The triune God is a communion of love, and the family is its living reflection. These words, taken from Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love), have inspired celebrated theologian Megan McKenna to explore how and why families are the living embodiment of Christian values and teachings. In Holy Families: Shadows of the Trinity, readers are invited to view the key scriptural accounts of the Holy Family as providing a model and template for families today.

By focusing on the inevitable triumphs and travails that are part and parcel of marriage and child-rearing, the author teases out the very real links between the challenges experienced by Joseph, Jesus and Mary, and those facing families in the contemporary world. Reflecting on key Gospel events - the Annunciation and Visitation, the Presentation, and the Resurrection among them - this book explores how fathers, children and mothers are shadows of the image of God the Father, the Child and the Spirit in the Trinity and are the very presence of God in the community and the world.