Bishop Paolo's Homily for the Feast of the Holy Family

Abu Dhabi.

Dear brothers and sisters,

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family of Nazareth. Therefore, today is the feast of all families called to be homes of holiness and mutual love.

First of all, it is beautiful that the liturgy, after having celebrated the birth of Jesus, now indicates the fundamental relationships in which Jesus grew up. In fact, without the Holy Family, we cannot truly understand who Jesus is for us and the mystery of the incarnation of God.

The word of God was made flesh: this was the good news of Christmas. But becoming flesh, truly becoming a man like us, also for Jesus meant being born into a web of human relationships. Jesus did not enter the world as a mythological character who suddenly appeared on the world stage. Like each of us, Jesus also needed a family context to be born and grow as a man.

Incarnate by the work of the Holy Spirit, Jesus needed to walk the path proper to every child. He needed Mary's care and cure and the paternity of Saint Joseph. In this way, Jesus sanctified family relationships. He taught us that our families need to be places of welcome for life and human growth. Jesus redeemed man. Jesus also saved and purified all family relationships. For this reason, every family is called to look towards the Holy Family, trying to imitate that simple and cordial lifestyle.

Significantly, the liturgy today offers us that page of the Gospel where the holy family of Nazareth has to face great hardship. Jesus' life is threatened, and the holy family has to emigrate to Egypt. Therefore, we understand that the Holy Family of Nazareth does not represent an abstract ideal in which there are no problems to deal with. On the contrary, the Gospel offers us an image of a family that, precisely because it is united, can also face extraordinary hardships. The Nazareth family presents as a family of migrants who had to leave their land. There were many threats to baby Jesus, but the Holy Family could face them promptly and with serenity.

We know that family life today can be marked by many hardships and tribulations. As we know, the Church has devoted much attention to the family. There are many documents from our recent Popes who have tried to help the family, concretely looking at the new and old problems that need to be addressed. I invite you to read documents such as Amoris Laetitia.

Indeed, the epochal change that we are going through all over the world also affects the family. We must rediscover its meaning and support ourselves by facing new challenges confidently. Difficulties that in the past seemed to be of minor importance today appear to be significant problems.

In this perspective, it is good to keep in mind the recommendations that the book of Ecclesiasticus offers us regarding the importance of caring for the relationships between parents and children. They are an invitation to live family life with faith every day: honouring the father and mother is not a formal invitation, but it means recognizing that every child who comes into the world receives life from God through the relationship with the family, with parents and siblings.

All of us are called to live as children of God, to recognize our Father in heaven as our true father. But this life of grace passes through the family relationships in which we are placed.
In the family, we learn to say thank you for every gift. We learn to ask each other for forgiveness when we make mistakes. We learn to be courteous, support each other, accept limits, and grow in goodness. I invite all families never to end a day without asking each other for forgiveness and without a short prayer together. It is so beautiful when a family can pray together. Of course, every family is limited and must be open to other families and the life of the Church and society. Every family must be able to find in the Christian community help for their journey.

Dear parents and children, let us journey together. Let us share our problems with those who can help us. We learn from the family of Nazareth, from Jesus, Joseph, and Mary, the joy of walking together even through difficulties.

I conclude with a brief phrase from Saint Paul VI: “May Nazareth teach us what family life is, its communion of love, its austere and simple beauty, and its sacred and inviolable character. Let us learn from Nazareth that the formation received at home is gentle and irreplaceable. Let us learn the prime importance of the role of the family in the social order.”

May the Lord grant all families the joy of love in daily life.