Today on this Feast of the Holy Family, I share a reflection and prayer from my book My Friend Joe: Reflections on St. Joseph.

The story of the Holy Family is alive and well today and will continue long into the future. For Christians, the Holy Family is our family. Pope Leo XIII asserts that this divine household “contained within its limits the scarce-born Church.” Mary, mother of Jesus, is the mother of all Christians. Jesus Christ is our brother. And Joseph, our foster father, “the Blessed Patriarch looks upon the multitude of Christians who make up the Church as confided specially to his trust, this limitless family spread over the earth … It is, then, natural and worthy that as the Blessed Joseph ministered to all the needs of the family at Nazareth and girt it about with his protection, he should now cover the cloak of his heavenly patronage and defend the Church of Jesus Christ.”

We are part of a limitless family. No matter our own experiences of family—nuclear, extended, or chosen—as Christians we are part of the family of God, a limitless family spread over the earth. And Joseph, who first was called to his role by the message of an angel, is there for us when we need him, ready to spread his cloak of mighty love around us, guiding us, comforting us, and protecting us as members of this limitless family of love.

Prayer for Families

St. Joseph, pray for us, your limitless family, bound together in love. Be with all families in good times and bad. Take special care of families separated for whatever reason. Defend us from ourselves, from our growing pains and insecurities, our hurts and complex family dynamics. Share our joy at new life and the promise of tomorrow. Be our comfort in times of trouble, and our guide always. Teach us your way of mighty love for our human family and daily care for Earth, our common home. St. Joseph, husband of Mary and father of Jesus, pray for us. Amen