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December 29, Feast of the Holy Family

On the first Sunday of the Christmas season this year, we joyfully celebrate the feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Today’s Gospel presents to us the story of Our Lord being lost and found at the temple in Jerusalem. In this story, we are reminded of the importance of being a true Christian family, having our foundation in Christ and his teachings. When we consider the importance of the temple for the people of Judea, two important aspects are brought to our attention. First, for those who wanted to devote themselves to learning about God and his law, they would go to the temple in Jerusalem to learn from the best teachers of the Law. The temple was the house of knowledge of the divine things. In the Gospel, we see the Incarnate Wisdom of God enter the temple to teach the best scholars about the things of God. Secondly, the temple was the place of sacrifice. We see throughout the scriptures that the temple is the center of spirituality in the jewish culture. People would go to Jerusalem on specific feasts to offer prayers and sacrifices in the temple. We see this in today’s Gospel. The Holy Family goes up to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover and with them, goes the Lamb of God. The Gospel explains how the temple unknowingly receives the perfection of everything that it was made for in a single event. The Gospel also offers an opportunity for us to see how we can apply this to our family life. 


The fourth commandment states, “You shall honor your father and your mother”. This commandment also differs from the rest because it comes with a promise, “that you may have a long life in the land the LORD your God is giving you”. The Fourth Commandment highlights the natural and Christian understanding of the family, and the responsibilities of all family members. It is the obligation of children to honor and obey their parents in all things good. But we also see the importance of the parents to educate their children. We see this important relationship especially when young children are growing up and need to be guided more frequently.


For example, a child will normally obey the parent when the parent “educates” the child that touching a hot stove top will hurt. But this applies even more in the education of the faith and morals. Parents have a special obligation, due to their vocation as parents, to teach their children the things of God. We see in the first reading that Hannah, after having received a son that she prayed for, decides to leave him with the high priest to learn about the things of God. She decides to fulfill her obligation of educating Samuel in the things of God by delegating this important task to the high priest.


In our modern world, it seems almost impossible to do this, so this obligation can be even burdensome to parents when they themselves are not educated in the faith. We can say that we cannot give what we do not have. But, how can we learn the faith and grow in our knowledge of God in order to educate our children?


St. Paul gives us a starting point when he says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God”. We begin first by listening to the word of Christ. Coming to Mass every Sunday and listening to the readings and the homily is a great way to start. Perhaps we can start studying scripture or listening to daily reflections. But it does not end there. St. Paul exhorts us to let the word of Christ dwell in us richly. We should not just hear the word of Christ, but put it in practice.


The way we live the Gospel is the best way that we can educate our children. The family is the domestic church; it is the place where faith formation begins. The family should also be the center of spirituality. It is not only the place of educating children in the faith, but also of prayer and spirituality. The first three commandments tell us how we are to be in relationship with God, i.e. not having other gods in our lives, not taking His Holy Name in vain, and keeping holy the Lord’s day. The center of these three commandments is prayer and keeping a relationship with God through prayer.


Mother Teresa of Calcutta once said that the family that prays together stays together. Are we praying as a family? How are we praying as a family? As I stated before, the best way to pray is in the Holy Mass. It is a great joy to see when young families make Mass their priority, even when it is very difficult to bring their young children to Mass. To keep Christ’s teachings at the center of the family is the best way to imitate the Holy Family. To educate our children in the faith and to pray as a family is the way that we can be true temples of God in the world.

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