Holy Family

We often think of the Holy Family as living pristine and perfect life here on earth. We see the Holy Family from the inside since we look them with eyes of faith. But from the outside, things look embarrassing: 
              Mary became pregnant out of wedlock with a child that was not Joseph's. Joseph almost divorced Mary when he learned the news but decided to help her raise her child instead. Not only are the neighbors judging Mary for what they think is adultery but they are also judging Joseph for overlooking Mary's transgressions. Perhaps this why in Joseph's hometown of Bethlehem, nobody would let Joseph and his pregnant wife Mary into their house. To make matters even worse, they were forced to leave the country for Egypt when Jesus was just a toddler. They then returned to a backwater town of Nazareth to start a simple and poor life together. After Joseph died, Jesus decided to change his career from carpentry and become a religious professional. He stirred up a lot of trouble. After three years, He was thrown in jail for heresy and blasphemy and was given the death penalty. His poor mother was left behind as a grieving widow. From the outside, Jesus, Mary and Joseph looked like a pretty unholy family. But from the inside we can see that Jesus, Mary and Joseph were holy because we know that they did the only thing necessary for holiness - they were obedient to God.
Mary obeyed the angel who announced that she was to bear the Son of God.  Joseph obeyed the angel in his dream who told him to take Mary into his home. Joseph obeyed the angel to flee to Egypt and return to Nazareth. And Jesus obeyed the will of His Father in Heaven even unto humiliation and death.
We do not achieve holiness by impressing our neighbors with our wealth or by showing off the accomplishments of our children. It is what happens inside a family, whether a family obeys God, that makes a family holy. And sometimes all it takes for a family to be inspired to be holy is for one member to enthusiastically say "Yes" to God.

Merry Christmas,
Fr. Scott