Cycle B - Year II:

31 December 2023: Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph 

(Liturgical color: White)

Readings:

First Reading:        Genesis 15:1-6; 21:1-3 (or Sirach 3:2-7, 12-14)

Second Reading:   Hebrews 11:8, 11-12, 17-19 (or Colossians 3:12-21, or 3:12-17)

Gospel:  Please read  Luke 2:22-40 (or 2:22, 39-40) 

We belong to God's family!

The Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. This Feast is normally celebrated on the Sunday between Christmas Day and New Year Day.

The Feast of the Holy Family speaks loudly how God regards family life. For the Lord of lords and King of kings chooses to be born in a human family with Mary as His mother and Joseph as protector. 

The family is God's gift to each one of us. We did not choose our family but God has done it for us, to entrust us to the loving care of our parents, and siblings, if any.

Our evangelist is St. Luke who writes about the Holy Family in the Temple as they came to Jerusalem to present the child Jesus to the Lord in accordance with the Law of Moses. This part is known as the Presentation, which we reflect upon as the fourth in the Joyful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary. We can learn about the humble obedience of the Holy Family in adhering to the requirements of the Law of Moses during their generation, even though Jesus had no real reason to be presented in the Temple because it is the Lord Himself being presented to the Father. But in the drama of the Presentation in the Temple, Jesus closes the Mosaic Law and begins the fulfillment of that Law in His very Person.

The Church picks this narrative about the Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple on this Feast of the Holy Family in order for us to meditate on the importance of the family in God's design for salvation. For God Himself willed that His only begotten Son be subject to human parents and receives His human formation within a family. God is showing us how Jesus truly identifies with our human experiences, including family life.

What is the message of the Feast of the Holy Family on us today?

The Feast of the Holy Family is also about our own human families too as it presents the Holy Family as the model for all Christian families and for domestic life in general. Our family life becomes sanctified when we live the life of the Church within our homes. This is also called the "domestic church" or the "church in miniature".

Family life is challenging and never easy. This fact was no different for Mary and Joseph. They had to work through the circumstances of Jesus' conception, with a little divine intervention perhaps. Mary had to give birth to Jesus away from home, in the town of Bethlehem. And soon after the birth of Jesus the Holy Family had to flee to Egypt to avoid King Herod who was searching for the child Jesus in order to kill Him.

The Holy Family is our example of love, concern and respect for each other. God Himself loves the family. By the Incarnation of God the Son, God unites Himself with everyone through the family. St. Mother Teresa wrote: "The family that prays together stays together, because such family learns something about how Go loves each one of us."     

It is in His human family, fraught with trials and challenges of everyday living that Jesus grew in wisdom, age and grace as He prepares for His saving work. In much the same way, God intends to prepare us for the many challenges in life in the environment of a family, our own family, to make us  strong through ups and downs of family through God's grace.

It is important for both parents to be close to God, to be prayerful and to have an obedient spirit so that we can hear God speak and follow His plan for the family entrusted to our care and guardianship. May we dedicate ourselves to building a strong relationship with Christ so that we can be a member of our own family that builds unity through our sincere caring attitude and virtuous deeds.

A blessed Feast of the Holy Family to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!