Holy Family
30/December/2007 Filed in:
JottingsThe comparatively modern feast of the Holy Family is difficult to celebrate liturgically — at any rate, many of us who live in monasteries tend to be unenthusiastic about it. The Christmas Octave contains so much, and already we are looking forward to the Octave Day, 1 January, Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God (we are holding back this week's podcast until New Year's Eve for obvious reasons). Perhaps one difficulty stems from the fact that the very concept of "family" has undergone so many transitions. The Jesus-Mary-and-Joseph model isn't much help if one simply dwells on the perfection of its constituent members. Perhaps there is something there about growth in holiness which can be useful to us who are imperfect. Hope so.