This weekend, we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family. By far, they are the greatest family in existence. If it were not for this beautiful family, mother, father and child, our world would be a much darker place than it is.

The Holy Family is one we must all do our best to emulate in our own lives. They are the perfection of what family is. Through them, Jesus Christ sanctified the family itself, making it beautiful and holy.

Family is so important. It is essential to our humanity, to who we are. Each one of us is only here, living and breathing, because two others committed to each other and decided to start a family. We are only here because of the love of two people who became one, our mother and father, and their mother and father before them, and so forth.

This is the beauty of marriage. It is not just a procedure we go through, a ceremony with a bunch of documents to sign for the sake of making things official in the eyes of the world. It is so much more than that. It is an incredibly special bond, a commitment of love between two people who have found in each other someone they are willing to give their entire selves to. The Sacrament of Holy Matrimony is that with Christ at the centre. The love that the two have for each other is expounded by their love for Christ and Christ’s love for them.

These individuals, once joined together in Holy Matrimony, are no longer individuals. They are one with each other. They commit to bringing new life into the world, and so bring forth children who they raise with love, care, and tenderness.

When Mary and Joseph were joined together, when they were betrothed to wed, everything was fine until the Angel Gabriel came to the Blessed Virgin to announce to her that she would bear a Son, the Emmanuel, the Light of the World, the Christ-child, the Son of God. She was told she would conceive of the Holy Spirit. Mary, with great faith and confidence in God, gave her fiat, humbly accepting the role with which the Father was charging her in the salvation of man.

When Mary told Joseph about this, he was likely struck with confusion and uncertainty. He was no longer certain that he could be with Mary, and was ready to end their relationship. Being a good and thoughtful man, he was going to divorce her privately so as to spare her from shame. But, just as he was preparing to do this, the Angel appeared to him and told him to take Mary as his wife and look after the child as his own. Joseph, again being a man of faith and placing his trust in God, gave his own fiat and did as he was asked.

Mary and Joseph both dedicated their lives to God and to raising His Only Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. They went through a great many trials, but both did so humbly and with great trust in God. I think it goes without saying that they would have experienced the challenges that any family would face. Take, for example, when Jesus was missing from their care for three days as a child. When they found Him in the temple, they were struck with relief, but you can imagine the anxiety, the fear that they must have endured at that time that their child was missing. I think this is something that many parents would be able to relate to. It would likely be the greatest fear of many parents that their child goes missing. Many would probably assume the worst right away. That anguish you would experience if your child, or even your brother or sister, went missing, is one that Mary and Joseph would have experienced over 2000 years ago.

But while there are always going to be trials and, no doubt, anguish and worry, family also brings with it the joyous moments that we can all hold onto with great fervour when we need them most.

Jesus’ earthly parents had such a great love for Him. Joseph raised Him as if He were his own son. He taught Jesus everything he knew about carpentry. Mary devoted herself to Him as if there were nothing else that made her happy. She knew that she would experience terrible anguish, that a sword would pierce her own Immaculate Heart when her Son was to enter into His Passion, but she agreed to take on that pain, that suffering, regardless, to unite it with His. Because she knew that this great sacrifice would be one that would bring about salvation for all of us, all Her children.

The Holy Family is the pinnacle, the perfection of what a family should be.

It is a husband and wife dedicated to each other, to growing in their faith, love, and holiness together, to worshipping together, praising together, glorifying together, honouring together, praying together, serving together, adoring together. Just as Mary and Joseph adored our Lord, so too should each loving couple, each engaged couple, each married couple, adore our Lord together. They should attend a Holy Hour together, or even visit an Adoration Chapel and just spend time in front of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament together.

It is a mother and father raising their children to know, love, and serve the Lord. It is this mother and father devoting their lives to their children, loving them like they love the Lord, doing all they can to take care of them and ensure their salvation.

It is children showing great love and devotion to their parents. Just as our parents dedicate their lives to us, so too should we dedicate our lives to them. We should take care of them, respect them, show obedience unto them. We should pray with them, grow in our faith and love of the Lord with them. We must remember that our parents made the greatest commitment of all when they committed to bringing new life, to bringing us, into the world. And just as they raise us with great love and devotion, so too should we do the same when we get married and have children of our own.

Family is what makes us who we are. We may have differences at times. We may fight, argue, irritate, or upset one another. But it is important for each of us to remember that no matter what may happen, no matter what may come between us, no matter what challenges we may face, no matter what hardships we may be made to endure, family matters most. Our family is so much great than all of these things. Differences can be reconciled. Challenges and hardships are better faced together than alone.

There is no point alienating family, because they are one of the greatest treasures we have. We have each been given a great gift in our families. God has blessed us immensely with love, His love, shown to us through our parents and families.

Family may bring challenges, but it also brings with it great joys, happiness, and, ultimately, love.

God is so good to us. He is so good to have given us all a family.

Even if we do not have a family, if we are alone, we can take comfort in knowing that we are part of His family, the Holy Family, the family of God.

So, on this Feast of the Holy Family, tell your family you love them. Thank your parents for all they do for you. Reconcile differences you may have with members of your family. Do all you can to emulate the Holy Family. And pray for those who do not have an earthly family. Pray for those who do not see their families.

And, above all, thank God for the family you have, for the great gift He has given you.

May God Bless us all, and may the Holy Family always watch over us, protect us, and keep us safe.