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_{Feast of the Holy Family
December 30, 2007}

          Dr. Jonas Salk won fame for developing a polio vaccine in 1953.  His brother, Dr. Lee Salk, won fame as an outstanding psychologist and author.  He wrote a popular book called My Father, My Son.  It explored the relationship between fathers and sons and sent an urgent message to fathers and sons everywhere.  Dr. Salk sums it up this way:  Don’t be afraid of your emotions, of telling your father or your son that you love him and that you care about him.  Don't be afraid to hug or kiss him.  Don't wait until the deathbed to realize what you've missed. 

          What is true of fathers and sons is also true of fathers and daughters, mothers and daughters, mothers and sons.  And this brings us to the Feast of the Holy Family that we celebrate today. 

          Someone said, "It is hardly conceivable that Jesus, who cried at the tomb of his friend Lazarus, never embraced Joseph and said, "I love you."  And it is hardly conceivable that Jesus, who told how the father and son hugged each other in the Parable of the Prodigal Son, never hugged his father and said, "I love you."" 

          Today the Scripture readings invite all of us in this church...mothers, fathers, daughters, and sons...to inventory how we are contributing to the love level in our own family. 

          From a practical point of view, the Feast of the Holy Family is one of the most important of the year.  This is because it touches at the heart of daily life.  It touches at the heart of God’s will for every person born into this world.

          God's will is not primarily some strange or unusual calling.  It is not primarily doing something dangerous or difficult.  It is not primarily volunteering to work at Family Advancement Ministries or some other social program.  It is not primarily serving as a lector, Eucharistic minister, or choir member for our parish family.

          On the contrary, God's will for us is primarily to be a good parent, a good spouse, a good son, or a good daughter.  This is the primary calling for the vast majority of us in this church.  And if we fail this calling, we have failed our primary calling.  And that's what makes today’s feast so terribly important.

          It brings us back to the basics of Christian life.  It brings us back to the heart of where true holiness lies.  It does not lie in long hours of prayer, doing severe penances, or depriving ourselves of sleep, food, or reasonable entertainment.

          Rather, it lies in imitating the Holy Family!  It lies in taking Joseph as our model, if we are a father; Mary as our model, if we are a mother; and Jesus as our model, if we are a son or daughter.

          A retreat master once told fathers, "Joseph is a perfect model for you."  One father challenged him, saying, "Joseph is not a perfect model for me.  His situation is totally different from mine.  He was a saint; his wife was sinless; and his child was the Son of God.  I’m no saint; my wife is not sinless; and my child isn’t the Son of God." 

          The retreat master thought a minute and then said to the man, "May I ask you three personal questions?  Was your wife pregnant with child before you married her, and you didn’t know who the father was?  Did your young son ever leave home for several days and you didn’t know where he was?  Did you ever have to get up in the middle of the night and take your family to another country because someone wanted to kill your child?  All these things happened to Joseph!"

          The retreat master's point is this.  We tend to forget that all saints, Mary and Joseph included, had their own personal crises.  And these demanded of them every ounce of faith and trust they could muster.  If we think the lives of saints were without trials and hardships, then we don’t have the slightest idea of what a saint's like was like.  They weren't perfect and neither are we!

          In our world today there are no perfect husbands, no perfect wives, no perfect fathers, no perfect mothers, no perfect sons, and no perfect daughters.  We need to cut each other a little slack and a lot of forgiveness!

          If we could ask the Holy Family for one simple suggestion on how to become a better father, mother, son, or daughter I believe they would say: 

-    Each day do a little bit more than you think you can.  

-    Each day love a little bit more than you think you can. 

-    Each day forgive a little bit more than you think you can. 

-    Each day reach out to someone who is hurting a little bit more than you think you can. 

-    Each day sacrifice for others a little bit more than you think you can. 

-    Each day encourage one another a little bit more than you think you can.