The Feast of the Holy Family

The Sunday after Christmas is always the Feast of the Holy Family. On this day, the Church meditates upon the humble holiness of the family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. The readings for this day were beautiful and the homily by our pastor outstanding. I really enjoyed this Mass and felt like I had had my "Spiritual Bucket" filled by all that we had heard. I would like to try to hit some of the highlights, aside from the Eucharist, that were helpful to me.

 A reading from the letter of Saint Paul to the Colossians , 3: 12-17.

Brothers and sisters: Put on, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another. If one has a grievance against another: as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body. And be thankful.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns,and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Taken from the Magnificat December 2012 Vol.14 No. 10,pp.442-443.

Our pastor, Fr. Stan Krempa,  is a magnificent homilist who has written a few books. His comments, (as I understood them), on the Holy Family I will paraphrase from notes that I took on the back pages of my checkbook during Mass.

" The family is the most important community to which we will ever belong. It is a "Bridge" that connects generations. Respect and care are given to young children as well as to parents and grandparents as we care for them in their older ages. One generation cares for the next.

As individuals, we are not on "spiritual automatic pilot". The family is a "Workshop" of Love and Faith.
Just like factories that are messy and full of lost tools, families are not always neat and clean. Family life is where we learn the virtues and where rough edges get smoothed.

The family is a "Living Cell of the Larger Church Community". Each family joins their lives to the larger community which is the Body of Christ.

Fr. Krempa mentioned that societal changes do impact family life today but no more so than in the town of Nazareth where our Sweet Savior grew up with his Mother, Mary, and his earthly dad, St. Joseph.
It is easy to focus on Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus and its angelic choirs and visits from shepherds and exotic Wisemen from the east. However, Jesus grew up in a little home in Nazareth where he had to be cared for as a small child (the Bridge), and  taught the carpentry trade (the Workshop). On a journey from Nazareth, He was eventually found teaching the elders in the Temple after his parents "lost" him on their pilgrimage to Jerusalem (Joining the Larger Community).

He summed up by stating that it is nice to "have" a family but it is more important to "be" a family.
Like the Lord Jesus, it is in family life that we learn and grow in wisdom, age and grace."

 Paraphrased from a Homily by Fr. Stan Krempa, December 30, 2012.