Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

Lectionary: 17

Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved,
heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,
bearing with one another and forgiving one another, 
if one has a grievance against another; 
as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do.

The word seminary contains the Latin word for seed, suggesting that seminaries are the seedbeds of the Church; but the true seminary is the family. That is where we learn and practice the faith with its challenges, reassurances, and consolations. 

I occasionally remind parents that their children are custom-designed to try their patience. In fact, that's their mission in life! If the parent had any pretensions to calm, self-confidence, parental know-how, and wisdom, their children should and will disillusion them. Along with the sacraments of Baptism and Reconciliation, Family is a sacrament of Penance. Our shortcomings confront us; our failings are flagrant; the sandy foundations of our security are revealed even as they collapse. If we don't learn to accept God's forgiveness in the family, we may never learn it elsewhere. And through the process, most people acquire a sense of humor about themselves. 

Advent and celebrate the coming of our Savior. We remember with humble gratitude that the Lord has had pity on us and, seeing our helplessness and complete inability to prove ourselves good enough, worthy, or capable of ever getting it right, comes to rescue us. We cannot save ourselves. Only our pathetic condition has any claim on God's compassion. 

We have tried to save ourselves. Worse, we have followed many pretenders who promised to save us even as they exploited us. We came up with plans and schemes; we developed hypotheses, theories, and technologies to save us. We hoped our children would master STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) and construct a safe, foolproof world for us; and these ill-conceived contraptions only make fools of us all. 

We need a savior. 

And so we teach our children to pray with us for salvation. When I was a boy, Dad fashioned a small shrine in a corner of the dining room. The platform held a ten-cent vigil candle and a statue of the Immaculate Conception. Wooden pegs held our rosaries in readiness for our evening prayer, which was followed by bath, bed, and beyond. The Church promised that the family that prays together stays together, and the ten of us can testify to that doctrine. 

Another important tradition strengthens, heals, and reassures the extended family; and that's the funeral. If there are grievances between family members, we set them aside when we come together. We realize they don't matter anymore. Jesus urged us, "When you bring your gifts to the altar, and there remember your siblings or niblings have anything against you, go and be reconciled first; and then offer your gifts." 

We forgive the deceased; we hope they forgive us; and we're reconciled with one another. Life is too short and families are too precious to burden them with resentments. That's why we have funerals.  

In the family, we discover that the forgiveness of sins is more than a two-minute rite in the confessional; it is an integral part of our history. We have been saved, and are still being saved, by the graces we share. 

Finally, we come to know the Lord as we grow in love for Mary and Joseph. You cannot know anyone unless you know their family, and so we meet the Holy Family in our churches, and homes, and take all the more delight in the presence of Jesus.