When I was in the seminary 40 years ago, the Holy Family struck me as a very strange model for the perfect Christian family.  After all, there was pregnancy first, marriage second.  In those days, that was frowned upon.  Today, outside of religious circles, it barely raises an eyebrow.  Also, in the Holy Family we see a husband and wife who loved each other deeply but, nevertheless, abstained from all sexual intimacy.  That aspect seemed especially strange until I saw it in its cultural context.  Marriages were arranged between two families for financial reasons.  Rarely did romance have anything to do with it.  Also, for most of Church history there were some Catholic spouses who voluntarily refrained from sex as a spiritual discipline.  Yes, having many children was a primary social obligation, but there was room for exceptions.  Abstinence from sex for spiritual reasons wasn’t common, but it was understood, and it was not considered weird.
 
So, Mary, Joseph, and Jesus was an atypical, a non-traditional family.  And today there are new and proliferating examples of non-traditional families.  Adopted children, blended families, single parent families, children with three or four parents (biological and genetic), children with same sex parents, and the list goes on.  Many Catholic families will notice themselves on this list.
 
Living a Christian life today in any family is a challenge and may even be a struggle.  This may be especially so in some non-traditional families.  In the face of family pressures, it might help to appreciate anew the relevance of the Holy Family.  Recall what they experienced. They worked hard for the little they had.  They faced a difficult and unexpected pregnancy.  They were forced from their home and country by government persecution.  And in today’s Gospel story we see Mary and Joseph facing every parent’s worst nightmare, a missing child.  The Holy Family was no stranger to everyday life, its stresses, its problems, and its crises.
 
Having endured what every family faces, then, Joseph, Mary, and Jesus are good models to call upon in prayer.  They are ready to help and support your family in everyday life situations. 
 
Non-traditional families may have a special need for God’s help.  We know that some non-traditional families suffer social or even religious disapproval of their way of being families.  At times such disapproval is justified; other times it is not.  You know, our Church does not pretend to have total, unrestricted access to the mind of God.  Then, it’s quite possible for God to understand and accept some things the Church has difficulty with.  And, that which God accepts, God graces with divine help.  So, may the prayers of Mary and Joseph help you.  May the grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ be with your families.  And may our loving savior sustain all families who are striving to know and follow Him.