THE HOLY FAMILY

 Today at Mass we celebrated the Holy Family.   In this family we have the model of what God wants for every family, for Joseph was not just there to avoid prejudice against a single mother.    No, Joseph  played a leading role in the life of Jesus.    We know very little about how the dynamic of being man and being God interplayed in the person of Jesus, but we know to be truly human and live as others in those days of his birth, he would need a father who loved him, and lived and worked for his mother and himself.   But since Mary was also human, she would have loved St Joseph.    For had St Josep not given his life to her and her baby.  It is not something we give much thought to, since in our present society the word 'love' in a relationship always has vibes of sexual relationships.    But in the case of Joseph and Mary, this was a pure love.    They lived only to do the will of God.   So Jesus did not grow up missing the love of a father for his mother, or a mother for a father, that was an important part of his upbringing, and he also knew his father and mother loved him.   Perhaps that is the message we need to learn today from the Holy Family.    They were devoted to one another in a sacrificial love, the three of them prepared to give their very lives for one another.    It was important that Jesus was loved as a man, so that he could suffer as a man.  And at the Cross Mary felt every pain that he felt, a sword pierced her heart.  But even then she poured out her love for her son and accepted the will  of God. And so much of her strength came from knowing and loving St Joseph.        

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