It is fitting that, during the week after Christmas, we should celebrate the family of Jesus. It was a very special family but we actually know very little of how they lived in Nazareth. We are told that Joseph made his living as a carpenter, a skilled craftsman - not rich but not poor either. No doubt, Mary took care of the house in the way any woman of Nazareth would have done at the time. Jesus grew up and in all probability learnt his father's trade of carpentry. This period of Jesus' presence among us is often called the 'Hidden Life' and it is perhaps significant that it forms the longest part of his life. The part we do know about only lasted three years. In that way, it is very similar to the lives of most of us whose names never appear in the newspapers, radio or TV.

Today is a special day for us to look at our own family lives and at family life in general. The stability of family life, which was such a feature of earlier times, has given way to a very different scenario. Families with two parents in a long-term relationship are becoming fewer and fewer. Children are growing up with only one parent or perhaps with changing parents as a result of separation and divorce. They are the ones who pay the biggest price and, as a result, society will pay the price too. Let us, today, look at our own families and ask how they can be improved.