The Feast of the Holy Family is the first Sunday after Christmas. For 2021, it is the day after Christmas!
The Holy Family consists of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. They serve as a holy example for our families and us. As Blessed Pope Paul VI said, we meditate on the Holy Family that it may “teach us what family life is, its communion of love, its austere and simple beauty, and its sacred and inviolable character.” In this novena, we will reflect on different aspects of the members of the Holy Family and different events that took place in their lives to help our families and us grow in holiness.
About the Holy Family
Mary was betrothed to Joseph before the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to announce that she would conceive the Son of God. When Joseph found out, he decided that he would divorce her quietly, but an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him to trust Mary. Mary joined Joseph when he traveled to his hometown, Bethlehem, for the census. It was there that Mary gave birth to Jesus. The Feast of the Holy Family is celebrated the Sunday after we celebrate the birth of Christ (i.e., the Sunday after Christmas).
God chose to come into world as a child in a family. Like most families, His family shared very real joys and sorrows. By meditating on the Holy Family, may we learn what holiness looks like for our families during both joyful and sorrowful times.
