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The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph: 

(My rendition of the Holy Hearts of the Holy Family)


Today we celebrate the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. A model for the family, a beautiful example of faithfulness, obedience, and selflessness, the Holy Family reminds us of God's love for each one of us and the holiness of the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony and the family. Family is important to God. He could have chosen any manner of ways to come to earth, but he chose to be born into a human family and dwell among us. Today, it seems like the culture does everything in its power to loosen the bonds of the family. Sporting events, extracurricular events, television shows, electronics, etc. tend to draw families away from sitting down together and sharing family meals. Family meals bring families closer together. Conversations are had, family members are made to feel important and appreciated, values, manners, prayers, and the wisdom of elders are transmitted...Family is important. How I would love to know what the family conversations were like at the Holy Family's table during dinner. 

When I think about the current virus situation in our wold today, COVID-19, I have come to see it as a call to focus on the family and draw closer to one another. Even though it has resulted in forcing extended family members away from one another, it has also made the nuclear family draw closer into itself. Now is the opportunity to focus once again on the blessings found within a family and refocus on what's truly important, meaningful, and the true purpose of the family. Our Lady of Fatima told Sister Lucia that the "final battle between the Lord and the kingdom of Satan will be about Marriage and the Family...Don't be afraid, because whoever works for the sanctity of Marriage and the Family will always be fought against and opposed..." (Catholic News Agency), and Saint Pope John Paul II said, "As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live." God instituted the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony when he created Adam and Eve and the holiness of the family when he blessed them and told them to be fruitful. The family is holy, and God shows us this again by his establishment of the Holy Family. Look to the Holy Family for guidance, inspiration, and help in your family.  

If you and your family don't normally sit down together for dinner, today make an effort to pray and eat together as a family. Get your calendar out and circle one day a week to sit down together for a meal. Turn to the next month and circle two days a week to sit down and pray and eat a meal together. The next month, select three days and so forth for the next month. You will be amazed and surprised at how the Holy Spirit will work in the lives of you family members by doing something as simple as sharing a meal and each others' company. Family is important. Take time to nurture your family with what’s good and watch it thrive!

Additional Activity: 

Write your family’s last name on a piece of paper and write an acrostic poem. For each letter of your last name, write something that makes your family special. 

Prayer: 

Dear Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, we ask that you watch over and guide us in all that we do. Through your intersection, help us grow closer to the Lord, helping our family grow in holiness and what's pleasing in the eyes of the Lord. Pray that we see Saint Joseph as a model of holiness and fatherhood, and you, Dear Blessed Mother, as a model of motherhood and faithfulness. Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, pray for us! Amen.   
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