Feast of the Holy Family (A) – December 28, 2025

St. Catherine of Sienna – Wichita, KS

Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14; Psalm 128:1-5; Colossians 3:12-21; Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23

The AFC Goes Through Arrowhead…at least it did for a while

If you tuned into some Christmas Day football, you saw the Chiefs’ season continue down its pretty dismal path. Can’t say that we’re surprised! And, predictably, throughout the game we were reminded that the Chiefs have been knocked out of the playoffs. And we were reminded over and over that for the first time in since 2019 the AFC would not go through Arrowhead. That was the line for a while: “The AFC goes through Arrowhead.” If you want to win the AFC, get to the Super Bowl—gotta beat the Chiefs.

And while we all love football, and we can all appreciate that—at the end of the day, football doesn’t really matter. (I said it! Run me out of town now!) I said it: “At the end of the day football doesn’t really matter.” It actually is just a game. It actually does not matter. Right??

What does matter—what does matter, though, is humanity and salvation, the eternal salvation of every man, woman and child. That matters. Which is good news! Because what that means is that Pat Mahomes isn’t the only one that matters: you matter. And as John Paul II would point out, just like the AFC goes through Arrowhead (he didn’t mention the Chiefs)—just like the AFC goes through Arrowhead, “the history of mankind, the history of salvation, [that] goes through the family.” The history of mankind and salvation go through the family. And John Paul II continued by saying that “the family is placed at the center of that great struggle between good and evil, between life and death, between love and all that is opposed to love” (John Paul II, Gratissimam Sane 23). John Paul II also said, “As the family goes, so goes the nation, and so goes the entire world in which we live.” 

So, what’s he getting at? What he’s getting at is that we look around and we see all of these issues in the world—Ukraine, China, immigration, abortion, poverty, the economy—you can list off so many issues. And no one disagrees on that: there are a lot of issues, lot of problems! News networks literally exists and make their money by pointing out the problems. No one disagrees.

But do we also agree with John Paul II when he says that, “If we want to address these problems, sure, there is a lot that needs to be done.” But the fundamental thing we need to do if we want to solve the world’s problems—do we also agree with John Paul II that if we want to address these problems, the place to begin is the family? It’s very easy to get caught up in “the world’s problems.” But you, each one of us needs to begin with our family. Why? Because the history of mankind, salvation itself goes through the family. We’ve all said it: the problem isn’t the kids, it’s their parents, its how they’re begin raised, right? Again, back to John Paul II: as the family goes, so goes the nation and the world. And if you don’t agree with John Paul II (which is pretty bold of you)—if you don’t agree with him, Mother Teresa (can’t not love Mother Theresa)—she was famous for saying, “If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.”

Today, as we celebrate the feast day of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, this is the simple challenge we are presented with: do we—do you, do I—do we actually believe that the most important, world-changing force in the world is strong and healthy marriages and families?

Vita Familia

My parents raised us, me and my siblings, in the thick of the John Paul II era. And they were pretty on board with this idea of his. And so they made a very conscious, very explicit decision, that family, our family, was going to be the number one thing in their life. Growing-up, my family had a motto; a very simple, but very powerful motto (and since we’re nerds, it was in Latin): Vita Familia, Family Life. When decisions had to be made, when priorities were set, what always came first was the family: what was best for the family. Not what was best for my dad’s career, my mom’s interests, us being world-famous athletes one day, no. The family.

But it was more than just a selfish sort of “our family first” mentality. What it really was was “how does this place God and our faith at the center of our family life?” Everything they did flowed from their faith, from their relationship with the Lord. Our faith was at the center of the family, everything we did as a family. Everything.

And that tone—that was set by my parents. Over and over, study after study shows that parents are the number one (the number one) factor when it comes to handing on the faith. Number one! You can send your kids to Catholic school, to PSR, to Youth Group. But parents—you parents—your example, you living the faith, you clearly demonstrating that the faith is at the center of your life and your family’s life—that is the most important factor. And since my parents’ goal for us was to get us to heaven, they did everything with that goal in mind. Our salvation, us getting to heaven, our relationship with Jesus Christ—that was number one. 

Let me give just one simple example. Bishop Kemme has been very clear the past several years that a great renewal would happen within our diocese if we were to reclaim Sunday as the Lord’s day. For our family growing up—apparently we lived Sunday pretty radically. Guess how many Chiefs games I watched growing up? One. (It helped that it was the Matt Cassel era—so nothing to watch.) We grew up as Notre Dame football fans, why? Because they played on Saturday, and they were on TV. Sundays—Sundays were the Lord’s Day. The Sunday Mass was a non-negotiable. And it wasn’t just, “Let’s find a time to sneak Mass in this weekend.” No. Sunday Mass was the first thing on the calendar, and everything else worked itself in around it. Think about that. I don’t mean to accuse anyone, but think: is Sunday Mass the first thing on the calendar, or is it a question of, “Can we make it to Mass sometime?” That’s what I mean, that was never a question in our family. Sundays were also family days, centered on Mass and family and rest and being together. I can only remember missing Sunday Mass one time in my entire life. Or, like when we went on vacation or had to be out of town on a weekend—the first thing he would do is find the church where we would go to Mass on Sunday. Even on vacation!

But because of this—because of this and so many other things my parents did to place the faith at the center of our family life—we learned the importance of the faith, and the faith was passed on to us! But it began with my parents living the faith, their own personal faith. They weren’t just faking it because God’s important and kids should have God. No, it was real. Jesus Christ was a real person, a real person they had a real relationship with. And we picked up on that. Everything in our life—our daily schedule, our weekly schedule, our yearly schedule—all of it was determined by the faith. Why? Because my parents took John Paul II seriously: everything passes through the family; as the family goes, so goes the world.

Putting the Pieces Back In Order

The question then—again: do we actually believe that the most important, world-changing force in the world is strong and healthy marriages and families? And do we do what it takes to have a strong and healthy marriage and family? “Survey says?” No. 

And one simple reason is that in most people’s lives, the order, the hierarchy of “goods” is: work, kids, marriage, God. Our work is the number one thing. Why? “Because I have to take care of my kids.” Sure. Work, then kids. Kids’ schedules, their events, what they want to do, their stuff—that is the next most important thing, whatever they want. They’re playing softball in Kalamazoo—well by golly we are mortgaging the farm to make it happen. Work, then kids, and after that, then I’ll focus on my marriage—when I have time. When was the last time you went on a date night with your spouse? And why has it been so long? Gonna blame your kids? Ok. Work, kids, marriage and then—then if there is any time left, then I’ll focus on God. 

Ok. How do I know this? Because of these things called calendars. Work is always the first thing on your calendar. And second? Anything for your kids: driving them around, going to their events. And because of that, your marriage takes a back seat to work and kids. And then God—well, God gets what is left over.

But here’s the thing: if you want to change your life, change your family, and change the world (as John Paul II pointed out, as Mother Teresa pointed out)—if you want to change the world, flip the order. Flip it. Instead of work, kids, marriage, God, go God, marriage, kids, work. Why? Because that’s how God designed it. God, then your marriage, then your kids, then work.

What would it look like if God was the first thing in your life? What would your calendar look like? Well, you would have time for Him scheduled in first: daily prayer time; Sunday Mass would be the first thing you scheduled, the whole week would revolve around it (instead of around your kids’ activity schedule). God would be at the center of your life, your marriage, your family, your work. And with God in first place, the second most important thing would be your marriage. You wouldn’t sacrifice the health of your marriage for your kids. Why? Because your kids depend on your marriage. Marriage, a good and solid and healthy marriage—one with God at the center, one where you fall in love with your spouse more and more each year—that is more important than signing your kids up for another five activities. God, then marriage, and then the kids—that is the recipe for a holy family.

Not a Perfect Family, But A Holy Family

The question, though—again, the fundamental question, the question that will determine whether you care or not—it’s John Paul II’s question: do we actually believe that the most important, world-changing force in the world is strong and healthy marriages and families? Do we believe that strong families come from parents being their kids’ taxi service, OR from parents building a culture centered on faith in their marriage, their homes and in their families? The reason the AFC passed through Arrowhead for so long was because the Chief’s culture was a winning one. The reason the history of humankind and the world pass through the family? It’s because the culture of the family is the most important part of this world.

And so today, we pray with the Church that families, all families, will imitate the Holy Family: placing God first, Jesus Christ at the center, fostering a culture of holiness. Why? Because that will transform not only your family, but this parish, this community, this state, this nation, and (yeah) even the whole world.