St Bernadette Church, Bayou Vista
Holy Family Sunday
Theme: Walking with Holy Family
Today, as we honor the Holy Family—Jesus, Mary, and Joseph—the Scriptures invite us to look honestly at family life, not as an idealized picture, but as a sacred place where love is tested, refined, and lived.
The Book of Sirach reminds us: “God sets a father in honor over his children; a mother’s authority he confirms over her sons… Whoever honors his parents makes atonement for sins.”
These words are beautiful, but they speak to real life. Family is holy not because it is perfect, but because it is where love demands patience, sacrifice, forgiveness, and perseverance. So today, I invite you to look honestly at your own family—not the family you wish you had, not the family others see, but the family you carry in your heart.
Many of us come here carrying heavy burdens. Some are caring for loved ones with serious illness. Some are exhausted from tending to elderly parents, living out Sirach’s words: “My child, help your parent when they are old.” Some are raising children with special needs. Others carry quiet grief. If that is you, please know this: you are not alone.
There was a family in a community I once served who experienced this kind of suffering. When illness entered their home, everything changed. Time for church activities slowly disappeared. Even coming to Mass became difficult. Prayer felt dry. Faith felt silent. But God had not left them.
Sometimes we think faith only counts when we are strong—when we attend everything and do everything “right.” But through the Holy Family and Saint Paul’s words to the Colossians, God reminds us otherwise: “Put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience… And over all these put on love.”
Faith is not measured by activity, but by love.
Mary and Joseph knew fear and uncertainty. They ran for their child’s life. They worked with tired hands. They trusted God, often in silence. When life becomes overwhelming, faith does not disappear—it grows quieter and deeper.
Faith becomes a hand held in a hospital room, a parent awake through the night, a caregiver choosing patience, a tired whisper, “Lord, help me.” Saint Paul assures us: “Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus.” That prayer—spoken or unspoken—reaches heaven.
If you feel guilty because you can no longer do what you once did for the Church, hear this: God sees you. God understands you. God is very close to you. Your home becomes sacred when love is offered in suffering. Your patience becomes prayer. Your endurance becomes worship.
The Holy Family also reminds us that we do not walk this journey alone. Just as Jesus grew within a family, God places us within a parish family—a spiritual home where faith is shared and strengthened. Our parish is not just a place we attend, but a community we belong to and help nurture. When we care for our parish family through prayer, presence, and love, our own faith is nurtured. Faith grows when we walk together.
Jesus knows what it means to live within a family and to carry a cross. When you carry one for someone you love, you walk very close to Him.
So today, if you feel weak, let God be your strength.
If you feel empty, let God receive your offering.
If all you can say is, “Jesus, I trust you,” that is enough.
On this Holy Family Sunday, may we stop judging our faith by what we cannot do and begin trusting that God is present in what we are doing—loving, enduring, forgiving, and hoping.
May the Holy Family embrace every tired parent, every caregiver, and every hurting heart. And may we remember always: faith lived in love is never wasted. Let us walk with the Holy Family.
