CELEBRATE SUNDAY
WITH ST. MARY'S
FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY
We are all forming each other as a spiritual family.
FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY
The Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen wrote that, at our judgment when we come face-to-face with God, He will determine the fruits of our participation in this life by asking us one simple question: where are your children? This question epitomizes our nature as humans (and how well we have upheld our human nature) because we are required to generate, whether that be physical or spiritual. The children that God will ask about are not exclusively our biological children, but rather the people for whom we were made responsible, whether that be in their survival, their upbringing, their formation, or their spirituality. This is family, the domestic Church – a reflection of the order of Heaven in all of its glory and perfection.
READ THIS SUNDAY'S MESSAGE
On this Sunday, we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, the perfect model for all families and for all who want to replicate the order and splendor of Heaven on Earth in their own lives. All families, including the Holy Family, are composed of two parts: formators and those who are being formed. In the domestic family, parents form their children. In the Church, the faithful form the catechumenate. In society, the old and wise form the impressionable and the young. In each of these examples, there are “parental” figures or guides and “child-like” learners who prioritize their own humility and dependence in order to learn how to be part of the collective. If we are to approach the Holy Family as the perfect model for these structures, we must recognize the perfection of each person’s role: Joseph often felt unworthy and self-conscious about the role God appointed for him. As a young girl, Mary also felt confused as to how she of all people was chosen to bear God within her as His mother. Jesus was God Incarnate, the entirety of divinity and the very force through whom the world was created; and yet he was asked by his Father in Heaven to place himself within the limits of humanity. Each person of the Holy Family had to radically shift their place in the world in order to play the role that God had designated for them. Though he was not Jesus’ biological father, Joseph raised him according to the Jewish faith, most likely teaching him the Scriptures and the prophecies about him that permeated his public ministry. Mary reared the Christ-child, and underwent all the pain and sufferings of her child along with him in her heart. Christ practiced the most perfect form of humility, subjecting himself to the authority of his own creation so that we may learn from him how to prioritize humility in our own roles as his followers.
Joseph assented to God calling him to be a father-figure to Christ. Mary assented to God calling her to be the mother of the Church and the mother of God. The Son assented to the Will of the Father and became man. Part of Joseph’s instruction for Jesus most likely included reading from the book of Sirach, which we hear in this Sunday’s first reading. Jesus was told to honor his earthly father and to confirm the authority of his mother. He was told to take care of Joseph when he was old (Christ did not begin his public ministry until he was 30, perhaps because of his family responsibilities) and to love his mother. When the time came, God-made-man transitioned from his role as the one being formed to the one who formed; he transitioned from his designated role as child to then guide his own spiritual children. Remember this in your own lives: if you have children of your own, learn from Joseph and Mary and do not dare forget your duty to form them. When you are called to form spiritual children of your own, whether they be fellow parishioners or inquirers to the faith, guide them. Be prepared to answer the Lord when you face Him at your judgment. The first step, though, is to remember that you were (and in many ways still are) a child yourself, in need of formation. Learn from Christ, and adopt the humility necessary to be formed.
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