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In today’s liturgy, the Holy Family is proposed as a model for us to imitate in our families. Let’s closely examine the model in order to know how to imitate it better. The model is built on a small family of three people: Joseph, Mary, and Jesus. By now, the image of the Holy Family is so well-known that maybe we don’t recognize its deeper meaning. But who are these people?
- Who is the Father? Today’s Gospel speaks of Joseph as father: Behold, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously (Lk 2:48). But elsewhere, Holy Scripture explains it more accurately: “Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph (Lk 3:23). As was supposed. And that means that Joseph is his adoptive father, not his biological father.Who is his biological father, then? We just heard Jesus say in the Gospel: How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house? (Lk 2:49). Therefore, God the Father is the parent of the Son: “begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father”, exactly as we say when we recite the Creed.
Real Father: God the Father
Adopted Father: Joseph - Who is the mother? Mary is the mother of Jesus Christ, but Christ is all one, true God and true man. Mary gave human nature to the Divine Word, who was, in the beginning, with the Father. Mary, a creature, gave light to the Creator. Therefore, our Lord is consubstantial with the Father in his divine nature, and consubstantial with Mary in his human nature.Because of his indivisible unity of the two natures in the single person of the Son of God, Mary deserves the title Mother of God.
- Who is the Son? Naturally, it’s Jesus. But Jesus is at the same time Son of God and Son of man, and from the beginning, he takes care of the things of his Father.
Today’s feast puts the accent on the domestic virtues of the Holy Family. For example, the collect for today’s mass sounds like this: “O Lord Jesus Christ, who, being subject to Mary and Joseph, didst sanctify home life with unspeakable virtues…” However, a careful reading of the Gospel leads one to a completely different aspect which is emphasized. In fact, the only description of the infancy of Jesus passed down through the canonical Gospels puts the entire accent not on domestic virtues, but on the close relationship that exists between Jesus and God the Father. Even if Jesus were subject to Mary and Joseph, his principle reference point was not the Holy Family, but the Holy Trinity! So, how can we harmonize this contrast?
Maybe it is precisely the paradox itself which is the key to understand and to imitate the Holy Family. Family life experienced by Jesus, Mary, and Joseph is health and holy precisely because the reference point is not represented by themselves, but rather the Father.
Shouldn’t this also be the case for us? If our attention is turned on ourselves, our family cannot support the weight. But, if we take care of the things of God the Father—if the life of single members of the family and of the entire family together is anchored in God—then, despite all the normal difficulties of life, the family will result in an oasis of peace and serenity.
“Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (Lk 2:49). May these words of the Lord serve to guide our spiritual life.