feast of the Holy Family

I had the joy of seeing my second child being borne. It was an amazing thing for me. This thing that was kicking my face as I placed my cheek on my wife’s tummy days before was wiped and given to my wife to cradled in her arms.

It was definitely a step up from when I brought home my first child. I wouldn’t touch the thing. Suppose I held it wrong and it’s head fell off. (All the women laughed or got angry, all the older men smiled quietly and knowingly).

By the time my third child was borne, I was an old pro at the game. Nurturing almost always seems to come naturally for women. Men have to learn it, and sometimes it isn’t so easy.

So I wonder how it was for Mary and Joseph. Tradition tells us that Mary was fourteen years old, and that Joseph was in his later years. What was it like 2000 years ago? Did Joseph look upon this child with amazement? Did he help with the baby, knowing that He is the Christ Child, or did he leave that to Mary, and concerned himself with other activities? How did this family function?

God would not have trusted his incarnation with any ole human. He chose those he molded for the purpose. He has molded us too. We have a purpose. It relates to the Christ child too and to the Holy family.

As my family grows so too my understanding of family life grows. The untold story of the Holy Family is told to me in my understanding of my own family life.

Lord bless all families, on the feast of the Holy Family.