Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
Reading I Sirach 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.
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 128:1-2, 3, 4-5.
R. (cf. 1) 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. Blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways.
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
in the recesses of your home;
your children like olive plants
around your table.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways.
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. Blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways.
Reading II Colossians 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.
Alleluia Colossians 3:15a, 16a
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Let the peace of Christ control your hearts;
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Mt 2:13-15, 19-23
When the magi had departed, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said,
“Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt,
and stay there until I tell you.
Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.”
Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night
and departed for Egypt.
He stayed there until the death of Herod,
that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled,
Out of Egypt I called my son.
When Herod had died, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream
to Joseph in Egypt and said,
“Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel,
for those who sought the child’s life are dead.”
He rose, took the child and his mother,
and went to the land of Israel.
But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea
in place of his father Herod,
he was afraid to go back there.
And because he had been warned in a dream,
he departed for the region of Galilee.
He went and dwelt in a town called Nazareth,
so that what had been spoken through the prophets
might be fulfilled,
He shall be called a Nazorean.
Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Saturday, December 28, 2024 //
Happy Saturday, friend! We are so excited to share with you what's coming up this week as we all prepare our hearts by praying with readings for Sunday, the day of rest with our Lord.
Live Liturgically // This Week’s Feast Days
Saturday, December 28 (today!) // Feast of the Holy Innocents, martyrs
Sunday, December 29 // Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph
Monday, December 30 // Sixth Day within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord
Tuesday, December 31 // Seventh Day within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord
Wednesday, January 1, 2025 // SOLEMNITY OF MARY, THE HOLY MOTHER OF GOD and Octave of the Nativity of the Lord (Holy Day of Obligation!)
Thursday, January 2 // Memorial of Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church
Friday, January 3 // Optional Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Jesus
Letter from the Editor //
Dear Sister,
The Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph—which falls on this Sunday—is an invitation for us to join them in their home. We will pray at Mass, “Blessed are they who dwell in your house, O Lord” (Psalm 84:5a). In their home we can learn how to live as children of God, as Saint John tells us we are in the Second Reading—how to “love one another just as he commanded us” so that we will “be like him” and “see him as he is” (1 John 3:2, 23). We can invite them into our own homes to transform our families to imitate them.
The First Reading tells us about the fulfillment of the Lord’s promise to Hannah, a woman who longed for a child (see 1 Samuel 1:20). She saw that her son, Samuel, was a gift from God and in gratitude she offered her child back to Him. She shows us that all who are given to our care through biological or spiritual motherhood first of all belong to God. We see this same realization in the Gospel account of Mary and Joseph losing the child Jesus on their way home from Jerusalem. There is that moment of offering, when Mary realizes that her Son was only given to her to do His Father’s work, to be in His house (see Luke 2:49). All of our children are meant to dwell in the home of the Lord forever. Let us look to the Holy Family and their hidden years in Nazareth as a guide to how to prepare ourselves for Heaven.
I am praying for you this week, dear sister.
In Christ’s Love,
Susanna
Read the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph (Year C option below):
First Reading // 1 Samuel 1:20-22, 24-28
Responsorial Psalm // Psalm 84:2-3, 5-6, 9-10
Second Reading // 1 John 3:1-2, 21-24
Gospel // Luke 2:41-52
Prayer Practice // Entrust your family to the Holy Family at Mass tomorrow. Share your heart with Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.
