THE HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS, MARY AND JOSEPH, YEAR C 30/12/2018

Lord, help our families to imitate the holy example of your family,

And to enjoy your house one day in eternal rewards

Amen.

Can we find God in our families? Is Christian education relevant in our families? “And he (Jesus) went down with them (Mary and Joseph) and came to Nazareth, he was obedient to them” (Luke 2:51). Today we are contemplating at the manger a simple and humble family, yet in their midst is a King, prince of peace and unity; Jesus the new born, the second person of the Trinity.

Family is a communion of love and in this way a revelation of the Trinity. The human family and a perfect community of the divine persons are a communion of love. Our families reveal the communion relationship between God and the humans who though in their nature they are able to reveal the Trinitarian community. The relationship between parents and children can become a perfect setting for learning Christian education. Jesus is in the Temple because he had learned intimate relationship with his heavenly Father. According to his culture he had also learned from Joseph and Mary to pray, love and respect the institutions of Israel.

            Joseph and Mary are the models of religious education in the family setting. The religious education that Jesus received from Mary and Joseph ought to inspire the religious education that our children receive from our families. As Christian parents do you find time to give and instruct your children on Christian education and life? Do your children find God in you? Parents are collaborators with God in upbringing of the children because children are a gift from God to the parents and a project of God. Dear parents, make your families a setting for the Christian education, human love and communion, and an environment to serve God’s plan by educating them in freedom of accepting God’s will even in the midst of the contemporary culture of secularism, Gnosticism and atheism.

            The holy family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph reveals the mutual respect and cooperation that should reign in our families. Mary respected the role of Joseph and she never wanted to overshadow it, while Joseph also respected the ‘Yes’ of Mary and silently opened himself to the plan of God that was revealed in their family. Families are therefore, the centers of divine plan, humanity’s future and learning communities.

            Let us remember in a special way those families that are going through sorrows due to mistrust, lack of unity and mutual respect, that the holy family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph will today become an icon of hope and strength to them. We also congratulate those stable, loving and joyful families and encourage them to become icons of love, communion and success. And through their prayers and constant practice of virtues and mutual respect they can offer some closeness to the struggling families.

May God bless all the families to live with mutual respect and love, in generosity to others by taking the example of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

Joy and Peace.