Holy Family

Many often joke about how it must have been to be the family of Jesus (God); Jesus standing on the bathwater, Jesus sneaking and multiplying cookies, etc.; and there is some humor to that. But the importance of this feast comes down to: the Holy Family is meant to be the model for all families. If you want to have a healthy family life, then look to them for guidance and example. Some are perhaps thinking, “That is not a fair comparison. Jesus is God and Mary is without sin; of course they are going to be the perfect family. How is that supposed to help my family?” Do not forget that they were not without their problems, too. Remember, Jesus was hunted from his birth; they had to spend two years as exiles in Egypt; Mary lost Jesus for three whole days. They had their fair share of drama as well, but they stayed strong in the face of all of that. 

So what lessons can we learn from them? The first lesson is communication. Notice that when Joseph has his dreams, and Mary has her encounter with the angel, they did not hide these things but talked about them with each other. The second a breakdown in communication occurs, a wedge begins to form. Members of a family need to be able to communicate with each other. Second, prayer is a necessity. There is a cliché that goes: the family that prays together stays together. No other family in history could be a better example of prayer than the Holy Family. If you want to keep your family together, read the Bible together, pray the rosary together, pray before meals together. Finally, be willing to forgive each other. In the movie, there is a bit of conflict between the father and the daughter, and the core of the conflict is that the daughter thinks her father does not love her, and it turns out that this is rooted in a lack of forgiveness. If a wound is not healed between members of the family, if it continues to fester, then it will tear the family apart. Just as forgiveness is necessary between us and God, so too is it necessary between members of the family. There are plenty of lessons to be learned from the Holy Family; make this season an occasion to look.