Families Need Not Be Perfect to Be Holy

Dec. 31, 2023

The Sunday between Christmas and the Solemnity of Mary (Jan. 1) is the Feast of the Holy Family, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. This is obviously a time when the Church wants us to reflect on the Holy Family but also wants us to reflect on our own families as Holy Families.
   
What made the Holy Family holy? Holiness is always the work of God in individuals, families, parishes, or other groups dedicated to the service of God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. Holy families are not perfect families, families without problems and struggles, families who never mess up or fail in various ways.

We see in the Holy Family a model which we want to try to emulate. God is the center of the life of the Holy Family. And prayer is at the heart of the Holy Family. They would have participated in the daily prayers that were part of the life of the Jewish family. In addition, they would have attended the Shabbat prayers at the synagogue. A few times a year the family would have gone on pilgrimage to Jerusalem to join in the major feasts, such as Passover. As the family is the Church in miniature, we must make our homes.

—Fr. Mike Comer