V/​ My eyes are turned to you, O Lord.

R/​ You are the joy and gladness of my youth.

V/​ Grant me the Wisdom that sits by your throne.

R/ That I may dwell as a child in your presence.

Let us pray. Lord, in your loving design, you have drawn me here to encounter you in your Word and, in you, to find myself. Empower me by your Wisdom, that this meditation may be a font of transformation and freedom, bearing fruit for my salvation and that of the whole Church. Amen

THE FAMILY GATHERED AROUND CHRIST

Feast of the Holy Family, Yr A

Ecclesiasticus 3:2-14; Psalm 127(128): 1-5; Colossians 3:12-21; Matthew 2:33-23

28th December 2025

We often romanticise the Holy Family, picturing them in a serene, static tableau. Yet, today’s Gospel presents a terrifying reality: a family on the run. They are refugees, displaced by the murderous jealousy of a tyrant. Here lies the mystery of the Incarnation: to show the essential nature of the family in the economy of salvation, God did not enter the world as a fully formed warrior, but as a vulnerable child. The Holy Family is not “holy” because they were spared suffering; they are holy because they remained “gathered round Christ” amidst the chaos.

As Pope Benedict XVI often reminded us, the family is the ecclesiola—the little church. It is the primary place where the Word is heard and lived. Today, this institution is drowning in histories of abuse, economic strain, and the “dictatorship of relativism” that seeks to redefine human identity. Yet, precisely because it is under attack, the family remains the necessary anchor.

St Matthew presents Jesus as the New Moses. Just as Pharaoh sought to kill the infant Moses, Herod sought to destroy the Christ. And just as Moses led the people out of Egypt to constitute God’s family, Jesus emerges from Egypt to redeem the whole family of man. A hidden scriptural thread binds this to faith: we recall the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah. Because they “feared God”—refusing to kill the male children—Scripture says God “gave them families” or “built them houses” (Exodus 1:21).

This establishes a spiritual law: Faith builds the family. When the “fear of God”—the acknowledgement of a transcendent order—is removed from the home, the family loses its foundation, becoming subject to the shifting sands of emotion. But when a family fears God, even if they are drowning in worldly trouble, they are given a house that endures, for it is built on the Rock.

How does the family survive the “Herods” of history? Through St Joseph, we see the Carmelite ideal of contemplative listening. Joseph acts on the promptings of dreams. In the biblical tradition, the dream is not a suspension of reality, but a moment when the noise of the ego is silenced so completely that the voice of God can be heard. Joseph does not debate the angel or complain about the flight into Egypt; he listens and obeys. In our noisy world, the family must recover this interior silence. Without it, we cannot listen to the gentle voices or warnings, nor can we protect the identity of our children as sons and daughters of God. The father’s role is to be the spiritual sentinel, anchored in God.

We must be honest, however: many families feel far removed from the ideal of Nazareth, marred by “ugly histories.” Yet, St Paul provides the remedy: “Forgive each other as soon as a quarrel begins.” The family is the sanctuary of forgiveness. Even if a family is broken, the “family of man” is achievable in Christ because He heals the wound of Adam and purifies our genealogy from within.

Let us pray that our families may become “houses of the Lord,” where, like Joseph, we are ready to rise in the moments of uncertainty to protect the presence of God in our midst.

Prayer:

Almighty God, who in the Holy Family of Nazareth has given us a true model of life; Protect our homes from the storms of the present age, and when we are tempted by fear or division, remind us that Christ is the Anchor who holds us fast. May our families be sanctuaries of forgiveness and schools of love, built not on the shifting sands of sentiment, but on the firm foundation of Your Word. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Ponder Questions:

1. Is my home filled with the “noise of the world” (digital media, constant news, anxiety), or do we cultivate enough interior silence for quality presencing to people and situations?

2. In times of crisis, do I rely on human strategies, or do I turn first to the transcendent order of divine direction and insights?

3. Is there an unresolved tension or an “ugly history” in my family that I am holding onto? What is one concrete step I can take this week to initiate healing, even if I was not the one in the wrong?

Practice for the week:

“The Joseph contemplative disposition.” Each evening this week, before the final meal or prayer, impose a strict “digital regulation” for 15 minutes. Turn off all phones, televisions, and radios. Use this time not for conversation, but for a shared quiet or a simple reading of Scripture (perhaps Matthew 2). Allow the silence to settle the dust of the day, placing the family “round Christ” before sleep and ending with the “Our Father.”

Phrase to remember:

“Faith builds the house; Christ is the Anchor.”