The Holy Family

This page may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support of Tria Corda Ministry!

Tria Corda Ministry is named so because of the three hearts of the Holy Family for two reasons:

• They are a great source of healing
• They are also great examples of healing and resilience following trauma that we can look to as examples and intercessors. 

We don’t know much about the lives of the members of the Holy Family, but from what we do, we know they faced a lot.

First, we know that the Holy Family, along with all of Israel, was living under political occupation from the Romans. We also know from history that the Romans were violent and unjust with those they occupied. Hence, the Holy Family probably faced much fear throughout their lives and witnessed some potentially traumatic things. 

Second, not long after Jesus was born, the King of Israel, Herod, felt threatened by what he heard about the baby Jesus. An angel informed Joseph in a dream that they needed to flee to Egypt to protect the life of Jesus, so they went to live as refugees in Egypt, away from their homeland, most likely for a few years. Additionally, King Herod had thousands of baby boys killed to try to kill Jesus, leading to a community trauma (Matthew 2:13-23)

Third, tradition, and a lack of mention of him after the finding in the temple, tells us that Joseph most likely died sometime before the start of Jesus’ public ministry, leaving Mary as a widow and Jesus with the loss of his earthly father. 

Finally, Jesus faced persecution throughout his public ministry, culminating in his death and crucifixion, which we know Mary accompanied Jesus along and witnessed (John 19:25).

So, overall, the Holy Family faced political occupation and threats against their lives, loss of a family member, community trauma, and eventually brutal death and bearing witness to it. 

As we can see, the Holy Family went through a lot, but they kept their faith in God, which helped them to remain resilient and accomplish God’s will. 

There were two keys to their healing and resilience through all of this:

• They kept up with all their Jewish traditions and practices, which the Bible mentions quite a bit, such as going to Jerusalem for Passover and fulfilling the law. These practices helped them keep up their relationships with their community and God.
• Additionally, through the horrible trauma of witnessing her son’s brutal murder, Mary stayed by Jesus’ side, and continued to remain by his side until his burial. Mary’s staying by Jesus physically is an example of what we can do when facing trials, remaining close to Jesus on the Cross, which keeping up with our spiritual life can help us to do.

Mary especially faced a lot of trauma, and the Seven Sorrows Rosary is a special way to reflect on Mary in those moments, learn from her, and ask for her intercession. You can learn more here. 

Consecrating yourself to the members of the Holy Family can be another great way to learn from them and ask for their intercession and grace. Here are some great books to use, all by Fr. Michael Gaitley:

• Consecration to St. Joseph
• 33 Days to Morning Glory
• 33 Days to Merciful Love

To learn more about other saints who have faced trauma, please visit the Stories of Hope page.