With Opened Bible

“Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom.”(Luke 2:41)

Every year, the Church offers us the opportunity to celebrate family values through the feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. This feast is an integral part of the octave of Christmas. It was instituted by Pope Benedict XV in 1921. Before 1969, it was set on the first Sunday after the Epiphany of the Lord. The liturgical reform of Vatican II placed it in the middle of the octave of the Nativity. What does the Church propose to us in this celebration?

Of course, it is about promoting family values (biological and spiritual) in a world where everything is focused on the individual. The feast of the Holy Family is rooted in this biblical traditon, which, from the creaton of the world to the creaton of the Church, has never ceased to proclaim the intrinsic value of the family for a balanced society. God wanted Man to be accompanied in the Garden of Beginnings: "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suited to him." (Genesis 2:18). Man is created to be in society, in company. The author of the book of Ecclesiastes understood it in his way and proclaimed it: "Vae soli" (But woe to the solitary person!) (Ecclesiastes 4:10)

From Adam until the coming of Jesus Christ, the Bible offers us nothing other than the History of humanity rooted in the family (whether on the individual, national, or spiritual level): the family of Noah in Genesis 7,1f.); Jacob's family in Genesis 28:1-5 (which will pass from the individual to the national because this family gave birth to the twelve tribes of Israel. When the times are fulfilled, we have the family of Nazareth (Luke 2:41ss), who will guide us towards the spiritual family of the Church. (Acts of the Apostles 2:1ss)

To celebrate the Holy Family is to give God credit for his project on humanity. A man or a woman cannot achieve without a family's contributon. It is where the soul, heart and conscience can be truly educated.

Saints John Chrysostom and Pope John Paul II said it is a “domestic Church”. (Cf. Familiaris Consorto, November 22, 1981)

We see the power of a family seeking God in communion in the frst reading with Elkanah going up with his household on a pilgrimage to Shiloh (1 Samuel 1:20-22, 24-28). This unity and shared faith bring blessings and strength. The gospel of Saint Luke also presents the family of Nazareth on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem (Luke 2,:41ss), further emphasizing the importance of a family that prays together. Such a family remains united and blessed, a testament to the power of faith and communion.