The feast of the Holy Family offers a time to “consider how it is that we can really bring holiness into our family life” as well as opportunities to encounter the Christ child, Archbishop Bernard Hebda said.
“Jesus, who was born, is born as part of a family, and that’s the natural unit that God chooses for revealing to us the love that he has in his heart and the love that’s manifested then in the life of Jesus,” Archbishop Hebda told “Practicing Catholic” radio show producer Kayla Mayer. “There are so many ways that God could have planned our redemption, and yet he chose this very special way in which the second person of the Holy Trinity would take on human flesh, be born in Bethlehem and into a family.”
The archbishop said admiring a Nativity scene can help reflection on the feast day, this year celebrated on Dec. 31.
“Their focus is not just on Jesus, but also on the others who are involved and most especially on the Blessed Mother and St. Joseph,” Archbishop Hebda said of Nativity scenes. During the Christmas season, “we have that opportunity then to think about how it is that they form such a holy family.”
To hear Archbishop Hebda share how the Holy Family can model how Catholics can approach their own families, listen to the full episode of “Practicing Catholic” when it debuts at 9 p.m. Dec. 29 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM, or when it repeats at 1 p.m. Dec. 30 and 2 p.m. Dec. 31.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest “Practicing Catholic” show also includes Deacon Joe Michalak and Gizzy Miko from the archdiocese’s Office of Synod Evangelization, who explain how to connect with upcoming small groups in parishes; and Father Michael Van Sloun, who talks about the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.
Listen to interviews after they have aired at PracticingCatholicShow.com or choose a streaming platform at Spotify for Podcasters.
