. The mystery we will look at today is that of Jesus who lived in a family.

In today’s Gospel, St. Joseph showed himself to be truly the Protector of the Holy Family. It was not the first crisis for Joseph. Several months before, he was overcome with fear and doubt over the mysterious pregnancy of his young bride, Mary. Now a powerful and ruthless king threatens the life of Jesus. Decisions had to be made. God did not abandon him but sent angels to help. First, angels explained how Mary had conceived her child through the power of the Holy Spirit. Now they urged him to take his family to Egypt. Later, an angel was to tell him to return to Nazareth of Galilee with his family.

Mary and Joseph must have been aware of the awesome responsibility they had. Angels helped them make right decisions, but it was up to them to show faith and courage in danger. All holy families struggle with fears and dangers. They should always ask God to help them act with faith and courage and to make right decision. God will never abandon families who turn to Him for help; He will even send angels to our families to help if need be.

God knows there are so many dangers to holy families in our day, everything from divorce, to a godless, secularist society which is becoming ever increasingly tolerant of everything but God and His Church. It condones things that up until now, have always and everywhere been condemned, such as abortion and legalized homosexual unions. These are all such great threats to the family in our day. It is so hard to be a holy family these days, I would say harder than any other time in history.

The devil knows and has always known the importance of true authentic Catholic Christian family life. He knows the family has been given to us to help us to live and love in order to learn to love like the family of God so that each family member can reach heaven. He knows that it is in holy families that the members learn to give up their selfishness and live for each other in sacrificial love for each other. The devil knows that the Church herself is only as strong and holy, as her families are strong and holy. He knows that the family is the “domestic Church.” the very foundation of the entire society and the Church. He knows that to weaken and destroy the marriage and the family in any one society is to weaken and destroy the church in this same society. Destroy the family and you destroy the church and consequently there is no hope for salvation.

So how do we restructure authentic family life, strengthening it not only in our own families, but also in order to help and strengthen other families as well? The only way to restore sound family life by Catholic families is to learn, accept and live up to the teachings of Jesus Christ and His Church, the Catholic Church. In our day, ordinary Catholic families cannot and will not survive. Just as there is no middle ground individually to follow Jesus fully, so it is with families. Families must be holy and heroic families in order to stand up against the demonic onslaught of marriage and the family experience in today’s world.

Families must become more and more authentic witnesses to the truth of the family. Like the Holy Family, they must be willing to suffer if need be for living a truly holy family life. Witness in the Gospel comes from the Greek word for Martyr. Any time you hear the word witness in the Gospels, the word there in Greek is really Martyr. Catholic families must be willing to suffer martyrdom for their faith. These Families must then reach out to other families in apostolic zeal to help them to become holy and live the Christian life. They must be willing to suffer in order to show others their fidelity to Jesus and his teachings. And in a society, which is no longer Christian, but is really pagan, they will suffer for their faith if they live it authentically, maybe even in some places of the world to the point of death. This all reminds us that the truths of our Holy Catholic faith matter, they matter with regard to salvation, that is, whether or not one lives in eternal bliss within the life of the family of God or eternal misery separated from the Trinity.

In order to renew authentic family life in our country, married couples and families must renew their efforts to follow Jesus Christ. It goes with out saying, that going to weekly Sunday Mass as a family to pray is indispensable, but we must do more. We must, as couples, families, and individuals escape the busyness of the world on a daily basis and ask the Family of God, in prayer, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit from whom all families have their origin, to strengthen our families in the face of so much which is against them. Just as the Couple that prays together stays together, so the family that prays together stays together.”

Essential to this renewal of Catholic family life, is for the family to put itself under the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Her help is indispensable, without it Catholic families will not survive. She is God’s mother, so she is powerful and we need to pray for her intercession to obtain from God, the graces we need in our families. I can personally attest to her powerful help with regards to the problems of my own family, as I am sure many of you can as well. We must go through Mary to Jesus for our family.

This can be done in practical ways. We must as Catholic families pray daily together to the Blessed Mother. The most obvious way is to pray the rosary together. A priest friend of mine recently lost his dear mother. When we where in seminary together he shared with me how he grew up seeing, after every evening meal, His parents on their knees in the living room holding hands and praying the rosary together. After His mom died a few weeks ago, we talked about his experience again. He shared with me that the whole family prayed the rosary every single night together growing up. They were farmers and where usually in bed by 8:30, but one night events on the farm caused them not to be able pray the rosary that evening. It was 10:30 before they were able to get into the house; yet, they still stayed up and prayed the family rosary together. Father told me how blessed he was to grow up in such a holy family; holy because it had holy parents. By the way, this priest is one of the holiest persons I know.

Another way to restore authentic family life is we must return to the custom of praying the Angelus together as a family at least once a day. A good time for this is before meals. Every Catholic family should have a least one picture or painting of Jesus, Mary and Joseph hung in a prominent place in their homes.

And families should have a least one statue of Mary in which to make a Marian shrine to allow family members to pray daily, at least one Hail Mary before it. And family members should return to the custom of wearing the brown Scapular of our lady and her miraculous medal and frequently pray the prayer “O Mary conceived without original sin pray for us who have recourse to thee.” There many other ways the family can practice a devotion to the Virgin Mary for her help and protection. Family devotion to Mary is absolutely necessary to obtain what it needs to receive at her hands from her Son.

Today, I have given some of the most important way for us to restore and strengthen authentic Catholic family life in our families, and in the life of our parish family. It goes with out saying how absolutely essential is the parish family in renewing our families. We all need the parish family, which again is a “Family of families helping one another get to heaven.” Let us end by praying together a parents’ prayer to the Holy Family:

Jesus, only-begotten Son of the Eternal Father, beloved Son of the Blessed Virgin and foster child of St. Joseph, we fervently implore you, through Mary, your ever blessed Mother and your adopted father, St. Joseph, to take our children under your special charge and enclose them in the love of your Sacred Heart. They are the children of your Father in heaven, and they were created after his own image. They are your possession, for you have purchased them with your precious blood. They are temples of the Holy Spirit, who sanctified them in baptism and implanted them with your precious blood. They are temples of the Holy Spirit, who sanctified them in baptism and implanted in their hearts the virtues of faith, hope and charity.
O most loving Jesus, rule and guide them, that they may live according to our holy faith, that they may not waver in their confidence in you and may ever remain faithful in your love.
O Mary, blessed Mother of Jesus, grant to our children a place in your pure, maternal heart! Spread over them your protecting mantle when danger threatens their innocence. Keep them firm when they are about to stray form the path of virtue, and should they have the misfortune to fall, then raise them up again, and reconcile them with your divine Son.
And you, O holy foster father, St. Joseph, do not abandon our children! Protect them from the assaults of the devil, and deliver them from all dangers of soul and body. Joseph and Mary, parents of the holy child Jesus, intercede for us also, that we may bring up our children in the love and fear of God, and one day attain with them the beatific vision. Amen.