The Lord Remembers His Covenant Forever

12-31-2023Weekly ReflectionFr. Manasseh Iorchir, VC

The Sunday that falls within the Octave of Christmastide is dedicated to the celebration of the family, and so it is called “Holy Family Sunday.” This Sunday is meant to bring to the fore the blessing and merits of the institution of The Family which is so esteemed by the Church that she refers to it as the Domestic Church. What would the Church look like without the Family?

The lukewarm state of the Church in our time, to my mind, is a direct reflection of the state of the family in today’s society. A society that has lost a part of the family is sure to experience the chaos that has become very visible among us today. That is why the Church sets aside a very significant weekend to celebrate the blessing that the Family is and to hold out the Holy Family, and the living example of each member of that family, as models for us.

The First Reading reminds us that the salvation of the world passes by way of the family. Even the Creator who made all things out of nothing had to channel salvation to us through the family of Abraham, Sarah and Isaac their son. The promises made to Abraham would be fulfilled by God through his son Isaac who would later be counted as an ancestor of Christ in the flesh. The Gospel passage shows how through the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, these promises were fulfilled in the lineage of Abraham. The Lord remembers His covenant forever.

Most of us have wondered why St. Joseph, husband of Mary and foster father of Jesus, a man saddled with the uniquely weighty responsibility of fathering the Son of God is given very limited “airtime,” is not quoted verbatim in the Gospels, and in fact, fissles away from the Gospel narrative after the finding of Jesus in the Temple when Christ was 12 years old. When Joseph is mentioned in the Gospels, he gets a mention mostly in reference to either Jesus or Mary as father or spouse. This is because the focus of the Gospels is Jesus the Son of God, so Joseph, descendant of David, is mentioned to show that Christ is also the Son of David through Joseph. The Gospel this Sunday is one of the few passages that brings to the fore Joseph’s responsible fatherhood as a lesson to families. He and his Spouse, Mary, took Jesus to the Temple to introduce Him to the practices of their Jewish faith, and in the process met Simeon and Anna who made prophetic utterances concerning Christ. Like Joseph, every Christian father is the roof that shelters and protects his family from the elements of this world. It is a duty given to parents in general and fathers in particular to shield their families from the storms of hunger, lack of foundation, opportunity and ignorance. The Catholic faith has also been demonstrated to be best handed on by parents in the family under the reliable guidance of a father when he is available. When this shield is lacking in most families, we are likely to end up with an inhumane society that is ungodly in character. Unfortunately, contemporary society has been plagued by too many people, who for no fault of their own, have been denied the natural right of the shield that family is and so immorality and ungodliness reigns in many hearts that could have been set on the path of righteousness; if only they had the safety, the protection, the moral compass that family in general and fathers in particular affords.

May God bless us with Holy families following the example of the The Holy Family of Nazareth and may families that are passing through difficult times experience respite through God’s Grace.

Please be kind and may God bless you.

Fr. Manasseh