Dear Friends in Christ,
I think it is so nice that the Sunday after Christmas is always the special Feast of the Holy Family. It reminds us of the importance of family. Even Jesus was born into a family and needed a family. The fact is that we all do. I like that as Catholics we think of families as the “domestic church.” The big Church is really a collection of family churches all coming together. This is also why we believe that parents are the first and best teachers of their children in the ways of faith. The big Church has a responsibility to help parents in passing on our faith to their children, but we can never take the place of parents is this essential role. That is why we love our GIFT program. Many other Churches might have simple drop off programs that feel like religious school for kids. Instead, we are striving to support and encourage parents to take an active role in their children’s faith formation. May our big Church continue to do everything we can to support your church at home.
The problem with such an emphasis on the importance of families is the reality of broken and unhealthy families in our world today. In my experience nothing is harder for us to overcome than families that hurt us. That is another reason why this Feast of the Holy Family is so important. If we don’t have families that love us the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph do. They want to adopt you and embrace you. It is not the same, but to know you are loved by the Holy Family can help you realize that you are worthy of love. Here again the big Church can also try to heal us and provide a home of loving brothers and sisters.
You Light the Way!
Fr. Matt
