Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
The Holy Family, with the docility of each of its members to the will of the Father, teaches us that the aim of family life is the seeking and cultivation of holiness.
See also:
Mass Readings
First Reading – Sir 3:2-6, 12-14
God sets a father in honor over his children; a mother’s authority he confirms over her sons. Whoever honors his father atones for sins, and preserves himself from them. When he prays, he is heard; he stores up riches who reveres his mother. Whoever honors his father is gladdened by children, and, when he prays, is heard. Whoever reveres his father will live a long life; he who obeys his father brings comfort to his mother. My son, take care of your father when he is old; grieve him not as long as he lives. Even if his mind fail, be considerate of him; revile him not all the days of his life; kindness to a father will not be forgotten, firmly planted against the debt of your sins —a house raised in justice to you.
OR:
1 Sm 1:20-22, 24-28
In those days Hannah conceived, and at the end of her term bore a son whom she called Samuel, since she had asked the LORD for him. The next time her husband Elkanah was going up with the rest of his household to offer the customary sacrifice to the LORD and to fulfill his vows, Hannah did not go, explaining to her husband, “Once the child is weaned, I will take him to appear before the LORD and to remain there forever; I will offer him as a perpetual nazirite.” Once Samuel was weaned, Hannah brought him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and presented him at the temple of the LORD in Shiloh. After the boy’s father had sacrificed the young bull, Hannah, his mother, approached Eli and said: “Pardon, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood near you here, praying to the LORD. I prayed for this child, and the LORD granted my request. Now I, in turn, give him to the LORD; as long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the LORD.” Hannah left Samuel there.
Responsorial Psalm – Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5. (R.cf.1 )
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways.
Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD,
who walks in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;
blessed shall you be, and favored.R.
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
in the recesses of your home;
your children like olive plants
around your table.R.
Behold, thus is the man blessed
who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you from Zion:
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life. R.
OR: Ps 84:2-3, 5-6, 9-10.
R. (cf. 5a) Blessed are they who dwell in your house, O Lord.
How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts!
My soul yearns and pines for the courts of the LORD.
My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. R.
Happy they who dwell in your house!
Continually they praise you.
Happy the men whose strength you are!
Their hearts are set upon the pilgrimage. R.
O LORD of hosts, hear our prayer;
hearken, O God of Jacob!
O God, behold our shield,
and look upon the face of your anointed. R.
Second Reading – Col 3:12-21 or 3:12-17
Brothers and sisters: Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Wives, be subordinate to your husbands, as is proper in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and avoid any bitterness toward them. Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, so they may not become discouraged.
OR:
Brothers and sisters: Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
OR: 1 Jn 3:1-2, 21-24
Beloved: See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. And so we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
Gospel – Lk 2:41-52
Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom. After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances, but not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he said to them. He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.
Featured Saints
This year, Sunday takes precedence over the Optional Memorial of St. Thomas Becket, bishop and martyr (†1170). Appointed by the king of England, Henry II, as Archbishop of Canterbury and his chancellor, he fearlessly defended the rights of the Church and was a zealous shepherd of souls. He was assassinated in his cathedral for refusing to accept the new Constitutions of the king.
St. David, king and prophet, the author of many Psalms, from whose line was born the Saviour. He was anointed in his youth by the prophet Samuel, to replace Saul, with whose son Jonathan he sealed a holy covenant.
St. Marcellus, abbot (†c. 480). Abbot of the Monastery of the Akimetes in Constantinople, where the monks, divided into several choirs, continually sang the Divine Office day and night.
St. Benedicta Hyon Kyong-nyon, martyr (†1839). Young widow dedicated to catechesis in Korea. She refused to apostatise and was beheaded after suffering many tortures.
Blessed José Aparicio Sanz, priest and martyr (†1936). In the parishes in which he exercised his ministry, he erected Eucharistic associations and propagated the devotion of Forty Hours. He was executed in Paterna, during the Spanish Civil War.
Blessed Gerard Cagnoli, religious (†1342). Franciscan endowed with the gift of miracles; he cured many sick in Palermo, Italy.
Blessed Juan Bautista Ferreres Boluda, priest and martyr (†1936). A Jesuit professor of moral theology who, at the age of seventy-five was detained with eleven other priests in Valencia during the Spanish Civil War, and died in prison as a consequence of the inhuman conditions and brutal treatment he suffered there.
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