As we Celebrate the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph we hear of the great efforts that were made by Joseph to protect young Jesus from those who wished Him harm.  After warnings from the Angel of The Lord, Joseph moved the family twice.  First to Egypt until Herod’s death and then returning back to Israel, ultimately to the city of Nazareth to avoid the threat of Herod’s heir, Archelaus.

   This Gospel reminds us of our own call to protect the Body of Christ.  One of the ways is through our actions as Catholics out in the world.  We are the Body of Christ and when others who know we are Catholic see our actions, their view of Christ may be formed by our example.  Will they see Christ as we see Him or will they see a hypocrite who says one thing and does the other.  When we pray The Lord’s Prayer and say, “Hallowed be Thy Name” we are praying that His name be Holy in us; that our actions and all that we do give Glory to Him.  We cannot make His name Holy as He is Holy, independent of us.  What we can do however is work each day to honor God and seek to have every one of our actions model Christ as the example He gave to us.

   Another way we do this is in how we give of ourselves in order to help the Church fulfill the mission given to Her by Jesus.  As we approach the New Year and consider all the ways we will be better versions of ourselves, we may also consider ways that we can give back to God in thanks for the Sacrifice of His only Son for our salvation.  In what ways can we volunteer our time and talents?  Have we reviewed our financial blessings and made an increased effort to give back through our tithe?  It is so easy to allow life to manage us which can lead us down a path which may separate us from God.  We must make priorities of our time in order to ensure that we are doing what we can to be the Body of Christ.  Let the model of The Holy Family help guide us in making these choices.  Just as Jesus, Mary and Joseph gave their entire lives towards our salvation, let us give more of ours in thanksgiving for their sacrifice.