Feast of the Holy Family

Feast of the Holy Family
Jesus, Mary and Joseph

The Feast of the Holy Family instituted by Pope Leo XIII in 1892, is celebrated on the Sunday following Christmas, unless that Sunday is January 1st, in which case it is celebrated on December 30th. This feast commemorates the family life of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, promoting their model of faithful love, obedience and devoted attachment to each other to be imitated by all Christian families.

The Sacrament of Marriage which unites man and woman establishes a family, the vocation of which is to support each one of its members on their path of discovery of God and the plan he has ordained for them.

Pope Benedict XVI

Feast of the Holy Family

January 1, 2007

On The Holy Family
Living Image of the Love of God
 

"In the Gospel we do not find discourses on the family but an event which is worth more than any words: God wanted to be born and to grow up in a human family. In this way he consecrated the family as the first and ordinary means of his encounter with humanity.

In his life spent at Nazareth, Jesus honored the Virgin Mary and the righteous Joseph, remaining under their authority throughout the period of his childhood and his adolescence (Luke 2:41-52). In this way he shed light on the primary value of the family in the education of the person.

Jesus was introduced by Mary and Joseph into the religious community and frequented the synagogue of Nazareth. With them, he learned to make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, as the Gospel passage offered for our meditation by today's liturgy tells us.

When he was 12 years old, he stayed behind in the Temple and it took his parents all of three days to find him. With this act he made them understand that he "had to see to his Father's affairs", in other words, to the mission that God had entrusted to him (cf. Lk 2:41-52).

This Gospel episode reveals the most authentic and profound vocation of the family: that is, to accompany each of its members on the path of the discovery of God and of the plan that he has prepared for him or her. Mary and Joseph taught Jesus primarily by their example: in his parents he came to know the full beauty of faith, of love for God and for his Law, as well as the demands of justice, which is totally fulfilled in love (Romans 13:10).

From them he learned that it is necessary first of all to do God's will, and that the spiritual bond is worth more than the bond of kinship. The Holy Family is truly the “prototype” of every Christian family that, united in the sacrament of marriage and nourished by the Word and the Eucharist, is called to carry out the marvelous vocation and mission of being a living cell not only of society but of the Church, sign and instrument of unity for the whole human race.”


 

The Christian family is a communion of persons, a sign and image of the communion of the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit. In the procreation and education of children it reflects the Father’s work of creation. It is called to partake of the prayer and sacrifice of Christ. Daily prayer and the reading of the Word of God strengthen it in charity. The Christian family has an evangelizing and missionary task. CCC 2205

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Art
Holy Family - Michaelangelo
Holy Family - Claudio Coello
Holy Family - Gaetano Gandolfi
Holy Family - Murillo
Finding Jesus at the Temple - William Holman Hunt

Saint Thomas Becket - December 29

Saint Thomas Becket

December 29

Bishop and Martyr

1117 – 1170

"Work out your salvation with fear and trembling.  For God is the one who, for his good purpose, works in you both to desire and to work."
(Philippians 2:12-13)

Born in London around 1117, Thomas Becket was made chancellor of England at age 36 by his good friend King Henry II. Thomas made it clear to Henry that he might not always be in agreement with all of the king’s decrees, but by age 45 Thomas was raised by King Henry II to the position of archbishop of Canterbury.

In 1164, King Henry II decreed that all clergy would be held accountable to secular courts, Thomas objected. His continual defense of the Church against King Henry II’s wishes forced Thomas into exile in France.

In 1170, Thomas returned to London but his conflict with the king could not be settled. At this point King Henry II is reported to have said, “Who will rid me of this turbulent priest?" Four of his knights took him at his word and murdered Thomas in the Canterbury Cathedral December 29, 1170. His murder angered many in England, as a result, numerous people made pilgrimage to the Canterbury Cathedral where several miracles were reported. Saint Thomas Becket stood firm in defense of truth and right, even at the cost of his life, he was canonized in 1173.

“Remember then how our fathers worked out their salvation; remember the

sufferings through which the Church has grown, and the storms the ship of Peter has weathered because it has Christ on board. Remember how the crown was attained by those whose sufferings gave new radiance to their faith. The whole company of saints bears witness to the unfailing truth that without real effort no one wins the crown.” Saint Thomas Becket

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Art

The Mocking of Saint Thomas of Canterbury - Master Francke
King Henry II Speaking with Saint Thomas Becket - Peter Langtoft
The Martyrdom of Saint Thomas of Canterbury - Master Francke



Feast of the Holy Innocents - December 28

The Feast of the Holy Innocents

December 28

Because they died for Jesus Christ, the children of Bethlehem killed on the orders of Herod the Great were declared martyrs.

“When the magi had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.” Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt. He stayed there until the death of Herod, that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled, ‘Out of Egypt I called my son.’ [Hosea 11:1]

When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi, he became furious. He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi. Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet:

'A voice was heard in Ramah(about six miles from Jerusalem signifying lamentations heard from great distance), sobbing and loud lamentation; Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be consoled, since they were no more.’” [Jeremiah 31:15] (Matthew 2:13 -18)




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Art
Flight Into Egypt - Fra Angelico
Massacre of the Innocents - Giotto di Bondone