The Holy Family of Nazareth

The Holy Family of Nazareth, Jesus, Mary and Joseph

are put before us by the Church this weekend as a model

for our families. We call them the ‘holy family’ but that

does not mean that they did not have problems. Just as

every family has to face problems and overcome them,

or to put it another way, has to carry a cross, so also the

holy family had to carry crosses. Their many crosses

come to mind from reading the Scriptures. We can

easily imagine how misunderstood both Mary and

Joseph must have been when Mary conceived Jesus

through the Holy Spirit. Their story would never be

believed. Even Mary herself had it very rough early in

the pregnancy when Joseph was planning to divorce her

before the angel intervened in a dream. When the time

for Jesus’ delivery came it took place in an animals’

shelter since Bethlehem was already so crowded. Then

the family had to flee to Egypt as refugees because

Jesus’ life was in danger due to Herod, in much the

same way as refugees from war-torn countries are now

entering many western countries. Mary and Joseph

suffered the awful experience of losing Jesus for three

days when he was twelve years old and the only

satisfaction they got from him was that he had to be

about his Father’s business. We do not hear of Joseph

any more so we presume that before Jesus began his

public ministry in Galilee Joseph had died, the holy

family suffering the greatest pain of all families, the

pain of bereavement and separation through death.

Jesus’ public ministry must have taken its toll on Mary.

Simeon had predicted in the Temple that a sword of

sorrow would pierce Mary’s soul. We can imagine one

such occasion was as we read in Mark 3:21 that when

Jesus returned to Nazareth one day his relatives came to

take him by force convinced that he was out of his mind.

Not a very pleasant experience for any family, no matter

how holy. There was also the pain caused by the rhyme

made up about Jesus: “Behold a glutton and a drunkard,

a friend of tax-collectors and sinners” (Luke 7:34). And

there was the growing hostility to Jesus by the Jewish

authorities that must have caused huge pain to both

Mary and Jesus, especially as it became increasingly

obvious that Jesus would have to pay for his mission by

dying. The saddest moment of all came when Mary

watched her son die on the cross.

What kept the family together and sane throughout all of

these trials and crosses? The answer is ‘Love for each

other and God’. Jesus’ love for Mary and Mary’s love

for Jesus, and the love of both of them for God the

Father or we could say faith in God. Just as the Holy

Family survived all its crises through love for each other

and faith in God, let us pray that our families will

conquer all difficulties through love for each other and

faith in God.

Fr. Janusz Roginski, S.A.C.