Marian Helper • Winter 2025-26 • Marian.org 19 Gather together It’s through the Holy Family that all families are gathered together at Christmas. Mary and Joseph gather their family together at Christmas, just as once they gathered all their guests into the stable. Even though the cave and stable may seem like the last place you would want to entertain your Christmas guests, St. Alphonsus adds, “now that [Jesus] is born and is lying on the straw, the cave is no longer horrible, but [has] become a paradise.” The Holy Family makes the inhospitable place into a beacon of hospitality for shepherds and kings alike and for us. They do this, however, not through rich adornments and decorations, but the warmth of their love. Saint Teresa of Calcutta offered this prayer for families at Christmas: “My prayer for you is that when Christ comes to you in Christmas, he may find in you a warm home, warm love like that of a heartful of love, like that of a simple shepherd who was the first one chosen to see Christ.” Family time Christmas spent with family may often seem like a time of contention and strife. Families can be so divided and broken. Nevertheless, despite all the odds against it, Christmas with family is often a place of healing, not hardship. This is true for individual families because it’s true for the whole human family. This is true because of the first Christmas in Bethlehem, writes Pope St. John Paul II: “A helpless Newborn Child in a lowly cave restores dignity to every life being born, and brings hope to those overcome by doubt and discouragement. He has come to heal life’s wounds and to restore meaning to death itself.” It’s to be hoped that we are reminded that the Nativity scene is not just a quaint, sentimental ornament that decorates our homes during Advent and Christmas. The Holy Family is the foundation of all homes, the new beginning of the entire human story. Time to consecrate! That’s why my new book, 33 Days to the Holy Family: Consecration to Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, written with Scott L. Smith, Jr., is so important. You most likely would agree that there is a lot of confusion today regarding the family. No matter where you look, governments, organizations, and institutions are promoting new definitions of family and marriage, women and men. They can’t all be right! Shouldn’t there be a God-given blueprint for this stuff, models that we can look to in order to know what these things actually are? The answer is yes. Catholicism has the blueprints! It’s Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, the Holy Family. The Holy Family serves as the pattern and model for marriage and family, demonstrating what these are, as well as the correct understanding of masculinity and fatherhood, femininity and motherhood, babies and children. Now is the time to promote and defend the family and the Holy Family! Now is the time to be consecrated to the Holy Family! This is why we need another 33-day consecration book. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph are our way out of the mess we’re in. They’re the answer! With their guidance, and by consecrating ourselves to them, we can help restore order and common sense to a straying civilization. 33 Days 33 Days to the Holy Family follows a pattern similar to all the other 33-day consecration books. It’s a book for everyone — individuals, families, parishes, prayer groups, etc. It’s not an academic book but presents an easy formula for you to follow daily. Once you pick a start date, simply follow the instructions for each day until you reach Day 33 and consecrate yourself to the Holy Family. A consecration chart offers suggestions for when to start and finish so that your consecration day occurs on a liturgical feast associated with the Holy Family. It’s that simple. As you embark on this 33-day journey, ask the Holy Spirit to guide you and inspire you to always live under the watchful care of the Holy Family. Let the journey begin! We invite you to send us your intentions for the Three Christmas Masses on Dec. 25 at the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy. Visit Marian.org/b68 to offer your intentions. To order 33 Days to the Holy Family: Consecration to Jesus, Mary, and Joseph (Product code: B68-HF33D), visit ShopMercy.org or call 1-800-462-7426.
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