Dear Parishioners,

The Sunday between Christmas and January 1 (The Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God) is known as the “Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph”. This particular Sunday has had this title for many years. It is a fitting title for many reasons: For example, we celebrate the birth of Christ, in which so much of our Scripture and hymns speak of Mary his mother, and Joseph his earthly father; this time of the year, also, many people spend time with their families and friends. Family seems to be ever present, which is a source of joy and blessing, but can also be a time of challenge, especially if the preceding year has seen loss, death, or major change. The Scriptures for this Sunday proclaim how Faith in God is an indispensable part of family life.

We need to remember that our families are where we first learned the Faith, first learned about God. For this reason, Church documents often refer to the family the “domestic Church” or the “little Church.” The meaning and significance of family is a gift from God, and is determined by God, not by human plans in any particular time. It is the building block of society and civilization. It goes without saying that many forces threaten family today, both external and internal. Thus, Holy Family Sunday is a chance for us to reflect with gratitude the gift of family, and at the same time to pray for healing where it might be needed in our own families and those of our friends. Remember as it says in St. Luke’s Gospel, “For nothing is impossible with God.” It is not only the place where God dwells, but where life is transmitted, born, and nurtured in the plan of God, and with the grace and help of God. At the moment of baptism, parents are exhorted “You have asked to have your children baptized. I doing so you are accepting the responsibility of training them in the practice of the Faith. It will be your duty to bring them up to keep God’s commandments as Christ taught us, by loving God and our neighbor.”

The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us “The family is the original cell of social life.” It is the natural society in which husband and wife are called to give themselves in love and in the gift of life. Authority, stability, and life of relationships within the family constitute the foundations for freedom, security, and fraternity within society. The family is the community in which, from childhood, one can learn moral values, begin to honor God, and make good use of freedom. Family Life is an initiation into life in society….. Civil authority should consider it a grave duty to ‘acknowledge the true nature of marriage and the family, to protect and foster them, to safeguard public morality, and promote domestic prosperity.’ “ (Nos. 2207 and 2210).

Rev. Msgr. Kevin W. Vann