The Holy Family: Jesus, Mary and Joseph
The Holy Family of Nazareth is the family into which Jesus Christ was born, his mother is the Virgin Mary, his adoptive father Saint Joseph. This family is found in the Bible, in the New Testament. This unique family forms a small trinity, it is the image on earth of the Holy Trinity in Heaven. Christians are invited to find in this holy family a model and refuge. The three holy Names of Jesus, Mary and Joseph are invoked by Christians, and prayers to the Holy Family obtain many graces. Discover all the saints on Hozana!
History of the Holy Family of Nazareth
The Holy Family is made up of Joseph, Mary and Jesus. It is the Gospel according to Luke, in the Bible, which is the main source of information concerning the Holy Family. This gospel paints a picture of the human origins of Jesus and presents the family in which Christ was born. Joseph was a man, a descendant of King David, a carpenter in the city of Nazareth, engaged to Mary. Before the young couple lived together, the Annunciation took place. After the Visitation, Saint Joseph realized that Mary was having a child. This was the first great trial of the holy couple, which lasts until an angel appears in a dream to Joseph to explain what was happening. From then on, Joseph welcomed Mary to his home and devoted himself entirely to serving Mary and Jesus. When the census ordered by Caesar took place, Joseph led Mary to Bethlehem, and sought shelter because Mary was about to give birth. They only found a cave serving as a stable. This is where Jesus was born. The Nativity of Christ is one of the few passages where the Gospel discusses the Holy Family: “So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.” (Luke 2:16). We find the Holy Family during the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple. When Herod's fury broke out, Joseph, warned by an angel, fled to Egypt with Mary and Jesus. For five years, he kept them hidden. The Holy Family then experienced great poverty, a life of refugees in a pagan land. At the end of this trial, they returned home to Nazareth. From this period of about 24 years, called the “hidden life” of Jesus, little is known to us. The Gospel of Luke relates only the episode of Jesus found in the Temple of Jerusalem at the age of 12. While the canonical gospels dwell very little on the childhood of Jesus and therefore the life of the Holy Family, other sources are richer. The apocryphal gospels give details and several mystics who have received revelations make it possible to better know the life of the Holy Family: the writings of Maria Valtorta are luminous, those of Blessed Anne-Catherine Emmerich also deserve to be discovered.
The Holy Family, a model for Christians
The Holy Family is the image of the Holy Trinity. In it are all the virtues. The Gospel gives us a special contemplation of its poverty, chastity and obedience. The Catholic Church gives the Holy Family as an example to all Christians. The feast of the Holy Family, instituted in 1893, was extended to the universal Church in 1921 by Benedict XV and celebrated on the first Sunday after Christmas. Through the prayer of the rosary and the contemplation of joyful mysteries, Christians are invited to meditate on the life of the Holy Family and to assimilate the teachings it brings.
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Prayers to the Holy Family
The Holy Family is prayed to and invoked to help all the families of the world, whatever their miseries, trials, or crises. No family is free from the cross, and the Holy Family, far from presenting an unattainable goal, is a support for everyone. For centuries, Christians have had a great devotion to the Holy Family. Beautiful prayers and novenas make it possible to appeal to the Holy Family to find, in the heart of this little trinity, a refuge.
Invocations to Jesus, Mary and Joseph
The Holy Names of Jesus, Mary and Joseph are invoked to put oneself under their protection and guard against evil. These very short prayers are very powerful:
Jesus, Mary, Joseph, I give you my heart
Jesus, Mary, Joseph, I give you my heart, my spirit and my life.
Jesus, Mary, Joseph, help me in my last agony.
Jesus, Mary, Joseph, may my soul rest in peace in your holy company.
Jesus, Mary, Joseph, I love you, save souls
Jesus, Mary, Joseph, I love you, save the souls of the consecrated, save the souls.
I urge you, give me the opportunity to repeat this act of love a thousand times, every breath, every heartbeat.
With Hozana, let us pray to the Holy Family
- Let us pray to the Holy Family by asking for its protection for our own families thanks to this novena.
- Hozana offers you an online retreat with the Holy Family, meditate on 7 virtues of the Holy Family and make them grow in you.
