There is a temptation, every year on this Feast of the Holy Family, to look at the statue in our nativity set—the peaceful Mary, the stoic J...
And then, we go home. We go home to the noise of the Christmas break, the pile of laundry that never ends, the teenager who is moody, the toddler who won’t eat, or the silence of a house that feels too empty. We look at the "Holy Family," and we look at our "Real Families," and we think, "We are doing this wrong."
But today’s readings, specifically the Gospel you just heard from St. Matthew, shatter that picture of the plastic, perfect family. The Holy Family was not a family of calm; they were a family in crisis. They were refugees. They had a government trying to kill their child. They had to pack up in the middle of the night and flee to a foreign country (Egypt) where they didn't speak the language, didn't have jobs, and didn't have a support system.
They didn't become "holy" because everything went right. They became holy because of how they handled it when everything went wrong.
As we look at the readings for today—December 28, 2025—I want to offer you three words, three "R's," that bridge the gap between the Holy Family and our families: Respect, Resilience, and Reconciliation.
1. Respect (The Roots)
The first word is Respect. We hear this in our first reading from Sirach. It’s a reading that hits hard, especially as we get older. "My son, take care of your father when he is old... even if his mind fails, be considerate of him."
In a world that values productivity and youth, the Church stops us today and says: Family is where we honor dignity, not utility.
Respect in a Catholic family means we honor our parents not just when they are strong and helpful, but when they are frail and repetitive. It also means parents respecting the growing personhood of their children. The Holy Family shows us this respect: Joseph respected Mary’s unique role; Mary respected Joseph’s leadership in the middle of the night to flee to Egypt. They valued the other more than themselves.
Ask yourself: In my house, do we speak to each other with the same politeness we use for strangers? Or do we save our harshest words for the people we love the most? Sirach reminds us: The way we treat our family is the way we treat God.
2. Resilience (The Reality)
The second word is Resilience. This comes from our Gospel.
Imagine the fear in Joseph’s heart. He has a newborn. He has a wife recovering from birth. And he gets a dream: Run. Now. They are coming to kill the boy.
He doesn’t sit and complain. He doesn’t blame God for making his life hard. He acts. He wakes them up, and they go. That is resilience.
There is a myth that if we pray enough, our families won't suffer. But the Holy Family suffered! They faced poverty, displacement, and eventually, the Cross. Holiness does not mean immunity from problems; it means tenacity in faith.
Maybe your family is facing a "Herod" right now. Maybe it’s a financial crisis, a diagnosis, an addiction, or a deep division. The Holy Family is the patron saint of Grit. They remind us that God is not just present in the peace of the manger; He is present in the panic of the flight to Egypt. If your family is struggling to survive today, you are closer to the Holy Family than you think.
3. Reconciliation (The Relationship)
The final word is Reconciliation. St. Paul in the second reading gives us the wardrobe for a Christian family: "Put on then... compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience."
But then he gives the most important instruction: "Forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do."
You cannot have a long-term family without forgiveness. It is mathematically impossible. We are imperfect people living in close quarters; we will step on each other's toes.
The "Bond of Perfection" Paul talks about isn't a lack of mistakes; it's the constant, daily work of repair. It’s the husband saying, "I’m sorry I was short with you." It’s the daughter saying, "I forgive you for missing my game." It’s the refusal to let the sun go down on your anger.
The Holy Family was sinless, yes. But for the rest of us, a Holy Family is simply a family that never gives up on forgiving each other.
Conclusion
Brothers and sisters, look at your family today. Not the Instagram version, but the real one.
If you have Respect for the dignity of your members—from the crying baby to the forgetting grandparent...
If you have Resilience to stick together when the "Herods" of life attack...
And if you have Reconciliation to forgive the seventy-times-seven daily hurts...
Then you are not far from the holiness of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.
You don't need to be perfect to be holy. You just need to be faithful to one another, and to God.
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