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FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY
On the last Sunday of the year, we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family. On this day we offer our own families and all the members of our community on the altar for God’s blessing from the Holy Family.
The feast of the Holy Family reminds us that as the basic unit of the universal Church, each family is called to holiness. The Holy Family is the name given to the family unit of Jesus: The Divine Son of God Jesus, his mother Mary, and his foster-father Joseph. We know very little about the life of the Holy Family through the Canonical Scriptures. They speak of the early years of the Holy Family, including the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, the flight into Egypt, the finding of Jesus in the temple and their life at Nazareth.
By celebrating the Sunday following Christmas as the Feast of the Holy Family, the Church encourages us to look to the Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph for inspiration, example and encouragement. They were a model family in which both parents worked hard, helped each other, understood and accepted each other, and took good care of their Child so that he might grow up not only in human knowledge but also as a Child of God.
The Entrance Antiphon sums up the theme of today´s liturgy and its intimate connection with the Christmas mystery we continue to celebrate: “The shepherds hastened to Bethlehem, where they found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.” What they found, in essence, was the family in which Jesus came into this world and in which he would be cared for and grow.
May the Lord protect all our families in the Year ahead. From all the priests of the parish, we wish you and your family every good wish and blessing for 2013!