Homily
Solemnity of the Holy Family
28 December 2014
Christ the King Topeka
Daily Readings
Families are changing - they're changing so fast! Divorce and remarriage. Reproductive technologies. 50% of children born out of wedlock. Smaller families. Same-sex marriage. The delaying and forgoing of marriage. Fewer young people going to Church and preparing their hearts, minds and bodies for the sacrament of marriage. I don't list these factors to rant or judge, only to mark how quickly family life is changing, and there is no going back. There was a time when every family was expected to conform as closely as they could to the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph that we hold up and celebrate during this beautiful Christmas season. That day is long gone. Today the family is being defined moreso by innovation than by tradition.
Yet we need family more than ever. That is human. Humans desperately need families. That never changes. There is not enough love in the world, and our world is especially hurting from the lack of the unique, intense and life-giving love that is at best within families. We need families, and we know it. Our desperate attempts to redefine families shows that we can't afford to give up on families. To give up families is to give up on ourselves. For it is true that blood really is thicker than water, and the shedding of Jesus' blood for us shows that He wants His body the Church to be a family, real brothers and sisters to each other.
This homily is not about judging or disparaging any family, but about doing whatever we can to strengthen families. Jesus is mercy, and woe to us if we do not love each other as He commanded begin at our weakest points. The Church is not in the business of judging families. But she can not shy away from promoting the example of the holy family as a family that can inspire and change any family for the better. When we celebrate the Holy Family, we're not trying to go backwards, but to bring the Catholic tradition, experience and teaching forward to bear on the crisis of the modern family.
Again, this homily is not about disparaging any family, for Jesus himself wants to visit every family, and to be born there, especially during Christmas when families draw closer together in love. Jesus was not afraid to be born into a messy situation, conceived in scandal and born a messy filthy situation. . He is more than happy to be born today in the midst of our messy, smelly and dysfunctional families. He is not afraid to visit us, if we are not afraid to welcome him as we really are. Jesus was not born in a palace in conservative security, nor according to an ideal script. He is more eager than we can imagine to visit our families during this holy season.
In celebrating the Holy Family today, we celebrate that the concept of a family has to begin somewhere. We can't invent the definition of a family or pull it out of the air, and if the word family can mean anything eventually it will mean nothing. We celebrate and imitate the Holy Family, then, in order that our own families will grow stronger and stronger. For as goes the family, the basic building block of society, so goes the dignity of human persons, the destiny of the world, and the salvation of souls. The Holy Family is something we fail to celebrate then, at our own peril.
What makes the Holy Family holy is their obedience to the Lord's will. They Holy Family is a perfect example in this. The Holy Family can certainly be considered non-traditional. They are the most unique family in history - Joseph is only the foster father of Jesus, and His mother is a virgin. You don't get any more non-traditional than that. But what makes the Holy Family most unique, however, is their obedience to God's will. The Holy Family endures the scandal of a child conceived before they lived together, and then the risks of being homeless at the worst possible times. The Holy Family is a mess at times, just like our own families are a mess, but in the midst of it all they trusted in God's will. They risked everything out of obedience to what God was asking of them, and that is what made them Holy!
The Holy Family took a huge risk to bring a child into the world. They are an example of sacrifice and generosity in having children. They responded to God's desire to bring a child into the world through their family. If Mary and Joseph were focused on their own plans for their family, they would never have become the Holy Family. Oftentimes having children entails the risk of submitting ourselves to a plan much different and bigger than our plans. Mind you again I'm not disparaging families that make heroic sacrifices that I'll never make in order to raise the children they do have. I have a deep sympathy as well for those families trying to have children but who can't. I'm not promoting irresponsibility in having children at all. Still, the example of the Holy Family inspires us to be less afraid of children, and to not ask first whether a child fits into our plans, but whether God wants to bring a child into the world. The Holy Family said yes to God's will, and was not afraid to bring a child into the world. There was great risk in this, but also incomparable joy. We see all around the world societies that fear children, are slowly but surely contracepting themselves out of existence. Mind you, the Holy Family because of Mary's perpetual virginity only had one child, but still they challenge us to sacrifice and generosity in having children. A healthy society is one that welcomes and celebrates children. A healthy Church does as well. Very few people regret having more children. Christmas is above all a time to celebrate children, that they are not a drain on the time and resources of adults, that they are not an inconvenience, but they are gifts from God that take us away from selfishness and remind us of who we really are.
Again, this homily is not about judging any family. There is one holy family - all the rest of us are striving but falling short. There is no room for judging families. I'm not saying either that we can or should go back to the way families used to be. What I am saying is that every family can and should make progress in holiness by seeking the will of God, and becoming unafraid of sacrificing for a mission beyond their control or imagination. The Holy Family is not a measuring stick - they are an inspiration! May Jesus' entry into the Holy Family help us this Christmas season to see how desperately He wants to visit our families in a powerful way! Amen!
Solemnity of the Holy Family
28 December 2014
Christ the King Topeka
Daily Readings
Families are changing - they're changing so fast! Divorce and remarriage. Reproductive technologies. 50% of children born out of wedlock. Smaller families. Same-sex marriage. The delaying and forgoing of marriage. Fewer young people going to Church and preparing their hearts, minds and bodies for the sacrament of marriage. I don't list these factors to rant or judge, only to mark how quickly family life is changing, and there is no going back. There was a time when every family was expected to conform as closely as they could to the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph that we hold up and celebrate during this beautiful Christmas season. That day is long gone. Today the family is being defined moreso by innovation than by tradition.Yet we need family more than ever. That is human. Humans desperately need families. That never changes. There is not enough love in the world, and our world is especially hurting from the lack of the unique, intense and life-giving love that is at best within families. We need families, and we know it. Our desperate attempts to redefine families shows that we can't afford to give up on families. To give up families is to give up on ourselves. For it is true that blood really is thicker than water, and the shedding of Jesus' blood for us shows that He wants His body the Church to be a family, real brothers and sisters to each other.
This homily is not about judging or disparaging any family, but about doing whatever we can to strengthen families. Jesus is mercy, and woe to us if we do not love each other as He commanded begin at our weakest points. The Church is not in the business of judging families. But she can not shy away from promoting the example of the holy family as a family that can inspire and change any family for the better. When we celebrate the Holy Family, we're not trying to go backwards, but to bring the Catholic tradition, experience and teaching forward to bear on the crisis of the modern family.
Again, this homily is not about disparaging any family, for Jesus himself wants to visit every family, and to be born there, especially during Christmas when families draw closer together in love. Jesus was not afraid to be born into a messy situation, conceived in scandal and born a messy filthy situation. . He is more than happy to be born today in the midst of our messy, smelly and dysfunctional families. He is not afraid to visit us, if we are not afraid to welcome him as we really are. Jesus was not born in a palace in conservative security, nor according to an ideal script. He is more eager than we can imagine to visit our families during this holy season. In celebrating the Holy Family today, we celebrate that the concept of a family has to begin somewhere. We can't invent the definition of a family or pull it out of the air, and if the word family can mean anything eventually it will mean nothing. We celebrate and imitate the Holy Family, then, in order that our own families will grow stronger and stronger. For as goes the family, the basic building block of society, so goes the dignity of human persons, the destiny of the world, and the salvation of souls. The Holy Family is something we fail to celebrate then, at our own peril.
What makes the Holy Family holy is their obedience to the Lord's will. They Holy Family is a perfect example in this. The Holy Family can certainly be considered non-traditional. They are the most unique family in history - Joseph is only the foster father of Jesus, and His mother is a virgin. You don't get any more non-traditional than that. But what makes the Holy Family most unique, however, is their obedience to God's will. The Holy Family endures the scandal of a child conceived before they lived together, and then the risks of being homeless at the worst possible times. The Holy Family is a mess at times, just like our own families are a mess, but in the midst of it all they trusted in God's will. They risked everything out of obedience to what God was asking of them, and that is what made them Holy!
The Holy Family took a huge risk to bring a child into the world. They are an example of sacrifice and generosity in having children. They responded to God's desire to bring a child into the world through their family. If Mary and Joseph were focused on their own plans for their family, they would never have become the Holy Family. Oftentimes having children entails the risk of submitting ourselves to a plan much different and bigger than our plans. Mind you again I'm not disparaging families that make heroic sacrifices that I'll never make in order to raise the children they do have. I have a deep sympathy as well for those families trying to have children but who can't. I'm not promoting irresponsibility in having children at all. Still, the example of the Holy Family inspires us to be less afraid of children, and to not ask first whether a child fits into our plans, but whether God wants to bring a child into the world. The Holy Family said yes to God's will, and was not afraid to bring a child into the world. There was great risk in this, but also incomparable joy. We see all around the world societies that fear children, are slowly but surely contracepting themselves out of existence. Mind you, the Holy Family because of Mary's perpetual virginity only had one child, but still they challenge us to sacrifice and generosity in having children. A healthy society is one that welcomes and celebrates children. A healthy Church does as well. Very few people regret having more children. Christmas is above all a time to celebrate children, that they are not a drain on the time and resources of adults, that they are not an inconvenience, but they are gifts from God that take us away from selfishness and remind us of who we really are.Again, this homily is not about judging any family. There is one holy family - all the rest of us are striving but falling short. There is no room for judging families. I'm not saying either that we can or should go back to the way families used to be. What I am saying is that every family can and should make progress in holiness by seeking the will of God, and becoming unafraid of sacrificing for a mission beyond their control or imagination. The Holy Family is not a measuring stick - they are an inspiration! May Jesus' entry into the Holy Family help us this Christmas season to see how desperately He wants to visit our families in a powerful way! Amen!
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