Luke wants us to know that Mary and Joseph were devout and pious in their religious practices, always faithful to the law of Moses. (In this brief passage, Luke mentions the "law" three times.)
There is much to be said for this kind of faithfulness to religious practices. There's more to holiness than external practices, but religious traditions are important.
How did Mary and Joseph know about these traditions? By belonging to the Jewish community, and joining in its rituals.
Over these past 2,000 years, Christians have developed traditions. Some of these go back to the early days of the Church. How do we know about them, and know which ones are important? By belonging to a parish, and joining in its rituals.
We're about to begin the Year of Our Lord 2017. It would be a good time for you think about how much these ancient practices are part of your life. Or, to put it another way, it would be a good time for you to think about how much you re part of and tuned in to the life of the Church.
- Little Blue Book, Diocese of Saginaw