This year (2024) the Feast of the Holy Family is Sunday December 29, 2024.
Why do we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family?
This feast day honors Jesus, the Blessed Mother, and St. Joseph as the holiest of families, and therefore a model for all Christians families. They were holy because they placed God at the center of their family life, they loved and sacrificed for one another, and they radiated that love to others in the redemptive mission of the Word Incarnate.
St. Pope John Paul II said, “The Redeemer of the world chose the family as the place for his birth and growth, thereby sanctifying this fundamental institution of every society” (Angelus message, 30 December 2001).
“… the Holy Family is the icon of the domestic Church, called to pray together.” – Pope Benedict XVI
The Church celebrates this Feast on the Sunday occurring between the Nativity of the Lord (December 25th) and Mary, Mother of God (January 1st). However, in some years these feasts occur on Sundays themselves, in which case the Feast of the Holy Family is celebrated on December 30th.
“Dear brothers and sisters, let us look to the Holy Family of Nazareth as an example for all Christian and human families.” – St. Pope John Paul II
Who are the members of the Holy Family?
Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and St. Joseph are the members of the Holy Family. The central figure is the Word-made-Flesh, the Son of God made man for the salvation of the world.
He was conceived in the Blessed Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit, so that Mary is His Mother according to His human nature. She is titled Mother of God because Her Son is a Divine Person.
St. Joseph, husband of Mary, while not the biological father of Jesus, was guided by an angel to assume the responsibilities of fatherhood and as the “Custodian of the Redeemer” (St. Pope John Paul II).
“[The Holy Family of Nazareth] radiates genuine love and charity, not only creating an eloquent example for all families, but also offering the guarantee that such love can be achieved in every family unit.” – St. Pope John Paul II
Where do we find accounts of the Holy Family in Scripture?
The history of the Holy Family is found in only two accounts, what are called the Infancy Narratives––the first two chapters of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.
Why did the Holy Family flee to Egypt?
King Herod the Great, a non-Jew who could only conceive of Christ’s Davidic kingship as threatening his own, sought to put the Child to death. Matthew 2:13-15 tells us,
Now when [the wise men] had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there till I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” And he rose and took the child and his mother by night, and departed to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt have I called my son.”
Writing to a Jewish audience, St. Matthew provides the Abrahamic and Davidic descent of Jesus, followed by an account of His Birth. In chapter 2 he tells of the visit of the Magi, King Herod’s pursuit of the Child and the flight into Egypt. He concludes his narrative with the return from Egypt to Nazareth, remaining silent on Jesus’ life in Nazareth. Jesus next appears as 30 years of age at His baptism by St. John (Mt. 3).
St. Luke provides the most detail of Jesus’ early life. His precision reflects his profession as a physician (Col. 4:14), his desire for an accurate account (Lk. 1:1-4), and details which could only have been obtained from the Blessed Virgin.
Luke begins with the conception of St. John and the Annunciation of the Lord. He continues with Mary’s visit to Elizabeth and the birth of the Baptist. He then provides an account of Nativity, the angels announcement to the shepherds, Jesus’ circumcision and presentation in the Temple, and Simeon’s and Anna’s recognition and prophecies. Luke concludes with the return to Nazareth, adding only one further detail, Jesus remaining in the Temple when He was 12 years old.
“As we read in holy Scripture, the birth of Jesus means the beginning of the fullness of time. It was the moment God chose to show the extent of his love for men, by giving us his own Son. And God’s will is fulfilled in the simplest, most ordinary of circumstances: a woman who gives birth, a family, a home. The power of God and his splendor come to us through a human reality to which they are joined. Since that moment Christians have known that, with God’s grace, they can and should sanctify everything that is good in their human lives. There is no human situation, no matter how trivial and ordinary it may seem, which cannot be a meeting-place with Christ and a step forward on our journey toward the kingdom of heaven.” – St. Josemaría Escrivá
“The charity which burned in the household at Nazareth should be an inspiration for every family.” – St. Pope John XXIII
“For every believer, and especially for Christian families, the humble dwelling place in Nazareth is an authentic school of the Gospel.” – St. Pope John Paul II