Comments for Holy Family at http://www.thecatholicthing.org , comment 1 to 1 out of 1 comments http://www.thecatholicthing.org Tue, 21 May 2013 10:03:09 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2010/holy-family.html#comment-5546 Yes, the Holy Family is our guiding example and we need it to be followed on a personal and larger societal level. The One True Love, God, is manifested in His one child, Jesus, who sanctifies the family by His participation in it. There is not only duty to sacrifice, be large hearted, and to steadfast in love, but also a call to cultivate faith in God and to trust the Divine Mercy, Jesus. The duty of the heads of the family is to bring faith and pious fear of the Lord as surely as they bring bread to the table to share. The families purpose is to strengthen and grow each others' faith, hope and charity. And as each family faces the trials of this life, it needs to trust in the Divine Mercy to help understand each other and the world. We can see in the short but clear picture of the Nativity that Joseph and Mary had a pius fear of the Lord and had faith and trust in God. They did not hesitate to have God in their lives guiding their every step and becoming part of their family, no matter the risk to social status or risk of life and stability. Their mutual love is exemplified in the care with which Mary and Joseph took care of the life of the Christ Child and each other, as well as later in the finding of the Child in the Temple. The fact that the Holy Family fulfilled all Jewish traditions is an indication of their not flaunting society but being part of it to the extent that it would please God. The equal dignity and sharing of love is only possible for and in the family and then the greater society if there is first a love for God. Love of God was already part of Mary and Joseph before the conception of Christ or there marriage. It is the corner stone of the Holy Family and is the only cornerstone that will hold up a family in this world with the falsehoods of evil all around. - Number Nine Tue, 28 Dec 2010 20:18:34 +0100