The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, 12/27

Friends in Christ, Merry Christmas!!

            We pray that the Lord Jesus may bless each of you and your loved ones in this season of grace and joy. The Sunday that follows Christmas is the Feast of the Holy Family, and it seems quite appropriate that as we gather together with our families (in person or virtually this year!) that we might have the Holy Family present among us. From my childhood, I remember how the story of Mary and Joseph who traveled a great distance from their home and found no room at the inn huddled in a stable where the baby Jesus was born. It’s always struck me the poverty of the Holy Family, who must have trusted in God very much through the difficult circumstances.

 The intimate space and love that we might imagine within the Holy Family is not intended only for themselves. As in the days that follow, we see the visit of the shepherds who were overcome by the glory of the Lord and the angels who sang praises to God. The shepherds go unto Bethlehem with haste and find Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in a manger as the angels had foretold. The joy that the Holy Family had experienced is a gift that is open to be shared with others.

 All this precedes the Gospel passage of this Sunday in which, Mary and Joseph fulfill with the precepts of the law of Moses and take Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him and consecrate him to the Lord in the Temple. Once again the joy of the coming of the Lord can be seen in the encounters between the Holy Family and Simeon and Anna. The elder Simeon has waited his whole life for the promises of the Lord to be fulfilled and he is filled with joy.

 This seems truly to be what we are called to rejoice about at Christmas, and what the presence of the Holy Family can bring to each our homes: the joy of the presence of the Lord among us. We can rejoice together with the angels and give God glory and thanks.

 Our prayers that you all be blessed this Christmas season!

Patrick Travers, SCV