So [the shepherds] went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger." (Luke 2:16)
I often find myself competing with the holiness of the Holy Family. Why I do this, I don't know. I will never measure up to the humble and total trust in God and one another that they had. They were perfect, after all, and I am certainly far from perfect!
But wait. Maybe they weren't so perfect. Mary became pregnant before she and Joseph lived together. Joseph was upset about the situation and was going to divorce her, cancel their betrothal. Luckily, an angel interceded by sharing God's plan with Joseph in a dream. So they resolved this issue, by the grace of God, and Joseph took Mary into his home as his wife.
Then, near the end of Mary's pregnancy, they had to travel to Bethlehem with hoards of other people for a crazy Roman census. They travelled the 100 miles or so from Nazareth to Bethlehem, the village of Joseph's ancestors, on foot, with Mary riding their little donkey the last few miles. But when they arrived in Bethlehem, there were so many people - David did have a lot of descendents - the inns were full. Then Mary's labor began, and Joseph desperately searched for a quiet and warm place for her to have the baby. They ended up in a stable cave, where an inn keeper kept his livestock. But it was warm and dry and the hay was fresh. By the grace of God, they made it to Bethlehem and found a simple but quiet place for Jesus to be born.
Later, they found out that Herod wanted to kill their baby, the "Newborn King of the Jews." So they packed up Jesus and left Bethlehem and Judea to escape Herod's killing rage. They travelled through the desert to Egypt. By the grace of God, they escaped in time and made it safely to Egypt.
Eventually, by the grace of God, they made it back to their family and friends in Nazareth. Jesus grew and Joseph and Mary taught him the prayers and traditions of their ancestors, bringing him up in the faith of their people. By the grace of God, they overcame all of their hardships, each struggle increasing their trust in their loving God.
It is good for me, for all of us, to remember that the Holy Family wasn't holy because they were perfect. They certainly had their share of difficulties and, I'm sure, arguments. But they remained faithful to one another and to God; this is what made them holy. In the same way, when we express our sincere love for one another day after day, remain faithful to one another, and trust that God's grace will see us through any difficulty, our families, too, are holy.
Faith Chat Question: To be holy does not mean that we have to be perfect; every family, even Jesus, Mary and Joseph, has its issues. What makes your family holy? How does your family express its holiness?
Faith Response: Put the name of each family member in a bowl. Have each person draw a name, making sure they don't receive their own name. Through the week, each person will pray for the family member whose name they drew, doing random acts of kindness for that person and writing a letter thanking the person for what he/she contributes to the family.
Pray: Loving Jesus, bless our families and help us to acknowledge our holiness by recognizing your presence with us. Amen.