On the map of the Holy Land we can pinpoint many places which are associated with the history of salvation: Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Hebron, Be’er Sheba. The end of today’s Gospel takes us to one of such places: Nazareth. Interestingly there is no mention of Nazareth in the Old Testament. Apparently it wasn’t an upmarket town, it must have had a bad name too if Nathanael in the Gospel of St John stated: “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” So why is Nazareth so significant to our Christian faith? Jesus was conceived there as we learn from the scene of the Annunciation. God was made man not in Bethlehem but in Nazareth. That’s where God came to live among his people. In Nazareth you can visit a magnificent church of the Annunciation but at the same time you can also overlook the hills, streets, wells and houses which remind us that the life of the Holy Family was lived there in an ordinary, even we could say a plain way. You don’t find monuments marking that longest period of Jesus’ earthly life there. However we don’t need to produce monuments to commemorate the Holy Family’s life in Nazareth because every Christian family striving to live up to the Christian Family values captures that Childhood of our Blessed Lord in Nazareth which we know so little of. That’s why the Catholic Church isn’t outdated in her teaching on the family but the Church upholds a very high reverence for the family life because a married man and woman who produce and raise children according to Christian standards reflect the glory of those hidden years of Jesus of Nazareth. A Christian family is an icon of the Holy Family of Nazareth where Jesus has got the center place. It think that you all are familiar with these funny family stickers that can be found on the back of the cars. A Christian family should include Jesus there for sure. But it is not about the stickers it is about everyday life. I could talk about many things but let me highlight one thing which shines in every true Christian family: sacrifice. It is there where Children learn to see that they are not the center of the world, it is in the family where children learn to make sacrifices for others.
Let me give you just one example which I believe can show us a very plain but powerful sacrifice. In a family, the father was a recovering alcoholic, that’s why his sons, who were young adults then, made a decision not to have any alcohol so that he wouldn’t be put into situation which could be too difficult for him to handle. They had their 21st Birthdays, Graduation parties without any alcohol. They did it for the sake of their dad.
My Sisters and Brothers! The strength of a Christian family is in placing Jesus at the center of their family life. Even if sometimes it demands to make sacrifices to keep him there it gives the family Holy Spirit who not simply keeps them together but make of them a small domestic church which is an icon of the Holy Family shining with the light of the Holy Trinity.
As we are preparing for the Synod on the Family in October 2015 people have various ideas what the outcome of the Synod should be. Let me share with you a story of a young family from Paris some years ago. They were doing it tough. The man lost his job. The power was cut off in their apartment as they couldn’t pay bills. They came to their friend, a priest. He was very poor himself but after listening to their story he went to the church and came back with a dozen or so candles. He gave the candles to the couple saying: “Some good people donated these candles to be lit on the altar where Jesus is present. I don’t have money to pay your electricity bill but take these candles and use them in your place so that you don’t need to sit in the darkness. Besides, Jesus is as present in your place where you strive to live according to his Gospel as he is when the Sacrifice of Mass is offered in the church.”
That priest didn’t simply solved a problem but he brought faith into their difficult situation that in spite of the problems they faced there was beauty and dignity in their family struggles. I would like to finish this homily with a prayer to the Holy Family so that the Church may always continue to give such faith to all families.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
in you we contemplate
the splendor of true love,
to you we turn with trust.
Holy Family of Nazareth,
grant that our families too
may be places of communion and prayer,
authentic schools of the Gospel
and small domestic Churches.
Holy Family of Nazareth,
may families never again
experience violence, rejection and division:
may all who have been hurt or scandalized
find ready comfort and healing.
Holy Family of Nazareth,
may the approaching Synod of Bishops
make us once more mindful
of the sacredness and inviolability of the family,
and its beauty in God’s plan.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
graciously hear our prayer. Amen.
Let me give you just one example which I believe can show us a very plain but powerful sacrifice. In a family, the father was a recovering alcoholic, that’s why his sons, who were young adults then, made a decision not to have any alcohol so that he wouldn’t be put into situation which could be too difficult for him to handle. They had their 21st Birthdays, Graduation parties without any alcohol. They did it for the sake of their dad.
My Sisters and Brothers! The strength of a Christian family is in placing Jesus at the center of their family life. Even if sometimes it demands to make sacrifices to keep him there it gives the family Holy Spirit who not simply keeps them together but make of them a small domestic church which is an icon of the Holy Family shining with the light of the Holy Trinity.
As we are preparing for the Synod on the Family in October 2015 people have various ideas what the outcome of the Synod should be. Let me share with you a story of a young family from Paris some years ago. They were doing it tough. The man lost his job. The power was cut off in their apartment as they couldn’t pay bills. They came to their friend, a priest. He was very poor himself but after listening to their story he went to the church and came back with a dozen or so candles. He gave the candles to the couple saying: “Some good people donated these candles to be lit on the altar where Jesus is present. I don’t have money to pay your electricity bill but take these candles and use them in your place so that you don’t need to sit in the darkness. Besides, Jesus is as present in your place where you strive to live according to his Gospel as he is when the Sacrifice of Mass is offered in the church.”
That priest didn’t simply solved a problem but he brought faith into their difficult situation that in spite of the problems they faced there was beauty and dignity in their family struggles. I would like to finish this homily with a prayer to the Holy Family so that the Church may always continue to give such faith to all families.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
in you we contemplate
the splendor of true love,
to you we turn with trust.
Holy Family of Nazareth,
grant that our families too
may be places of communion and prayer,
authentic schools of the Gospel
and small domestic Churches.
Holy Family of Nazareth,
may families never again
experience violence, rejection and division:
may all who have been hurt or scandalized
find ready comfort and healing.
Holy Family of Nazareth,
may the approaching Synod of Bishops
make us once more mindful
of the sacredness and inviolability of the family,
and its beauty in God’s plan.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
graciously hear our prayer. Amen.
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