Happy New Year! Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family. We need to learn lessons from the Holy Family: The Church encourages us to look to the Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph for inspiration, example and encouragement. They were a model family in which both parents worked hard, helped each other, understood and accepted each other, and took good care of their Child so that He might grow up not only in human knowledge but also as a Child of God.
In today’s world, we need to make the family a confessional rather than a courtroom. A senior Judge once congratulated the bride and groom in a marriage and gave them a pertinent piece of advice: “See that you never convert your family into a courtroom; instead let it be a confessional. If the husband-and-wife start arguing like attorneys in an attempt to justify their behavior, their family becomes a court of law and nobody wins. On the other hand, if the husband and the wife — as in a confessional — are ready to admit their faults and try to correct them, the family becomes a Heavenly one.”
As we begin this new year, make the resolution that we treat all people as our family. Let us inspire them and be inspired. Let us forgive them and seek forgiveness. Let us work to bring peace to all whom we meet.
