Tomorrow, (Friday, December 30) the Church celebrates the Feast of The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. This feast should give all of us hope and courage as we strive to become holy families as well.
We may experience problems in our families, but I can only imagine some of the discussions that went on in this Holy Family starting from the beginning. The mystery of the Incarnation was very real for Mary and Joseph and had practical implications. Mary's explanation to Joseph that she had become pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit was not a small matter for Joseph to digest. Joseph and Mary both walked by faith. They have given us a tremendous example to follow.
Our families aren't perfect. We each have our areas of struggle and sin. The tensions and stress in our day-to-day lives can also take a toll. There are financial difficulties, addictions, anger issues, mistrust, suspicions, communication difficulties, and broken relationships. The potential pitfalls in developing healthy relationships are many. We need fervent prayer and a rock solid commitment to do our best to make our families holy. Even then, we still stumble and fall from time to time. That is why we are in need of grace and redemption.
I offer my prayers today for all families--small families, large families, cohesive families, splintered families, nuclear families, extended families, merged families, healthy families, and shattered families. May each of you experience the profound love, mercy, and healing touch of Almighty God!