December 29, 2002

"We've always done it this way." From generation to generation, family traditions are hands on. Especially at Christmas, we relish the traditional customs that our grandparents passed on to us. In this feast, we see the Holy Family continuing a long and holy "family" tradition.

What are your dearest family Christmas traditions? Is it the Polish Wigilia Supper that is complete with mom's homemade pierogis? Only how she can make them! For another, it is decorating a tree with their ornaments given them through the years. It is a true time for gathering and telling stories, baking your best cookie or dessert. Rituals and family values let us know who we are.

In today's feast, we see Joseph, Mary and the child Jesus walking in the tradition of an old and extended family. The first reading and the Psalm express the core values that were handed onto them from generations of faithful Jews. In the Gospel, we see them performing the age-old ritual of presenting their first born to the Lord. There the holy elders, Simeon and Anna, encourage them, saying that the promises handed on from generation to generation will be fulfilled in Jesus.

How are we to become holy? The responsibility for our holiness does not exist entirely on each of us, or on our nuclear family. Holiness is a family tradition that is fostered in us the more we connect with our Christian family histories, rituals, and "brothers and sisters" in faith. By doing so, we pass on the family tradition of holiness to our children, as Joseph and Mary did.

SO THE QUESTION: WHAT STORY, RITUAL OR VALUE DOES YOUR FAMILY HOLD DEAR?

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