The feast of the Holy Family is the day when we celebrate our “families”, in whatever shape or form they may take. Whether our family is a single parent family, the so-called “nuclear” family, or a “family” gathering of close friends, all are “family” and all are HOLY!
Growing up in the 50’s and watching television shows like “Leave It To Beaver” and “Father Knows Best”, I, like many Americans rated the “perfection” of our family life on the lives of T.V. families, like the Cleavers and the Andersons, who were largely television scripts created out of the fantasy lives of Hollywood writers. To judge one’s own family on a make-believe family is a setting oneself up for failure. It is like the perfect family Christmas that Clark Griswold wants for his family in the movie, “Christmas Vacation”, only to find that no such thing can exist.
It is easy to do the same when we think of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Their life as a family was far from perfect. They had to live with and deal with adversity like all human families. They were a homeless family for a number of years. They were a refugee family, forced politically to flee from their native Judea to a foreign nation. When they were able to safely return to Judea, they had to eke out a living like every family. What sustained them as a family through many hardships was their utter trust in God and a very deep commitment to living their Jewish faith. The Holy Family’s utter trust in God and living fully their religious faith is attainable to all families no matter how our families are configured. This is what we are to
emulate. Holy = faithful. Holy ≠ perfect. All families are Holy.
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