How very suitable it is, that having just celebrated the birth of our Lord, we now celebrated the feast of the Holy Family. The meeting of the Holy Family with Simeon and Anna at the Presentation in the Temple added to Mary and Joseph's Joy, for a joy shared is a joy amplified. 

But Mary too must have pondered Simeon words especially when he spoke of a sword piercing her heart too.  This reminds us how the Holy Family was not exempt from sufferings and trials.  So joys and sorrows will be part of the path of holiness for every family.

Today, the family that is Opus Dei renews the Consecration to the Holy Family of the families of all the members of Opus Dei which St Josemaría first made in 1951. A meditation by Fr Tom Dowd.