Lessons from the Holy Family
December 28, 2025 – Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph
Readings: Sirach 3: 2-6, 12-14; Psalm 128, R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways.; Colossians 3:12-21 or 3:12-17; Gospel – Matthew 2: 13-15, 19-23
The Sunday after Christmas is designated as the Feast of the Holy Family. This gives an added dimension to the celebration of Christmas, i.e., it is a time for family to share with each other the love, joy, and hope of Christmas.
There is one striking element in today’s Gospel, i.e., how Joseph protected his Son, Jesus, and Mary, his wife. This is the first point I wish us to consider: creating a safe space in the family. The second point is how Joseph and Mary provided a sacred space for Jesus in the family. Finally, as a summary, the family is the seedbed of vocation.
Providing a safe space
In today’s Gospel, we saw how much Joseph was very much the protector of his wife and Son. This is providing a safe space for his family.
In a very complex world where we live, both parents and children go through tough times to navigate the complexities. A number of parents are at a loss on how to guide their children in a world that is so fast-paced, given the advances in technology and the weakening of institutions that influence the youth.
In studies that were made decades ago, this was already flagged as areas of concern. There was a waning influence of the church and schools, the traditional places of safety and influence. Even then, the family was also not as influential. This was in the 2000s. Fast forward 25 years later, and you have the proliferation of social media platforms, with young people spending a considerable time with their gadgets and lessening quality time with the warmth of personal social interaction.
This all the more makes it imperative for parents, not just the fathers, to create a safe space for their children, i.e., a safe space to temper the influence of the digital world, the World Wide Web, where we hear about cyberbullying, fake news, cybersex, scams, and the dark web.
Now more than ever, we need the Josephs in families who would constantly “protect” the family from the challenges and harms threatening the family. The family, now more than ever, has to be consciously built into a safe space.
Creating a sacred space
In the Holy Family, we also see the sacred space. This was very obvious in our Blessed Mother’s role. One of the striking things about our Blessed Mother was that whenever something happened to her Son that she did not fully understand, she always contemplated and “kept all things in her heart.”
Later, we see this in Jesus, how in every major event, he would always withdraw and be in solitude with his Father. It was his moment of contemplation to check with the Father if he was doing things according to the Father’s will.
Joseph, too, played a key role in Jesus’ experience of the sacred. As Fr. Catalino G. Arevalo, S.J. said, Joseph must have been a terrific father, so that when Jesus described his relationship with God, he used the word “abba,” after.
The sacred space that Mary and Joseph created for Jesus was foundational to his discovering his identity and mission. And this is true for all families. When they create safe and sacred spaces for their members, especially the youth, they can come to know who they are—knowing and accepting both what is good and bad in them.
Safe spaces facilitate this because there is no fear of judgment and rejection. Ignatian education and spirituality call this a realistic knowledge of self; a knowledge that leads to acceptance of one’s self and identity.
Fruits of the family
This now becomes a solid foundation to discover one’s mission, which is very much rooted and grounded in the relationship with the transcendent, with God. Identity and mission are fruits of a family that provides safe space and sacred space.
And there is no greater example than the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.
In God’s plan, Jesus left home and, with great clarity, came to confirm his identity and mission in his baptism: “You are my Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.”
