HOMILY FOR THE HOLY FAMILY SUNDAY YEAR B

1. Sr 3:2-6,12-14

2.Col 3:12-21

Gospel: Lk 2:22,39-40

                                 " Priority of Family Life"

A story is told about a father and his son. One day when the father returned from work his son asks him the following question: " Daddy, how much do you make an hour?" The father is surprised and says: " Look, son, not even your mother knows. Don't bother me now, I'm tired." " But Daddy, just tell me please! How much do you make an hour?" the boy insists. The father finally gives up and replies: " Twenty dollars." " Okay, Daddy," the boy continues, " Could you loan me ten dollars?" The father gets annoyed and yells at him: " So that was the reason you asked how much I earn, right? Now go to sleep and don't bother me anymore!" At night the father thinks more over his son's request and what he had said to his son and he started feeling guilty. May be his son needed to buy something. Finally he goes to his son's room. " Are you asleep, son?" asks the father. " No, Daddy. Why?" replies the boy. " Here is the money you asked for earlier," the father said. " Thanks, Daddy!" replies the boy and receives the money. Then he reaches under his pillow and brings out some more money. " Now I have enough! Now I have twenty dollars!" says the boy to his father, "  Daddy, Daddy could you sell me one hour of your time?" Today's gospel has the message for this man and for all of us, and the message is that we need to invest more of our time in our family life.

Today we are celebrating the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. We are celebrating this feast on Sunday  after Christmas by which we give honor and respect to a family whose lives are our role models especially for these times of ours by which the family is in danger in and out.

Why the family is in danger in and out? This is because it is the subject of social manipulation and experimentation, a tragedy with far- reaching implications.  We may use the name 'family' to describe whatever we please, but God has made plain through Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, His will for every family. Every child has a right to enjoy the security of committed love and consistent example, both of a man-father and a woman-mother. If any woman was capable of running a household singlehandedly, Our Lady was, and God might be very well have asked Mary to go it alone, but he didn't. He called on Joseph to marry, love and protect Our Lady and to be the foster-father of the God-Man, Jesus. God demands that each child have the gift of an authentic family life.

What is happening to our families today? What are the forces undermining family life nowadays? In order to get some perspectives on the present state of family life, we need to understand that the devil is always at work to destroy families. In his talk Dr. Peter Kreeft a professor of philosophy at Boston College. In his talk he outlines what he calls, " Satan's spectacularly successful seven steps sexual strategy." This talk gives an explanation of how the devil is working in our world right now to destroy families and even the whole human race.

Step 1: In Satan's strategy- this is the devil's ultimate goal: winning souls for hell.

Step 2: In order for Satan to win many souls for hell, society must be corrupted.

Step3: To effectively destroy society, family life must be undermined-because strong families are necessary in order to have strong societies.

Step4: In order to destroy the family, you must destroy its foundation-stable marriage.

Step5:Marriage is destroyed by loosening  its glue which is sexual fidelity.

Step6: Fidelity is destroyed by promoting and defending the sexual revolution.

Step7: The sexual revolution is promoted and defended by the media-through which the seeds of destruction are sown into the minds of millions of people every day.

I would say that Dr. Kreeft answers all those questions briefly but accurately with those seven Satanic steps. And at least we think that the people in the media are becoming more responsible in what they're putting on the air for human consumption, we had better to think again about that.

The feast of the Holy Family invites us to ask ourselves on the main concerns of every family.

First, the family provides an affirming atmosphere. The psychologists have a term for families whose relationship are mature and healthy. These are functional systems where despite being imperfect human beings, parents provide an affirming atmosphere and children grow with positive regard for self and others. The functional family provides a safe, nurturing environment for children where love and acceptance lie at the core of their system despite disagreements and disciplinary problems. They dialogue, express feelings and trust in each other's love.

Second, prayer life takes place in the family first. There are three settings in which family's prayer life takes. One is, there is the personal setting. In this setting family members pray to God on his/her own. For example, a father prays on his way to work. A mother prays over her sick baby. A boy/girl prays before going to bed etc. There are several ways to pray alone: We can pray the basic prayers like the Lord's prayer and reflecting on the words as we go; we can pray from scripture by reading paragraph by paragraph and meditating on it; we can pray in our own words by speaking to God spontaneously from our hearts and many more.

The other one is family prayer setting in a group. In this prayer setting the family members pray together. For example, they pray together around the table at meal times. They pray together before retiring for bed. They pray together at other appropriate times. And lastly, there is communal prayer setting. In this setting the family gathers with other families for a prayer. Of course, it is not always possible for families to celebrate this communal prayer together but there should be times when the family makes an effort to do this.

Lastly, it is in the family that we first learn what Christian life is all about. The family is the basic unit of society and the Church. It is in the family that we first learn to communicate, that we learn what is good and bad. That we learn to love. It is in the family that we learn to forgive. It is in the family that we learn to value ourselves and others. The future of humanity depends on the family because it is through family that we all come. Bear in mind that there are many attempts to destroy the family in our times and if the family will be destroyed, our world will crumble because all humanity comes through the family. There are many attempts today to redefine the family but they do not reflect God's plan for the family. The family that prays together stays together.

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