FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY: REFLECTION BY FR. JULIAN EKEH

THEME: MOVE YOUR FAMILY FORWARD

(Matthew 2:13-15.19-23)

Today is the feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Today, God reveals to Joseph as the protector of the family, being the Father, His will for every Family. Do you know the will of God for your family? Do you have any dream concerning your family and what God has planned for your family? With the aid of today's Gospel Reading, let us try to figure out what God desires from each and everyone of our homes.

That you may move along together

Addressing the father in the person of Joseph, God said: "Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee..." The family is never a place of individualism, it is not a place of suffering or enjoying alone. 'Alonism' has no place in the family of the Children of God. To move forward, to rise, to ascend, to improve, to develop a family must act as one. They must not allow anything to put a knife on the thing holding them together so that they may remain firm and not fall apart. Who is that person in your family you sidetrack? Who is that member of your family you relegate to the background? Who is that person in your home you leave behind during decision making? Who is that family member you fail to take seriously because of his disadvantaged situation in physique, finance, or education? Reason together, move ahead together, go as one, the father with the mother and children. This is a complete family. Always go together if you want to succeed. Don't leave anyone behind if not the enemy will come from behind and do havoc through him. Go to Church together. Be together always. Pray together even. The family that prays together stays together.

Flee from trouble

Some families are well-known for their troublemaking. Some are known for their no-nonsense character. Some must retaliate whatever evil done to them. But the lesson from the Holy family today is that you may have all it takes to fight back but it is more honourable to run from trouble. Onye ujo jikwanu ndu ya na onye ike. Just see Jesus (God) running from ordinary Herod(man)

And it must come to pass

No bad condition in your family can be permanent. So have strong hope that someday God will overpower the Herods fighting against your family. And till he dies, remain in the state where God wants you to be. God will reinstate you at the appropriate time, all you have lost will be returned to you. Be patient, training your children. You will be rewarded. Be strong in facing that challenge. It will never break you.

Take council from God

The downfall of many families today is that they listened to evil councillors. Seek the mind of God when you are in confusion. Do not divorce that your wife, do not disown that your child, do not sell that family property, do not intimidate that your brother. Those giving you bad advice go behind to mock your family. Never go to them for they are incompetent to hear your family problems. Come together and resolve whatever issue amicably.

May the peace, love, joy and blessings of the Lord abide with you and your family now and for ever. May your family grow from strength to strength. May your homes be a place you can always go and find solace. May God break every chain of discord in our families and make our families as blessed as the Holy family through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Happy Christmas to you and Happy Feast of the Holy Family (Year A)

Rev Fr Julian O Ekeh

 Feast of the Holy Family, Year C: Homily by Fr. Isaac Chima

Theme: Imitating the virtues of the Holy Family

Readings: 1 Sam 1:20-22,24-28; 1 Jn 3:1-2,21-24; Lk 2:41-52

Dear brothers and sisters, today is a great feast that celebrates the beauty of an institution established by God from creation – the Family. The Church presents us the wonderful family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph as a model of every Christian family; she invites us to learn some virtues from them so that we would be to build up our own families in accordance with the will of God. 

The first reading showed us how a mother, who appreciated the fact that children are gifts from God, helped her son to know God and to enter into God’s service for all the rest of his life. The psalm reminds us how lovely God’s house is and how blessed those who make this house theirs would be. If we make our families the dwelling for God, we will be happy and blessed. In the second reading, St. John showcases love as the uniting force for all those who are children of God and, consequently, for every family. There cannot be a family if love is absent. In the gospel, we saw the amount of love the father and mother of Jesus showered on Him by not relenting until they had found Him and ensured that He was safe. We equally saw the obedience of Jesus to his parents. There are some wonderful lessons we can learn from the three persons (Jesus, Mary, and Joseph) of the Holy Family.

Now, let us turn our attention to the person of Joseph to learn some virtues of a husband in the family. Joseph was a man who showed perfect love, devotion, and care for his wife, Mary, even in the most extreme circumstances. Every husband should be a man of devotional love and care to his wife in all circumstances of life.

Joseph did not want to disgrace his wife when he found out that she was pregnant outside their marriage. What does this teach us? It tells us that every husband should seek what is best for his wife. Tolerance is the key.

Joseph was a protector of the Holy Family, especially in times of danger, guiding the Holy Family to Egypt and back to protect them from the Massacre of Herod. Dear friends, every husband should protect his family from all threats to peaceful existence.

With Mary, Joseph searched for Jesus when he was lost in the temple. Loving parents would always search for their children whenever they were not where they wanted them to be. They will not allow their children to be lost to bad friendships in the society.

Let us also look at the person of Mary. Her silence and faith in God are golden. She was a woman of faith, who believed in God and put herself at the service of God and her husband. Any woman who is close to God would love her husband and children unconditionally.

The peaceful home of the holy family was a demonstration that Mary was a woman of peace and few words. Peace should be the second name of every woman in the family. Every woman ought to be a messenger of peace, love, and care to her husband and children. Mary was a caring mother to her family, a housekeeper who was close to her son. Every woman ought to be a homemaker and a close friend to her children to know their needs and problems.

Together, parents have the responsibility to build a home where peace, love, care, and tolerance will be present; a family where children can grow in love and peace. Marriage is an institution of love.

Parents have the duty to train their children not only in school but also in the faith. Dear parents, teach your children faith in God, a good moral life, and good societal values, and they will be wonderful treasures to you. The family is the microcosm church, the first place where the children learn about God and morality. Therefore, parents should unite their families in prayer and the word of God every day. A family that prays together stays together. Do not forget to lead them to church to hear the word of God. The book of Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train your child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

How about the children? Obedience is the duty every child owes to parents. Christ was obedient to his parents: He obeyed and followed them back to Nazareth when they found him in the temple teaching the teachers of the law; He obeyed Mary at the marriage in Cana and, thus, performed his first miracle. Obedience to parents is the requirement of the fourth commandment. It says, “Honour your father and your mother that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives you.” (Exodus 20:12). This is the only commandment that has a promise attached to it. Children should not grieve their parents by the type of friends they make, and they should not abandon their parents in their old age. 

I end this homily with the advice of Saint Paul to families in Ephesians 6:1-4: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honour your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise, that it may be well with you and that you may live long on the earth. Fathers and mothers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”

May your family be blessed.

Fr. Isaac C. Chima

 HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS, MARY AND JOSEPH, YEAR C: REFLECTION BY FR. JULIAN EKEH

THEME: HANDLING THE CHALLENGES FACING OUR FAMILIES TODAY

(Luke 2:41-52)

The family is made of the Father, the Mother, and the children. The Catholic Church today celebrates the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. She wants us to ponder on the importance of the family, the worries and challenges of the family, and the blessings God has lavished upon and wishes to bestow upon our families.

Whether good or bad, our families are important to us. Their goodness keeps our shoulders high, and their shortcomings challenge us to step up. Parents are worried by a lot of things about their children, they are worried by their upkeep, worried about their future, worried about the company they keep, worried about their unnecessary attachment to phone and the social media, worried about their 'prayerlessness', disturbed about their addictions, mad at the type of wears they put on etc.

These worries were there for the Holy Family. But in the midst of them all, they went to Jerusalem for a feast. Let it not be worries alone. Go up to Jerusalem with your family, with your family problems, with your Thanksgiving, with rejoicing. Yes, it is there that the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord. Try and make your family the household of God by going up to get empowerment from God's house.

As they went up, Jesus got lost. As you journey to make your family an ideal one, challenges will certainly come up. Mary and Joseph searched and searched but couldn't find Jesus. He was actually in his Father's House. There He was found on the third day. This is interesting. As a young boy or girl, member of the family, where are you found when you're looked for?

There are a lot of good things your parents look for in you. What do they find? When they look for care, what do you give? When they want love, what do they find? When they want to talk to you, what do they get? Their son chatting away?

It gives joy too to find out that One's parents look after him/her.

When they found Jesus, He went with them and lived under their authority. Never allow your children to wander like sheep without a shepherd.

May God bless all families of the world.

May God bring peace to every family facing any form of crisis.

May God make our families His own abode.

May God give us good health, a long life, and prosperity in our various families.

May our families be true homes.

May God put a final stop to all the unnecessary worries of our families and fill us with happiness, joy, and love.

May Jesus, Mary, and Joseph bring the reign of God in our homes in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Happy Holy Family Sunday, Merry Christmas.

Rev Fr Julian O Ekeh