Product Description
THE SUFFERINGS OF THE HOLY FAMILY
— Fr. Sebastain Walshe, O.Praem.
The Family: God’s Chosen Instrument of Healing and Love
We often imagine the Holy Family as beyond reach — too holy, too peaceful, too perfect to relate to our messy, wounded families. But when we look closely through the light of Scripture, a startling truth emerges: the lives of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph were marked by all-too-common hardship, misunderstanding, loss, danger, and suffering caused by the sins of others. And yet it was precisely there that their love became heroic and their joy unsurpassable.
Here, God reveals His primordial masterpiece.
The family is not an afterthought in God’s plan. It is His chosen dwelling place. God inscribed His own name upon the family and entered into it Himself. In these pages, Fr. Sebastian Walshe brings the Holy Family down from stained-glass distance and places them firmly within reach. He shows how their lives speak directly to our own struggles, offering not guilt or idealism but hope — real, livable hope for wounded families today. You will discover:
- Why the Holy Family is profoundly relatable — and a remedy for our fractured age
- How Mary and Joseph reveal the dignity and beauty of marriage
- How St. Joseph models the virtue of trust, even in the most vexing situations
- How forgiveness and sacrifice within family life lead to lasting healing
- Why holiness is possible, even amid pain, imperfection, and failure
Though materially poor, the Holy Family lived in the richness of God’s love. They received even suffering as a mysterious gift and drew from it strength, unity, and joy. Their life proclaims a consoling truth for every broken home: sainthood is possible where love is chosen, even when it costs.
By learning from the Holy Family, we can find in our imperfect families healing, forgiveness, and joy and can one day share fully in the happiness of Heaven.
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Paperback. 119 pages.Fr. Sebastian Walshe, O.Praem.,is a Norbertine canon of the Abbey of St. Michael in the Diocese of Orange, California, where he is a professor of philosophy in the seminary program. After completing his studies at Thomas Aquinas College in California, he continued studies at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., receiving a license in philosophy. Later, he attended the Pontifical University of St. Thomas in Rome (the Angelicum), where he received a master’s in sacred theology and a doctorate in philosophy. His thesis was titled “The Primacy of the Common Good as the Root of Personal Dignity in the Doctrine of St. Thomas Aquinas.” From 2003 to 2005, Fr. Sebastian was a visiting professor in the Philosophy Department at the Angelicum.