December 31
Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
“Blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways.”
Readings
Reflection
There is a special quality to the Feast of the Holy Family that separates this Sunday from the rest of the year. The idea that each household is a domestic church unto itself lies at the center of this feast. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1655 speaks to this concept; “The Christian home is the place where children receive the first proclamation of the faith. For this reason, the family home is rightly called "the domestic church," a community of grace and prayer, a school of human virtues and of Christian charity.” To this end, we hear in this week’s readings about how a father and mother should be honored by their children, and how mutual respect and love are the basic essence of the Christian family’s life.
When Jesus was born to Mary and Joseph, one of the first things they did was to take him to the temple to consecrate him to the Lord in accordance with Jewish law. It is an interesting scenario; the son of God being presented to his Father. Simeon knew that there was something special going on when he offered his prayer, known as the “Nunc Dimittis.” He is now ready to move on to the afterlife knowing that the promise of eternal salvation that the Lord God had made was now being fulfilled in the birth of Jesus.
The lesson for us this week is that our families are part of that first holy family in ways that we can continue to contemplate as we move through the Christmas season. Even though many families today have different structures than Jesus, Mary and Joseph’s did, we still can share the love that both Sirach and Paul speak about in our first and second readings. If we fear the Lord and walk in his ways, we will be able to teach our children that God is at work in our world through the Holy Spirit and Jesus. That knowledge can be comforting to us if we trust in God’s plan for our lives.
Peace,
Deacon Dare
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