Families, I mean. Poor families, trying their best to raise their children decently, surrounded by a culture that scorns poverty. Broken families, trying to create new ways of being family—and getting little support. Families dealing with aging parents or sick children, ditto. City families, rural families, suburban families, large families, small families, single-parent families, childless families—they have one thing in common.

They’re all holy.

Because that’s how God made them.

True, there are a lot of dysfunctional families, in which addiction and domestic violence take their toll. But most families are really making heroic efforts to live in peace, to give their children better lives, and to care for those who need help.

The Feast of the Holy Family ordinarily gets short shrift because of its proximity to Christmas. Pastoral musicians are stressed out because of the demands of the season, knowing that their own families often get short shrift, too. Negotiate some compensatory time off to spend with your family and friends. It’s really important.

And please, please, do what you can to ensure that the long form of today’s Gospel is read. The truncated version—three sentences—omits the whole story of Simeon and Anna, those who recognized the Anointed One in this small child, blessed his parents, and thanked God—realizing clearly the challenges this family would face. Hearing that whole story, may we learn to see clearly the holiness in families all around us.