Homily for the Feast of the Holy Family

Family Is meant To Be An Ecclesiola— A Little Church

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Feast of the Holy Family

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Brooklyn Center, MN

Sunday, December 31, 2023

Nowadays, lots of people talk about what makes a family healthy, well integrated, functional and peaceful. But on this Feast of the Holy Family, we can see on full display, the one thing necessary that makes a family holy. Our Gospel passage (Luke 2:22-40) is the narrative of the Presentation of Jesus in the temple. What is the significance of the Presentation of Jesus in the temple? The temple was, in a practically literal sense, the dwelling place of Yahweh. In the temple, divinity and humanity met and embraced. In the temple, the human race was brought back in line with God. But according to the great prophet Ezekiel, the sins of the nation had caused the glory of the Lord to depart from the temple (Ezekiel 10:18-19). One of the deepest longings of ancient Israel was to rebuild and reestablish the temple as the place of right praise so that the glory of the Lord might return. When Mary and Joseph brought the infant Jesus into the temple, it was appreciated that the glory of Yahweh is returning to his rightful and favorite dwelling. This is what the old seer, Simeon, saw that made him to pray, “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace… for my eyes have seen the salvation, which you prepared in sight of all the people….” 

Check this out, everybody! At the Presentation, the whole family was present. Joseph was present. Mary was present. Jesus was present. Jesus was not presented in absentia. There was no stand-in for Mary or Joseph. The three were present in the temple, the dwelling place of Yahweh, the God of Israel. Lots of people are telling us what makes a family healthy. But the Church is interested in something more, something deeper. The great St. Pope John Paul II often said that the family is meant to be an ecclesiola— a little church. That means that the family is the forum in which the worship of God at home and in the church is the supreme value and discernment of mission is the supreme task. Parents should realize that their first responsibility is to teach their children to seek God’s wisdom, God’s will and purposes before worldly accomplishments. Early enough, parents should demonstrate the quality so clearly displayed in the Presentation of Jesus in the temple, which is, the willingness to make the family a domestic church, a little church that is rooted in God and in what matters to God. Make Mass attendance and participation, the great Catholic prayer, a sine qua non (something absolutely necessary), for it will make your family holy. 

Happy New Year, everybody!