A Word from Your Pastor - December 27 Feast of the Holy Family

Dear Parishioners:

Holy Family Sunday is a reminder to all of us that God came among us as a member of a human family.  Jesus, Mary and Joseph lived together in Nazareth, showing by the silence of those years just how valuable God holds the life of a family.  We are called to live in accord with the joy and peace of those years. 

We know that the Holy Family experienced many difficulties along the way.  The journey to Bethlehem, the Flight to Egypt, and the return to Nazareth were all moments of their lives where they had to travel in less than ideal conditions.  They knew the plight of immigrants and refugees.  The experience of the apparent loss of Jesus when they visited Jerusalem when He was 12 years old was a trauma for Mary and Joseph.  The loss of Joseph sometime before Jesus’ public ministry began was no doubt a hardship for both Jesus and Mary.  Then, Jesus’ departure from Nazareth, leaving Mary in the care of the wider clan was a time of sorrow for the Blessed Mother, anticipated what she would experience at the foot of the Cross.

When we realize that God chose to enter our world through the family, we can begin to see that how we safeguard family life is central to our witness of our Faith.  Fidelity and Commitment to those to whom we belong by the sacred bonds established by God are signs of the eternal significance of human life in light of our relationship with God.  God is the Father of a family, the People of God, who are made one in a Covenant established by Jesus Christ.  The Spirit empowers us to live in unity and to draw others into the circle of the family.

At St. Timothy Parish this weekend, we celebrate Holy Family Sunday by a special blessing offered to individual families at the end of Mass.  We are called in this Jubilee Year of Mercy to ensure that we attend to all the members of our families with a heart full of love and compassion because of the Mercy we have experienced ourselves.  May the family blessing enliven in your heart the zeal for the Kingdom that shows you are aware of the privilege of being a member of God’s Family in the Church.