December 27, 2020: Feast of the Holy Family

In the celebration of Christ's Birth still fresh, we acknowledge that Jesus is fully man and fully God.  So it's fitting that we would, as part of the Christmas Season, celebrate the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Christ entered into a human family so that God's presence could be known at all times in life, starting from the earliest years of our lives.

Even in the brokenness of our world, we are blessed because God is at work in our lives, just like with Abraham: Despite his advanced age, God provided a son for him and Sarah, as a sign of the great promises that his descendants would fill the Earth and be God's blessing everywhere.  

And so Simeon and Anna rejoiced so greatly at the presence of the Christ Child, the fulfillment of God's promise to each of them.  While Mary and St. Joseph brought Jesus to the Temple to fulfill the Law's dictates, they were blessed with wondrous words about their Child from these two devout individuals who knew He would be a blessing beyond measure in the world.

God has poured forth His love into our hearts and, in families, we have the opportunity to live, share, and grow in that love as a sign of His presence.

Living such love leads us to attain holiness through fulfillment of God's commands, especially to love others as He loves us, in the Church family, the Body of Christ, and in the world at large.  As we grow in love and live it, the world truly recognizes that God's favor is upon us all.