Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph – Year B – 2020 Following the example of the Holy Family to encounter Christ in our religious practices Readings: Sirach 3: 2-6, 12-14 / Psalm 128 / Colossians 3: 12-21 / Luke 2: 22-40
Like the rest who came to the temple, they had religious obligations to fulfill, the law had to be obeyed. The time of purification had passed and now it was the moment to present their son and consecrate him to the Lord. The Holy Family took care of every necessary detail including the offering to God of two turtledoves. However, these simple efforts to thank the Author of Life were part of a great, and up to that moment, unknown work, the realization of the divine and eternal plan on earth and in time: Salvation. In the most discreet and unnoticed manner, this moment was an encounter between God the Father and God the Son. However, it would not have been possible without the cooperation of the parents and family of the Savior, the infant Jesus. Joseph and Mary did not know and understand everything that was happening in that encounter, but they were convinced of their mission as parents and of raising and caring for their son. How many times have we fulfilled our obligations of a religious nature in doing what our faith, belief and belonging to the Church ask of us? How many times have we completed similar requirements without considering the deep significance that forms the base of our religious customs? In our modern times the traditions and ways of thinking of ages past are sometimes viewed suspiciously or as things that have little pragmatic value. Still, our religious practices flow from a current in our human nature of the search for the meaning of life, a truth that in the end only God can satisfy. It has to do with our desire to be in relationship with our Creator and Redeemer. The good example of Saint Joseph and the Blessed Mother of fulfilling the obligations of the religious law is something that merits recognition. It has nothing to do with blind obedience to the law or religious customs but has to do with them being in the temple to give thanks to God for the blessing of their newborn child. That is how we must understand our religious obligations. Such practices can seem like only tasks to be completed, but they serve as bridges between God and humanity and are ways for us to draw near to him and avail ourselves to his grace. Fulfillment of the law made possible various openings through which salvation entered into the world and the plan of God was able to be set in motion among us. The religious fidelity and actions of Joseph and the Mother of God and the openness to the Holy Spirit on the part of Simeon and Ana resulted in each one of them being present in the exact place and precise moment allowing the convergence of the human and divine. This was no coincidence nor mere duty. Their love of God and faithfulness opened a space in history for the full manifestation of the love of God for humanity. Fulfilling the law of God was the way which united the five of them in the temple, not by fate but by commitment and trust in the Lord. They were united with God in their very arms and in heaven. May our celebration of the season of the birth of Christ and appreciation of all that is beautiful, precious and obligatory within it, be for us the means to experience union in Christ Jesus, infant and Savior and open our hearts to recognize him in our neighbor.