Family living ain’t easy!

This weekend, our church invites us to pray for families and to strive and work with the sacrifice that is shown in faith, hope and love by the Holy Family.

The Holy Family is really an authentic school for all families — from the necessary faith “Yes” of Mary and Joseph to allow Jesus to become man, and even in their hope as they traveled to Bethlehem to be counted for Caesar’s Census, and in love even accepting a manager for their baby.

Our Gospel of St. Luke, chapter 2: 4l, narrates the episode of the adolescent Jesus staying behind in the temple in Jerusalem, causing his parents terrible anxiety when they realize he is missing.

Just think about and relate this story to the many parents of teens on drugs, alcohol or missing from home. Even if we just look back to Bethlehem of Christmas, we can see family life is not easy, as we relate the “no room in the inn” and a manger birth to the many poor, homeless and immigrant people in our world.

We are told that Jesus was like us in everything but sin, so there must have been some normal age 3-5 issues, and early teen problems for this family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Indeed, the three of them knew well the words of our first reading from the Book of Sirach, but they, like each one of us, had to put it into practice. We hear it almost every year, but do we truly try to live it? The respect for parents, kindness and comfort and reverence for all of life and the blessing it brings, at least on an interior level, for all. These words from Sirach need to be both understood and lived.

There has never been a perfect family except in the old TV series “Leave it to Beaver,” The Cleavers, June and Ward, just seemed to have the answers in the 30-minute series to handle the problems of Beaver and Wally.

The Chosen People of Israel and we of today are not perfect, and no matter how we try we will never be completely successful. The challenge is to end the year and begin a new year with praying, trusting and listening to the Lord.

The best New Year’s Resolution might be just to become a better AM and PM person of prayer. Life is not easy, but like the people of the Old Testament it is so easy to grow weary, make bad choices, and flounder in our obligations as we complain, become impatient or just feel out of control.

For the Holy Family and the person of prayer, it is the presence of God who is, was and always will be, present and near to give solace and show concern care, comfort and guidance. To love one another and to make the effort for the other ahead of self is the challenge of family life and success.

Family life is really a prayer, luck, good timing and patience! Or family life may be like the old comedian George Burns said, about he and Gracie’s marriage and family life. He stated that “once wejust enjoyed each day and loved each other and did not do anything more, the trouble with a lot of people is that they work hard at life and they make a business out of it.

“When you work too hard at a business, you get tired, and when you get tired, you get grouchy. And when you get grouchy, you start fighting — and when you start fighting you’re out of business.”