Fr. Mark Link tells the story of a German city called Weinsberg. Overlooking the city is a high hill. On the very top of the hill stands an ancient fortress. The townspeople of Weinsberg have an interesting legend about the fortress and that hill.
It seems that back in the 15th century - in the days of chivalry and honor - an enemy encircled that hill and sealed off all the townspeople inside the fortress. The enemy commander then sent word up to the fortress, saying that he would allow the women and children to leave and go free before he launched his devastating attack.
After further negotiations, the enemy commander also agreed - on his chivalrous word of honor - to let each woman take to freedom with her the most valuable possession she owned, provided she could carry it.
You can just imagine the enemy army's surprise and confusion when, a few minutes later, the gates opened and the women marched out of the fortress, each carrying her husband on her back.
That legend is striking and appropriate for today's feast of the Holy Family, not just because of its creative twist, but also because of its eternal truth. The most valuable possession a wife has is her husband. And the most valuable possession a husband has is his wife. In other words, the most valuable possession that a husband and wife have is each other.
To the extent that they treasure each other, they will also treasure their children. And to that extent, also, their children will treasure them. But being a good father, a good mother, or a good child is not something that just happens. It's something that we have to work at.
That's what Sydney Harris, a columnist had in mind when he said that having children doesn't make a woman a mother any more than having a piano makes her a musician. And it's what Pope John XXIII had in mind when he said of fathers: "It is easier for a father to have children than for children to have a father."
That brings us to the Feast of the Holy Family, which we celebrate today. In many ways, it is one of the most important feasts of the year. It's certainly one of the most practical feasts, because it touches at the heart of daily life. It touches at the heart of God's will for 95% of the people in this world.
The intimate relationships of family and home can easily be forgotten and left untended. If charity begins at home, so must healing and reconciliation.
The words of St. Paul to the Colossians may very well be addressed to every family and family member: "Bear with one another; forgive whatever grievances you have against one another. Forgive as the Lord has forgiven you. Over all these virtues, put on love, which binds the rest together and makes them perfect."
Today's Feast of the Holy Family brings us back to the basics of Christian life. It brings us back to where true holiness lies. It lies in imitating the Holy Family, in being the kind of father Joseph was, in being the kind of mother Mary was, in being the kind of son or daughter that Jesus was.
When we think of what advice the Holy Family might give us if we asked them for one simple tip on how to be a better person, they might say, "Each day do a little more than you think you can": Each day love a little bit more than you think you can. Each day forgive a little bit more than you think you can. Each day reach out to someone who is hurting a little bit more than you think you can. Each day sacrifice for others a little bit more than you think you can. Each day encourage one another a little but more than you think you can.
If each one of us in this church made that our New Year's resolution for the year ahead, it would be one of the greatest gifts we could give one another.