Today, the answer to his question sits in a peaceful garden behind St. Joseph's Church in Mississauga, surrounded by a thick green hedge and small benches. It is a life-sized bronze statue of the Holy Family.

This is a Holy Family with a difference. In it, Joseph and Mary stand, gazing intently at each other, their mutual love shining through. The infant Jesus rests between them in Joseph's arms, basking in the shared intimacy of His parents.

Roberts, pastor of this large, suburban and culturally diverse parish, explains the statue's meaning:

"The image of Joseph holding the child Jesus at his heart is a testimony to the role of a father in the life of a child and the family. Mary with her hands touching both the arm of Joseph and the head of Jesus illustrate the important role of mother and wife. Mary and Joseph gazing into each other's eyes is a statement of faith that if Jesus is at the heart of your relationship you will grow deeper in love and more intimate," he writes.

"While living a pure and chaste love, Mary and Joseph grew in deeper respect, admiration and joy for each other. They truly walked together toward the fulfilment of time: a witness to marriage. Jesus as a baby is meant to show the sacredness of all life from conception to our last breath. Every second of life is an opportunity to experience the mystery of God's love — life to be celebrated!"

But the statue is more than just cold bronze latent with meaning. Roberts has encouraged his parishioners to see it as a focus for meditation and prayer, one that can be touched and felt. He has brought young students from some of the 10 schools in his parish boundaries to the garden to learn about Jesus and the Holy Family.

While there, the children are also exposed to the rosary. At each of four corners surrounding the statue are bronze plaques depicting the mysteries of the rosary.

The creation of the statue owes much to the contributions of various parishioners. Art Macdonald and his children provided the financial contribution in memory of their late wife and mother, Lorraine. Then parishioner Debrah Daas, an artist and sculptor, came forward to design the statue in a small format.

Once the initial design was made, it was sent to Montreal to be blown up to a life-sized mould. The large model required some finishing touches before it could be sent to a foundry in Georgetown, Ont., for casting.

The statue and a statue of St. Anthony (a contribution of the Varga family of St. Joseph's) were blessed Nov. 27 by Toronto Auxiliary Bishop John Boissonneau. At the Mass that preceded the blessing, the bishop talked about the important model the Holy Family provides for today.

"Given that Jesus is the Son of God, Mary was born sinless, and Joseph was a man of extraordinary sanctity, you might wonder how they came to be a model for the family," he said.

Yet, they were also human and faced the same human challenges confronting all families — and more considering that Jesus was to undertake a public ministry that ended in crucifixion.

"So they knew their challenges and they also knew how to be a family," he said.

Their foundations were based on: believing in a God who really cared for them; loving all of humanity; fostering intimacy and shared hopes and dreams; and prayer.

Now that the Holy Family is permanently installed in the garden, Roberts said his parish is willing to offer the statue's mould to other parishes that might want to reproduce the Holy Family at a fraction of the cost paid by St. Joseph's. For more information, contact St. Joseph's parish at (905) 826-2766.