To Be a Shining Example of a Holy Family
My husband and I were given this beloved Holy Family figurine on the occasion of our 35th wedding anniversary when we resaid our wedding vows. It is one of my dearest treasures and though it’s displayed right now with my poinsettia floral piece, you’d find it displayed somewhere in my home year-round. It reminds me of Joseph, Mary and Baby Jesus — our original “Holy Family” and how much I’ve always desired that my family was a shining example of a holy family too. The second outdoor Holy Family was a gift from my daughter and her “holy” family.
On this first Sunday after Christmas, while we are still immersed in the joyful atmosphere of the celebration of our Lord’s coming to this earth to be one of us, we celebrate His Holy Family. We ask God, Who gave us the shining example of the Holy Family, to help us imitate Jesus, Mary and Joseph in practicing the beauty of family life — in strength, in faith and in love.
In the family life of Mary and Joseph, God is truly at the center — Jesus is at the center. Their lives breathed with faith — the faith that gave them the will and determination to face difficult challenges, like the difficult ordeal of the flight into Egypt that we see in Matthew 2. I love Joseph as such a loving and devoted husband and father to Jesus. What a shining example he is for fathers today!
We are called to be families of faith with God at the center of our lives. I can vouch that because of our faith we have been able to endure challenges and difficult ordeals, too! And, I’m sure you can say the same thing. This faith is evident when a family prays together regularly and when it is not just an obligation, but a joy, to be fully devoted followers of God and His Word.
Another essential lesson we can learn from the Holy Family is love. We think about their bonds of love — the love of Mary and Joseph for each other and for their son, as well as Jesus’ love for His parents. This loving harmony is a model for every family. I’d like you to think my family was the picture of the “Holy Family”. We strive to be, but sometimes we disagree about something so incidental and sometimes we say something that we really didn’t mean it to cause pain, but it did. But, as this third photo shows – this is how we play – we forgive, love, share, laugh, listen, help, respect and we PRAY a lot.
Today, I encourage us all to strive for being the shining lights of holy families like the Holy Family of Nazareth — the true model of a Christian home, an icon of faith and love. And may we pray for those families who are in difficulty, including broken families and so many refugee families in the world today. Let us turn with trust to Jesus, Mary, and Joseph in whom we contemplate the beauty of faith and love — God’s plan for every family!