Today as we continue to celebrate the Nativity of Jesus Christ in this octave of Christmas we celebrate  the Feast of the Holy Family.  As we contemplate the mystery of the Holy Family we often speak of the “hidden” life of Jesus in the Holy Family of Nazareth.  It is clear to us from Sacred Scripture that Jesus, the Son of God and the Eternal Word-Made-Flesh, grew in his humanity over time.  We are told in our gospel today that, “Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.”  Jesus learned and grew in his understanding of his human dignity and vocation over time in the Holy Family at Nazareth.  Much of this growth within the family life of Nazareth is a “hidden” growth rooted in the family life of the Holy Family.

     When we consider human life and why a person exhibits certain personality characteristics during their lives we must consider the “hidden” life that this person experiences in their own family of origin.  The human family is a school of humanity for us as human persons.  It is within the family that we learn much of what it means to be human and to live in our society today.  Family life is a vital part of our formation as human persons and an integral part of our life in human society.  The family is a “domestic church” where we first encounter God’s presence among us, receive the gift of faith and learn how to live our faith in the world today, praying and worshipping God, growing in wisdom and virtue and putting into practice the commandments of love.  Our parents teach us to pray and to recognize God’s presence in our daily lives.  Parents are the “primary educators” of their children in wisdom and grace, in virtue and values and in developing the life skills that we will need to have a full, productive and abundant life in the world.  Time and time again we see research that confirms that children that grow in a healthy, loving and stable family environment are more successful in all areas of life.  Family life is the primary cell in building a just and peaceful society.

     In the mystery of the Incarnation we affirm that Jesus was truly both human and divine.  Jesus not only grew in the wisdom of understanding fully the demands of his human life in the family at Nazareth but he also grew in his understanding of his divine life, in the oneness he shared with the Father.  Jesus was drawn to “the Father’s house” where he grew in grace through a profound experience of the Father’s love for him.  When he is found by Mary and Joseph in the Temple after much searching, Jesus replies 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.” (Lk 2,51)  Jesus not only had material needs that had to be met in the home of Nazareth but he also had spiritual needs that could only be met in a personal relationship with God, the Father.  Our children are also both body and soul, material and spiritual, human and divine.  The material needs of children are plainly manifested and demand our attention.  Children need to be fed, to be sheltered, to be educated and parents meet these needs to the best of their abilities.  However, too often the spiritual needs of our children are neglected because they are not so plainly expressed and understood.  Just as Jesus needed to be in the “Father’s house”, so do our children need to be brought to the Church so that they may experience the divine and eternal love of God, the Father.  We need to recognize the spiritual needs of our children if they are to ever become the complete person that God intended them to be.  

     Prayer is a school of formation for the spiritual life.  John Paul II wrote in Familiaris Consortio:  “It should never be forgotten that prayer constitutes an essential part of Christian life, understood in its fullness and centrality. Indeed, prayer is an important part of our very humanity: It is “the first expression of man’s inner truth, the first condition for authentic freedom of spirit.”   Far from being a form of escapism from everyday commitments, prayer constitutes the strongest incentive for the Christian family to assume and comply fully with all its responsibilities as the primary and fundamental cell of human society. Thus the Christian family’s actual participation in the church’s life and mission is in direct proportion to the fidelity and intensity of the prayer with which it is united with the fruitful vine that is Christ the Lord.  The fruitfulness of the Christian family in its specific service to human advancement, which of itself cannot but lead to the transformation of the world, derives from its living union with Christ, nourished by the liturgy, by self-oblation and by prayer.”

     May your prayer draw you closer to Christ and help you prepare for a new year of grace.