December 28 – The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
Family. Few words resonate in our ears with such sweetness, gentleness and joy. Is there anyone who, having received the gift of enjoying the blessings of a true home, does not remember it with deep emotion?
On the other hand, does the reader know of any institution that has been the object of more blatant hatred, more diabolical persecution, more infamous profanations than the family? Ask the Serpent of Paradise, who attacked the first couple in history… and it will not be difficult to find the answer.
Why is the family so sublime? Why does it make the forces of evil so uncomfortable? Today’s feast brings us the answer: God wanted to be born into a family, with a father and mother. He could have dispensed with one or the other, but He chose not to, in order to establish an archetype for the family and, in a way, to give rise to the Holy Church, which can well be defined as the gathering of people for the sake of love and praise of Jesus Christ. There was no other reason for the union between Mary Most Holy and St. Joseph in the years they were together with the Child Jesus.
But there too we see the brutal and bloody fury of the devil who, using Herod as his instrument, destroyed hundreds of other families in his attempt to destroy “The” family…
Now, in today’s media, in literature, in the thousand voices that are whispering evil advice or conspiring to lead young people into impurity or adults into adultery, is not the same fury at work that was directed at the Holy Family?
The most effective defence that Catholics can raise against so many attacks is to see the family through this sublime prism, which will bear the fruit of great respect, in accordance with St. Paul’s exhortation to the Colossians: “Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, […] And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection” (3:12, 14).
How often do we witness homes that deteriorate, fall apart and even – oh, what sorrow! – completely break up, because they did not know how to maintain an atmosphere of charity, elevation and courtesy in the home, but allowed impiety, vulgarity, egalitarianism and disrespect in their dealings to creep in.
Let us look today at the Holy Family. How many vicissitudes they must have endured in their sudden flight by night into Egypt! Yet it is inconceivable to imagine St. Joseph waking Our Lady with agitation and brutality, or taking the Child Jesus with ill will, to begin the journey.
They were a model for the Holy Church, and today they are an example for the institution of the family. If every family were to understand the very high role it is called to play, we would be able to apply to it without hesitation what Our Lord said of His Church: “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Mt 16:18)! ◊
