The month of December bathes us in family, and the Holy Family. It summons us to a sort of Sabbath at the end of the year, a time of rest and refreshment, a time of celebration and feasting. Even as the days get short and the night is at its longest, we mark that Christ, the Light of the World came to us.
By Chris Sparks
Though it’s often overshadowed by what comes before, the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph is celebrated this year on New Year's Eve, Sunday, Dec. 31. In a sense, this is a capstone of everything that came before in the month of December, and an entry into an ordinary life.
The Feast of the Holy Family is a celebration of the ordinary life of extraordinary people, of the three most holy human beings to ever walk the earth. It marks the source and summit of our Catholic faith, and the earthly icon of the Trinity in Heaven.
In Jesus, we see God the Son, the face of the Father’s mercy, who lives in the Spirit. In Mary, we encounter the “quasi-incarnation” of the Holy Spirit, according to St. Maximilian Kolbe, a woman so completely wedded to the love of God that she is called the Spouse of the Spirit.
And in St. Joseph, we see the “shadow” of the Father, as Pope Francis said in his apostolic letter announcing the Year of St. Joseph. We see the man to whom God the Father entrusted His Son, and who received the role of father from the Father in a direct way, unique in human history.
Summons to a Sabbath
The month of December bathes us in family, and the Holy Family. It summons us to a sort of Sabbath at the end of the year, a time of rest and refreshment, a time of celebration and feasting. Even as the days get short and the night is at its longest, we mark that Christ, the Light of the World came to us. “[T]he light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (Jn 1:5). We celebrate the Incarnation, the miracle of God that opens up to us membership in the family of God.
One of St. Faustina’s visions beautifully brings all this to life:
I saw Our Lady with the Infant Jesus, and the Holy Old Man [St. Joseph] standing behind them. The most holy Mother said to me, "Take My Dearest Treasure," and She handed me the Infant Jesus. When I took the Infant Jesus in my arms, the Mother of God and Saint Joseph disappeared. I was left alone with the Infant Jesus. I said to Him, “I know that You are my Lord and Creator even though You are so tiny.” Jesus stretched His little arms out to me and looked at me with a smile. My spirit was filled with incomparable joy. Then, suddenly, Jesus disappeared, and it was time for Holy Communion. I went with the other sisters to the Holy Table, my soul deeply moved. After Holy Communion, I heard these words in my soul: "I am in your heart, I whom you had in your arms" (Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, 608-609).
We are made members of God’s family through the Sacraments. We are united to the Holy Family with bonds of love and fidelity. Holy Mother Church entrusts the Eucharistic Lord to us as Our Lady entrusted Jesus to St. Faustina. We discern God Almighty in the consecrated Host, even though it’s so tiny. And God abides in our heart after we worthily receive Communion, just as He once consented to be born in Bethlehem, which translates to “House of Bread,” and be placed in the manger, the feeding trough, where the grain is put.
The Bread from Heaven, Jesus Himself, comes to us again and again at every Mass. Every Mass is a new Advent, a re-presentation of His Passion and the beginnings of His Second Coming.
Happy New Year!
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