My Sisters and Brothers:
Today’s Gospel tells us that Mary and Joseph were faithful to the “Law of Moses” as they went to Jerusalem for “their purification” and to "present” the child Jesus “to the Lord.” The Gospel tells us that after this event in Jerusalem they “returned to their own town of Nazareth,” and that “the child grew and become strong, filled with wisdom” (see Luke 2:22, 39-40).
From those very first days when Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph were models of righteousness and of faithfulness to the Father in heaven. They desired to follow God’s laws and to live together “filled with wisdom.”
With this in mind, we may get the idea that the Holy Family was somehow “perfect” and that it never suffered any type of difficulties. On the contrary, the same Gospel also tells us that Simeon proclaimed to Mary that because she was his mother, “a sword” would “pierce” her (see Luke 2:35). That doesn’t sound very “perfect” to me, and surely there were times when things were difficult for her, and for them!
I think it is wise to believe that after the Holy Family “returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth,” (Luke 2:39) they were just like any other family in that very remote, poor and humble town. The child Jesus was completely human like any other child, and as such sometimes he probably scraped his knees, and on occasion he most likely disagreed with his playmates, and in all likelihood he worried Mary and Joseph as he got a bit older and went through those teenage years!
Many years later and most poignantly, the “sword” that pierced the heart of Mary was of course on Calvary when she witnessed his suffering and death, but I believe that until then they were very much like any other family, with both ups and downs, and with happy and sad moments. What is most important to us today is that we know that Jesus was completely human like the rest of us. The God-made-flesh took on our human nature so that we might share in his.
Mary was a poor young woman, and Joseph was a simple carpenter, and both raised their child Jesus in the humble town of Nazareth, and it was there that they lived together like any other “normal” family.
Today, as we celebrate the Holy Family, let us be grateful that we may follow their example. Like them, may we too, even in our own very real struggles, be completely faithful to God, and as such “grow and become strong, and be filled with wisdom!” Through God’s grace, may we also rejoice that as holy members of his family, we may also share in his divinity!
Praise God! Friar Timothy
Today’s Gospel tells us that Mary and Joseph were faithful to the “Law of Moses” as they went to Jerusalem for “their purification” and to "present” the child Jesus “to the Lord.” The Gospel tells us that after this event in Jerusalem they “returned to their own town of Nazareth,” and that “the child grew and become strong, filled with wisdom” (see Luke 2:22, 39-40).
From those very first days when Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph were models of righteousness and of faithfulness to the Father in heaven. They desired to follow God’s laws and to live together “filled with wisdom.”
With this in mind, we may get the idea that the Holy Family was somehow “perfect” and that it never suffered any type of difficulties. On the contrary, the same Gospel also tells us that Simeon proclaimed to Mary that because she was his mother, “a sword” would “pierce” her (see Luke 2:35). That doesn’t sound very “perfect” to me, and surely there were times when things were difficult for her, and for them!
I think it is wise to believe that after the Holy Family “returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth,” (Luke 2:39) they were just like any other family in that very remote, poor and humble town. The child Jesus was completely human like any other child, and as such sometimes he probably scraped his knees, and on occasion he most likely disagreed with his playmates, and in all likelihood he worried Mary and Joseph as he got a bit older and went through those teenage years!
Many years later and most poignantly, the “sword” that pierced the heart of Mary was of course on Calvary when she witnessed his suffering and death, but I believe that until then they were very much like any other family, with both ups and downs, and with happy and sad moments. What is most important to us today is that we know that Jesus was completely human like the rest of us. The God-made-flesh took on our human nature so that we might share in his.
Mary was a poor young woman, and Joseph was a simple carpenter, and both raised their child Jesus in the humble town of Nazareth, and it was there that they lived together like any other “normal” family.
Today, as we celebrate the Holy Family, let us be grateful that we may follow their example. Like them, may we too, even in our own very real struggles, be completely faithful to God, and as such “grow and become strong, and be filled with wisdom!” Through God’s grace, may we also rejoice that as holy members of his family, we may also share in his divinity!
Praise God! Friar Timothy
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