Brother Michael Moore of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate writes that we gather today around the Holy Family: Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. It is through this poor family that God’s love for each of us and the whole world is revealed and experienced. God did not come to us in power, glory, wealth, or majesty. God chose to come close to us and become one of us through Mary, who said ‘Yes’ when she was asked to be the Mother of Jesus. We often forget that Joseph was also called by God, and he, too, said ‘Yes’ when the messenger of God told him that Jesus, their Son, ‘is the one who is to save his people from their sins.‘
Today is a special time for us to remember and celebrate our own sacred families. It is a day to recall and acknowledge where we come from, where we first learned to love, share, and say sorry. We don’t get to choose our families; we experience them as they are. There are no perfect families, only the ones into which we are born.
Patrick Kavanagh, an Irish poet, once said that God is in the bits and pieces of everyday life. If we look and are attentive, we will find and experience God in the bits and pieces of the everyday events of our family life. In our family, despite the rough and tumble of daily life, we are surrounded by people who love us, nurture us, sustain us, and are there for us where we need them the most. There are also times when we say or do the wrong thing to those who are close to us. Challenging as it may be, these times offer us the opportunity to say sorry and offer them the healing hand of reconciliation and forgiveness.
I recall the words of Pope Francis when we said, “If we could say Please, Sorry, and Thank You more in our families, how happier places our homes would be.”
The parents of St. Eugene de Mazenod, the Founder of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, separated and divorced in 1802; he was 21. This was a deep wound from which he never really recovered; he carried the pain of this with him all his life. We can rightly call him the Patron Saint of Wounded Families. Today, as we celebrate the Holy Family of Nazareth, let us also remember and pray for all families that are experiencing pain and difficulties. Through our prayers, may they know and feel the loving protection of Mary, Joseph, and their Son, Jesus Christ, the Holy Family.
