Most families can remember the question “Are we there yet?”. Of course, there are many variations. – How long until Christmas? When can I go out to play? And many more…

As we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family so many questions come to my mind about Jesus’ childhood.

As they struggled to get to the safety of Egypt, Jesus was probably too small to ask “are we there yet”. But I wondered how long they stayed. Did he ask that question as he and his parents journeyed to a land he had not seen?

As I began to list other questions in my mind, I realized there is so much I don’t know about the family we call The Holy Family.

What do we know… and not know about the Holy Family?

We know very little

All we know from the Scriptures are the facts of the Holy Family’s journey to Egypt, their return to Nazareth, and how His parents lost the twelve-year-old boy Jesus while they were visiting Jerusalem.

We are reasonably certain Jesus spent 30 of his 33 years of earthly existence with his family and companions in Nazareth in Galilee.

We also know he grew in wisdom, age, and grace.

Everything else we think we know is conjecture!

What we don’t know?

What was it like traveling with a newborn? And then, sometime later, traveling when he might not even have been able to walk.

What were the joys and frustrations of teaching him to walk, to sleep through the night? What were his toys? When did they teach him to say his prayers? Did they teach him to make up his mind, to forgive others?

What stories and maxims did he learn from them? What did Mary and Joseph teach by their example? They probably went about their lives living according to the strict rule for males and females in a heavily patriarchal society… rules much different from our own!

How did Jesus arrive at his understanding of “mother and father” as “whoever does the will of my father in heaven.”( Matthew 12:50)

When did he realize he knew the scriptures better than his first teachers?

So many questions!

What can we learn from the Feast of the Holy Family?

Pope Francis offers us some thoughts about family in a lengthy document, Amoris Laetitia.  He offers no stereotype of the ideal family, but rather sees “a challenging mosaic made up of many different realities, with all their joys, hope, and problems.” He takes as given that the life of each family is marked by many forms of crises.

Pope Francis thanks God for the many families who might think they are far from considering themselves perfect, but live in love, fulfill their calling and keep moving forward, even if they fall many times along the way.

He is also mindful that “Not all have a good experience of “family”.

He prays “As we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, let us thank the Lord for the gift of family.”

T.Klein writes

“Christ forms all of his saints. His grace makes them into the men and the women they become. That is true of Joseph and Mary as well, but their singular status derives from their vocation of forming the Christ himself, of parenting Jesus.”

Isn’t it parents’ privilege to teach their children the marvels of being children of God and the body of Christ today?

What are your questions about…

• The Holy Family?
• Your family of origin?
• Whatever family you are in today?

Click below for an audio version of this Vincentian Mindwalk