One of the busiest travel times of the year includes the days just before and after Christmas. The primary reason for this predictable annual phenomenon is that family members make special efforts at Christmastime to reunite in order to enjoy family bonds and traditions.
The Catholic Church capitalizes on this universal trend by placing within the Octave of Christmas one of its premier celebrations: The Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. To facilitate having families together at Mass for this special occasion, it purposefully is situated on the Sunday following Christmas. Just as Mary and Joseph’s primary focus during the very first Christmas celebration was Baby Jesus, so also our families attend to the Christ-Child each time we go to Mass and invite Him to be ‘born again’ on our altars and in our souls.
In our culture, young children are often the center of attention at Christmas, especially when it comes time for opening presents. We take special joy in sharing the anticipation and excitement that accompanies a child’s reception of new gifts, especially those about which ‘Santa’ was clued-up via a Christmas list or letter. How wonderful a thing (so goes a child’s thinking) that someone so very far away (i.e., Mr. Claus) not only knows what will make me happy, but also has the resources and generosity to provide such things for me on an annual basis. And to think that he does this for so many millions of people year after year!
All of us who are God’s children should follow this same childlike line of thinking every time we go to Mass and receive divine gifts from the ultimate ‘Santa’. Just as we adults often revert to childhood traditions and fancies when we are with our families around the holidays, so also are we well-served by entering into the celebration of Mass with anticipation and excitement for the amazing gifts that the Christ-child has in store for all of us, adults and children alike.
No Christmas tradition could be more significant than attending Mass together as a family. The unity that is shared with other members of God’s family at Mass is meant to be enjoyed by and with our earthly families. Mary and Joseph were drawn to Jesus in the same natural way that all parents tend to love their children. But as Jesus revealed Himself as their Lord and Savior, Mary and Joseph’s love for that child was transformed from a familial to a devotional love. This same transformation happens for us when we allow the Lord to reveal Himself to our families in Word and Sacrament. At Mass He becomes the center of our lives.
Acknowledging the insights of Blessed Pope John Paul II, Benedict XVI emphasizes repeatedly that the family is the flashpoint for evangelization. Families need first to be evangelized—that is, they need to be reminded how central Jesus and His teachings must be in order for them to flourish. Families need then to be evangelizers—that is, they must be guiding lights in the darkness of a misguided culture and beacons of hope in a civilization wrought with despair. Like the Holy Family, they need to be celebrated witnesses of genuine love and unity.
Whether or not we had the privilege of attending Mass with other family members on the Feast of the Holy Family this year, we can be reminded nonetheless of the importance of authentic family life for our Church, for our society and for the world. May the unity and love that Jesus, Mary and Joseph exemplify be ours, now and into eternity.
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