Feast of the Holy Family Reflections

On Dec. 30, 2001, St. John Paul II celebrated the Feast of the Holy Family. As he did, he reflected on the Holy Family, how it sanctifies families and what we can learn from meditating upon the life that Jesus, Mary and Joseph shared together in Nazareth. “For every believer, and especially for Christian families, the humble dwelling place in Nazareth is an authentic school of the Gospel. Here we admire, put into practice, the divine plan to make the family an intimate community of life and love; here we learn that every Christian family is called to be a small "domestic church" that must shine with the Gospel virtues,” said St. John Paul II to the crowd. “Recollection and prayer, mutual understanding and respect, personal discipline and community asceticism and a spirit of sacrifice, work and solidarity are typical features that make the family of Nazareth a model for every home.”

Celebrated each year on the Sunday after Christmas, the Feast of the Holy Family is a perfect time to reflect upon this holy model of love and unity. Here are just five of the many beautiful characteristics of the Holy Family.

Family Rooted in Christ

During the 2014 feast, Pope Francis spoke about what the Holy Family teaches us. “In the family life of Mary and Joseph, God is truly at the centre, and He is so in the Person of Jesus. This is why the Family of Nazareth is holy. Why? Because it is centred on Jesus. When parents and children together breathe in this climate of faith, they have an energy that allows them to face even difficult trials, as the experience of the Holy Family shows, for example, in the dramatic event of their flight to Egypt: a difficult ordeal,” said Pope Francis. “The Baby Jesus with his Mother Mary and with St Joseph are a simple but so luminous icon of the family. The light it casts is the light of mercy and salvation for all the world, the light of truth for every man, for the human family and for individual families. This light which comes from the Holy Family encourages us to offer human warmth in those family situations in which, for various reasons, peace is lacking, harmony is lacking, and forgiveness is lacking.”

Holy Amidst Human Struggles

St. Therese of Lisieux, who is also known as The Little Flower, once talked with her fellow Carmelite sisters. She said “What does me a lot of good when I think of the Holy Family is to imagine a life that was very ordinary. It wasn’t everything that they have told us or imagined. For example, that the child Jesus, after having formed some birds out of clay, breathed upon them and gave them life. Ah! No! Little Jesus didn’t perform useless miracles like that, even to please His Mother. Why weren’t they transported into Egypt by a miracle which would have been necessary and so easy for God? In the twinkling of an eye, they could have been brought there. No, everything in their life was done just as in our own. How many troubles, disappointments! How many times did others make complaints to good St. Joseph! How many times did they refuse to pay him for his work! Oh! How astonished we would be if we only knew how much they had to suffer!”

Humble and Grateful

When Our Savior came into this world, he didn’t choose to come into it as a strong, wealthy, powerful king. He chose to be born in a cold manger and raised by humble, hard-working parents. And instead of glorifying herself, Mary praised God and gave thanks for every blessing. She also continued to serve God and others in His name. For instance, when she went to help her cousin Elisabeth prepare for the birth of John the Baptist, Luke 1:46-49 states that she joyfully proclaimed “My soul doth magnify the Lord. And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.”

Determined and Dignified Despite Harsh Circumstances

In Pope Francis’ 2013 celebration of the Feast of the Holy Family, he reminded people that Mary and Joseph were refugees. He said “Jesus wanted to belong to a family who experienced these hardships, so that no one would feel excluded from the loving closeness of God. The flight into Egypt caused by Herod’s threat shows us that God is present where man is in danger, where man is suffering, where he is fleeing, where he experiences rejection and abandonment; but God is also present where man dreams, where he hopes to return in freedom to his homeland and plans and chooses life for his family and dignity for himself and his loved ones.”

Nurturing Each Other in Faith and Love

In 2006, Pope Benedict XVI celebrated the holy day by reflecting upon the ways the Holy Family discovered God’s will for their lives. “When he was 12 years old, he stayed behind in the Temple and it took his parents all of three days to find him. With this act he made them understand that he "had to see to his Father's affairs," in other words, to the mission that God had entrusted to him. This Gospel episode reveals the most authentic and profound vocation of the family: that is, to accompany each of its members on the path of the discovery of God and of the plan that he has prepared for him or her,” said the pope. “Mary and Joseph taught Jesus primarily by their example: in his parents he came to know the full beauty of faith, of love for God and for his Law, as well as the demands of justice, which is totally fulfilled in love. From them he learned that it is necessary first of all to do God's will...”