Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph

Parents are the primary educators of the Catholic faith to their children. I have been blessed to have two amazing faith-filled parents that have instilled a love of the faith and a love of Jesus Christ in me. They were not overbearing; they gave us (I have three brothers and a sister) the opportunity to learn about our faith and then modeled for us a commitment that shaped our faith lives.

In today’s Gospel (Lk 2:41-52), Jesus models for us an unwavering commitment to the Father. At the age of twelve, Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem after the Feast of Passover. After several days and quite a bit of worrying, his parents found him in temple. He asked them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” In some interpretations of this Gospel, Mary is initially upset by this. “But they didn’t understand what he said to them.” At the age of twelve, it may not have been normal for Jesus to see God as his Father rather than Joseph, and this could be the reason for that interpretation.

Ultimately, Mary recognizes Jesus’ commitment to our Father. She herself has an incredible commitment of Faith in God the Father. I can’t help but reflect on the Gospel and think of the commitment that my mother and father have had throughout their lives and the way that they passed along that commitment to my siblings and me, and it is my responsibility to do the same for my children. My hope is that we all strive to pass along our commitment to our faith just as Mary did for Jesus.

Happy Feast of the Holy Family, and may God bless you and your families this Advent season.

Andy Kremer is the Associate Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana. He lives in Fishers with his wife Nikki and two children, Riley and Easton, and is a parishioner at Saint Louis de Montfort (Fishers).