The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, 
listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded 
at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished, 
and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he said to them. He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.

The holy family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph shows us all how to live our lives in relationship with God and each other. We, like Jesus, should always seek to do our Heavenly Father’s Will. So too, we should be like Mary and Joseph seeking to understand Jesus’ role in our lives and the messages God sends us through the inspirations of the Holy Spirit. We might not always appreciate the tribulations we suffer, just as Mary and Joseph didn’t, but we can accept with humility that our sorrows can help us grow in wisdom and favor before God and man. This is why we should treasure our trials just as much as we do our triumphs. By doing so, we learn to appreciate not only what we have, but also the sufferings of Christ. In this way, we imitate the life, death, and resurrection of Christ by responding to our adversity in the same way as he did… by not letting it trouble our hearts or sour our souls. The holiness of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph’s family did not come from lack of hardship, but rather the selfless acceptance of God’s Will without counting the cost.

Do we ask God why He has done something to us? How can we learn to transform our anxieties into trust in God’s Divine Plan? How can we appreciate what we have and to be willing to suffer for the glory of God?

O Lord, we shall treasure all your words in our hearts in the hopes of one day growing in wisdom and favor with you and your children.

Amen.