HOLY OR GOOD?
12 years old. Our Gospel describes Jesus when he was 12 years old. And this is important because it reminds us that he did not necessary go off into the temple simply because he had extraordinary knowledge or some level of profound holiness, but because he is an adolescent! Of course he is going to run off on his own away from his parents!
Too often, I think we idealize Joseph and Mary as the ideal parents and Jesus as the ideal child – even if we know in our mind, they were not. We literally, put them on pedestals, which is good – but we need to understand why.
Today we celebrate the feast of the HOLY family, which is not the same as the ideal or good family.
CLICK HERE for the readings for the Feast of the Holy Family (1 Samuel 1:20-22, 24-28; 1 John 3:1-2; 21-24; Luke 2:41-52)