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When God took
upon our humanity in order to become a little child, He sanctified who we are,
and when He became part of a family, the family, in turn, was made holy. So
that, while Mary may have been full of grace, and St. Joseph a virtuous man, it
was God’s way of showing us the ideal family and the potential virtues that
exist whether they are immediately evident of not.
Because, while, individually, all of us have or should have a saint whom we emulate, a saint whom we look to for inspiration, guidance and a person on whom we desire to model our lives, collectively, as a family, we are given the same inspiration and the same model of guidance in Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
And, while at first glance, they may not seem to be the most ideal of choices, since statistically, over 70% of families are classified as dysfunctional, what they do show is that, even with God as the child and saints as the parents, they were still not immune to the challenges of family life.
In fact, St. Joseph was a simple man who lived in Nazareth as a carpenter and some say, by lot, one day, was chosen to be engaged to the Bl. Virgin Mary. Yet, he probably did not expect Mary to be pregnant, and in order to avoid scandal and her being arrested and stoned, he was going to divorce her quietly, being a virtuous and righteous man. However, an angel appeared to him to assure him that he was to remain with her and become the foster father to Jesus.
If that wasn’t enough St. Joseph had to watch his only child be born in a dirty manger because there was no room for them anywhere else. He had to listen to the prophecy of St. Simeon and what would happen to both his child and to Mary. And, in the middle of the night, he as awoken out of a sound sleep only to have an angel warn him and tell him to flee into Egypt because King Herod is looking for his child and wants to kill Him.
And, on their way back from a pilgrimage Mary and St. Joseph are unable to find Jesus, so they frantically look all over for Him, only to find Him in the temple.
Mary, too, was not immune, for she was the one that had to give birth in that dirty manger, her joy, too, over the birth of her child, was quickly dampened by the threat of her child’s life. This is only further intensified when she goes to see St. Simeon who prophesies that her child will be “destined for the rise and fall of Israel,” and that even her own heart will be pierced by a sword. Then, she, along with St. Joseph have to search for their son, only for Him to be in the Temple and tell them that He had to be about His father’s business. What’s more, is she was one of the few that got to glance in her Son’s eyes on his way to the Cross, and, while there, before the Cross, knelt before her son as she did at His birth. If that weren’t enough, she held her lifeless child in her arms, the same child she had held 33 years prior when He entered our world.
This is why we are encouraged to look to St. Joseph and Mary as models of motherhood and fatherhood, because in imitating their virtues, they show us how to make the family stronger, they show us the importance of holiness in a family and how a family can survive, especially in this day and age.
Because, it wasn’t so much what they endured, but, rather, their response to each situation they experienced, St. Joseph, as we hear in our Gospel, did not question the angel’s warning and Mary never tried to get in the way or try to stop Jesus from carrying His Cross, rather, both St. Joseph and Mary were responsive and accepting of the Will of God, no matter how painful, no matter how challenging to the family it became.
And, truly, that is what this Feast shows us, that in our families, the foundation should never be ourselves, but God and when God is the foundation upon which a family is built, it is easier for that family to be obedient to the Will of God. Because, then it is God who is in charge, then it is God who leads and guides that family, as He did for the Holy Family.
That is why, in the words of the Servant of God Fr. Patrick Peyton, with whom I leave you with today: “The family that prays together, stays together.”
Because, while, individually, all of us have or should have a saint whom we emulate, a saint whom we look to for inspiration, guidance and a person on whom we desire to model our lives, collectively, as a family, we are given the same inspiration and the same model of guidance in Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
And, while at first glance, they may not seem to be the most ideal of choices, since statistically, over 70% of families are classified as dysfunctional, what they do show is that, even with God as the child and saints as the parents, they were still not immune to the challenges of family life.
In fact, St. Joseph was a simple man who lived in Nazareth as a carpenter and some say, by lot, one day, was chosen to be engaged to the Bl. Virgin Mary. Yet, he probably did not expect Mary to be pregnant, and in order to avoid scandal and her being arrested and stoned, he was going to divorce her quietly, being a virtuous and righteous man. However, an angel appeared to him to assure him that he was to remain with her and become the foster father to Jesus.
If that wasn’t enough St. Joseph had to watch his only child be born in a dirty manger because there was no room for them anywhere else. He had to listen to the prophecy of St. Simeon and what would happen to both his child and to Mary. And, in the middle of the night, he as awoken out of a sound sleep only to have an angel warn him and tell him to flee into Egypt because King Herod is looking for his child and wants to kill Him.
And, on their way back from a pilgrimage Mary and St. Joseph are unable to find Jesus, so they frantically look all over for Him, only to find Him in the temple.
Mary, too, was not immune, for she was the one that had to give birth in that dirty manger, her joy, too, over the birth of her child, was quickly dampened by the threat of her child’s life. This is only further intensified when she goes to see St. Simeon who prophesies that her child will be “destined for the rise and fall of Israel,” and that even her own heart will be pierced by a sword. Then, she, along with St. Joseph have to search for their son, only for Him to be in the Temple and tell them that He had to be about His father’s business. What’s more, is she was one of the few that got to glance in her Son’s eyes on his way to the Cross, and, while there, before the Cross, knelt before her son as she did at His birth. If that weren’t enough, she held her lifeless child in her arms, the same child she had held 33 years prior when He entered our world.
This is why we are encouraged to look to St. Joseph and Mary as models of motherhood and fatherhood, because in imitating their virtues, they show us how to make the family stronger, they show us the importance of holiness in a family and how a family can survive, especially in this day and age.
Because, it wasn’t so much what they endured, but, rather, their response to each situation they experienced, St. Joseph, as we hear in our Gospel, did not question the angel’s warning and Mary never tried to get in the way or try to stop Jesus from carrying His Cross, rather, both St. Joseph and Mary were responsive and accepting of the Will of God, no matter how painful, no matter how challenging to the family it became.
And, truly, that is what this Feast shows us, that in our families, the foundation should never be ourselves, but God and when God is the foundation upon which a family is built, it is easier for that family to be obedient to the Will of God. Because, then it is God who is in charge, then it is God who leads and guides that family, as He did for the Holy Family.
That is why, in the words of the Servant of God Fr. Patrick Peyton, with whom I leave you with today: “The family that prays together, stays together.”
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