Managing Back-to-School-Anxiety by reflecting on the Holy Family

By Ben Smith, Director of the Office of Life, Marriage and Family

The Christmas holidays of 2021/22 will be remembered as a time of highs and lows. Many of us experienced the joy of being able to gather with members of our family who live interstate. This joy, in some cases, turned to anxiety when these gatherings turned into COVID-spreading events leading families to become separated as people went into isolation or quarantine. Making matters worse was the difficulty people experienced in accessing a COVID test. This whole experience was like the first Christmas, when the Holy Family experienced moments of joy followed by the anxiety of a flight into Egypt to escape the soldiers of King Herod.

As children return to school this year, the current level of parental anxiety is higher than normal. There are many unknowns in terms of the possibility of a new wave of infections in schools and how severe the impact of COVID might be on children. There is a temptation for us to want to go back to a phase in the pandemic when the borders were shut and kids were learning from home. However, this approach has had a serious impact on the social development and the mental health of children and teenagers.

This time of uncertainty is an opportunity for families to turn to the Holy Family for inspiration and direction. Joseph was led by God through a dream to bravely leave Egypt with Mary and Jesus and return to Israel to the quiet town of Nazareth. Overcoming their fear for Jesus’ safety, they got involved in their community and took Jesus on regular pilgrimages down to Jerusalem.

On one occasion when Jesus was 12 years old, he got separated from his parents. Mary and Joseph experienced significant anxiety as they thought they had lost the Messiah. Past fears from the first Christmas may have returned in their hearts but they did not give up searching for Jesus in the crowded streets of Jerusalem. Their efforts were rewarded and after three days of separation they were reunited. Jesus was completely unharmed and wondered why his parents had been so anxious.

One of the catechesis themes for this year’s World Meeting of Families (to be held at the end of June) encourages each family to look to the Holy Family to “rediscover its own call, … to orient itself on life’s journey.” Let’s look to the Holy Family to inspire us to face the challenges of 2022.