Dec. 27, 2020: Holy Family B
When I mention the word, “a model family,” what image comes to mind? Chances are if you’ve seen a family of seven on a clothing catalog or TV ad, you may have seen the family of Bart and Jessica Baldwin. When Bart was a senior at Tulane University, his football career ended due to an injury. His surgeon introduced him to his wife who ran a modeling agency, and Bart’s modeling career began. When Bart went home to Texas to visit his parents, he noticed an attractive woman at daily mass. He introduced himself to Jessica, and as they say, the rest is history. Bart and Jessica have five children all under 18 years old, and as a family of seven, they model together for popular clothing, soft drink, and vacation companies. As a family they make every effort to attend daily mass and pray the rosary. They also try to live their faith on the job. Bart said, “Whatever people would find attractive about us, it wouldn't be us, per se, but it would be God’s light through us...This is where God has us, and it’s our job to live our life where he has us, to be the best we can be, or who he wants us to be.”
What makes a model family? God gave us the family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph to imitate as a model of a holy family. If they lived in our time, most likely we wouldn’t see them on Facebook or social media. They would be one of those families that are simple, humble, and unassuming. What was at the heart of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph was love, sacrifice, prayer, and faith. Where they lived, what they possessed, and what they wore would not have earned any envy from their neighbors. They experienced challenges, struggles, and misunderstandings like any other ordinary family. Following the birth of Jesus, for a period of time, they fled Bethlehem to Egypt and were homeless immigrants. When as a family they went on a pilgrimage from Nazareth to Jerusalem, boy Jesus was nowhere to be found for three days and his parents were frantically searching for him. Mary and Joseph faced fears and anxieties similar to that of other parents. So what makes a family holy?
We think that holiness is not achievable for our own family. Yet St. John Henry Newman once said: “To obtain the gift of holiness is the work of a life.” Holiness is not something that happens to other people. As Mother Teresa said, “Holiness is not something extraordinary, not something for only a few brains with intellectual powers can discuss… Holiness is for every one of us as a simple duty--the acceptance of God with a smile, at all times, anywhere and everywhere.”
Holiness for a mother is to imitate Blessed Mother’s Immaculate Heart and nurture her children and husband with humility, wisdom, faith, and service. Holiness of a father is to imitate the virtues of St. Joseph in protecting and serving his wife and children. Holiness for children is to imitate child Jesus in honoring and obeying their parents.
In today’s culture, husbands and wives feel pressured to keep up with their neighbors. With families posting on social media, vacations that they are enjoying, material things that they are acquiring, and the many activities of their children, families feel as if they are competing with their neighbors. Husbands feel particular pressure to measure up to the standard of living set by our materialistic culture and not by God. In his wisdom God set before us a holy family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph who are poor, humble, and faithful as a model for all families. In particular, God set St. Joseph as the head of the holy family to be an example of a father and husband. Pope Francis announced that from December 8, 2020 to December 8, 2021 is a year dedicated to St. Joseph. Pope Francis said,
“Our world today needs fathers… In every exercise of our fatherhood, we should always keep in mind that it has nothing to do with possession, but is rather a ‘sign’ pointing to a greater fatherhood...When fathers refuse to live the lives of their children for them, new and unexpected vistas open up. (Here the Pope is talking about the temptation in some parents to deal with disappointments in their own past by living vicariously through their children by emphasizing sports, career, or status). Every child is the bearer of a unique mystery that can only be brought to light with the help of a father who respects that child’s freedom.” A father becomes like Joseph, when he realizes that his child is not his own but merely had been entrusted to his care by God.
The most important step in making our family holy is to open our family to Jesus. Our families may not be perfect; our family life is a work in progress. It takes conscientious effort and hard work to practice forgiveness, honesty, and openness within our families. The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph surrendered their lives to Heavenly Father and His guidance. They prayed every day faithfully, and prayer helped them hear the voice of the Father and to accept challenges of the day with serenity. Service to each other, love in action, and faithful prayer life… these do not cost money. Yet these small steps will help our own families become a witness of love in this world.
