Homily Notes, 01-10-20 - the Holy Family

 January 10th, 2020
Feast of the Holy Family

"You are God's chosen people."

We can learn a lot of lessons from the example of the Holy Family.  They are an example for every family.  Their first focus, their first goal, the most essential part of their life, was God.

Remember that only a few of the events of the first 30 years of Jesus life are recorded.  One of the few is the recording of the Finding in the Temple.  It's an example of how the Holy Family put God first and that God was the most important aspect of their life.

They were a family blessed above all other families because Jesus is God.  Nevertheless, we should strive to imitate their example and put God at the center of our lives and of our families.

Many events in the lives of the Holy Family can apply to our own life.  They had a great devotion to God: the one essential thing.  They never really put their individual good above the good of the whole family, they were always looking out for others.  They were not focused on themselves as individuals but on what was best for the whole family.  We see this in St. Joseph especially.  Joseph immediately obeyed the messages of the angel.  He didn't make excuses procrastinate.  He immediately submitted to God's will.

Mary's generosity: she accepted the great honor and joy of being Jesus' mother.  It is a great mission and a great responsibility.  We believe she had infused knowledge and knew all of what she was agreeing to.

The Holy Family obeyed the edict of the Roman census even though she was near the time of giving birth.  Mary supported Joseph every step of the way.  She welcomed Our Lord into the world.  She offered Him in the temple.  She wasn't looking out for her own good or acting in a selfish manner.  It was Mary's role to raise Our Lord, and she took that role very seriously, remaining with Our Lord even during His crucifixion.

Jesus became man for our sake: it was a humiliation for Him that He was willing to undergo for our sake, out of love for us.

We can apply all of this to our own lives.  Family life is difficult because you can no longer focus on your own good, you now have a responsibility to others, the care of other souls.

We don't get to choose the members of our family.  Our families are so small that we get to know each of the members very closely and it can be very difficult to get along.  Children don't always obey parents, get along with siblings, or play peacefully.  It is difficult because we are selfish.  We want to do our own thing instead of living for others.  For the good of our family, we have to give up our own good.  We have to be willing to give up our own will and make great sacrifices for the good of others.

Do we truly give up our will completely?  Are we making great sacrifices?  Or do we hold something back for ourselves?  It can be amazing to realize how selfish we really are.

St. Paul reminds us as individuals and as members of families: you are God's chosen people, you are members of the Church by your baptism, and you must have tender compassion, humility and patience.  These are necessary virtues for societies, and especially for families.  Family life is not possible without these virtues.  We can't put God first, we can't act selflessly, we can't put up with the faults of others, without these virtues.  "Bear one another's faults and be generous" -- forgive and forget the offenses committed against us, and do so even when the other person doesn't deserve your forgiveness.  We didn't deserve to be forgiven by God.

We have to be willing to take the blame, to take on the faults of others, just as Jesus took on our faults.  Instead of criticizing others and destroying the family bond, just take the blame.

"But it's their fault!"  That's true, and it's very difficult to bear the faults of others, and yet that is what Christ did for us.  We didn't deserve it but he walked in our place and carried our crosses and died for us, in our place.  We were the ones that deserved to be crucififed, but He did it for us.  It is not impossible to take on the faults of others.  It doesn't mean we like their failings but that we are willing to forgive them and excuse them.

"Be generous with each other." - The Lord's generosity to you must be your model.  It's essential to salvation and to life with a family.  You will not have a happy family life or a happy marriage if you are not generous.  Give your time, talents, funds, and assistance to others.  We need to be willing to give everything that it takes.  Our Lord is our model here: our generosity must have no limits.  Christ did not give up on us despite our constant failures, so we have to persevere to the end through the difficulties.

"The crown of all virtues is charity" - we can't have kindness, humility, patience, or generosity, unless we have charity.  Do we really have the spirit of charity that St. Paul talks about?  Charity doesn't think evil of others, it isn't proud.  We have a constant battle to fight for charity: to really put out love of God above all other things.  If we put God first, then that extends into all other areas of our life.  We are called to this perfection of charity.  It is charity that makes us perfect.  Parents must lead their children to heaven with an example of charity.  The children must follow the lead of the parents.  Our world tries to destroy the family and destroy the obedience that children owe to their parents.

The Holy Family is a model for our own families.  Ask for the grace to follow that model. See them and see their response to both the joys and sorrows, and imitate their example.