God chose to enter into the world through a human family, entrusting his only Son to a young virgin named Mary, and Joseph, who was a carpenter and member of the House of David.
The Holy Family was formed when Mary and Joseph gave their consent to be the parents of the Son of God. They raised Jesus in the town of Nazareth, observing the faith, customs, and practices of the Jewish people.
Jesus’ humble obedience to his human parents sanctified the family and began his mission to reverse the disobedience of Adam and Eve.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph are the image of what God intended a family to be, demonstrating the lifelong commitment and sacrificial love of husband and wife, the selfless devotion of parents, and the respectful submissiveness of children.
Although the Church dedicates major feast days to each individual member of the Holy Family, their life together is recognized as its own feast within the Octave of Christmas to highlight the connection with the Birth of Christ.
Catholics celebrate The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph on the Sunday between Christmas (December 25) and the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God (January 1) unless both of those feast days fall on Sunday.
Jesus was born into a human family:
God chose to be raised and to live in a family:
The Holy Family is real:
When the angels went away from them to Heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger.
Luke 2: 15-16
The family of Jesus deserves to be called holy:
A family that lived by God’s grace:
A model of Christian family virtues:
Christ chose to be born and grow up in the bosom of the Holy Family of Joseph and Mary. The Church is nothing other than “the family of God.” From the beginning, the core of the Church was often constituted by those who had become believers “together with all [their] household.” When they were converted, they desired that “their whole household” should also be saved. These families who became believers were islands of Christian life in an unbelieving world.
Catechism of the Catholic Church 1655
A holy family in spite of challenges:
A realistic example of the holiness of family life:
Indeed, the House of Nazareth is a school of prayer where one learns to listen, meditate on and penetrate the profound meaning of the manifestation of the Son of God, following the example of Mary, Joseph and Jesus. The Discourse of the Servant of God Paul VI during his Visit to Nazareth is memorable. The Pope said that at the school of the Holy Family we “understand why we must maintain a spiritual discipline, if we wish to follow the teaching of the Gospel and become disciples of Christ”. He added: “In the first place it teaches us silence. Oh! If only esteem for silence, a wonderful and indispensable spiritual atmosphere, could be reborn within us! Whereas we are deafened by the din, the noise and discordant voices in the frenetic, turbulent life of our time. O silence of Nazareth! Teach us to be steadfast in good thoughts, attentive to our inner life, ready to hear God’s hidden inspiration clearly and the exhortations of true teachers.”
Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience, 28 December 2011
Celebrating the Holy Family where they lived:
The Truth, Goodness, and Beauty of the Catholic Church
Saying “no” to sin, and “yes” to Jesus:
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