Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
Feast
Liturgical Cycle: A | Lectionary Cycle: II
Introduction
Pleasing the Lord
When Jesus Was A Child
Greeting
The Lord loves you.
In our families and communities
may the Lord unite you in his love
and may you do everything in his name.
His peace be always with you. R/ And also with you.
Introduction by the Celebrant
Pleasing the Lord
Every family has its cares and worries. On today’s feast of the Holy Family we are shown that Mary and Joseph and Jesus had more than their share of problems and woes, especially that the very reason and heart of this family was Jesus, this bewildering son. They did everything for him. What is typical in the Holy Family is that in everything they sought God’s will; the same is true for Jesus, God’s will was to be his food and drink. Let the heart of our families, be like that of Jesus, and together with Mary and Joseph may we ask ourselves what God wants of us and joyfully do it.
When Jesus Was a Child
Of what value for our Christian living are the ordinary things we do every day, like eating and cleaning, talking and writing? What have they to do with our faith? A look at the hidden life of Jesus will help us understand and appreciate these things. Before he went out to preach and heal, he did all these common, banal things. And through these, he saved us. If we can do them like he did and with him, they are good and holy, and through them we give worship to God.
Penitential Act
Let us ask pardon from the Lord
that we have often done carelessly
the common tasks of everyday life.
(pause)
Lord Jesus, you grew up in Nazareth
and lived as the son of the local carpenter.
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Lord Jesus Christ, to work with your hands
was part of your human dignity.
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, through your life in the Holy Family
you sanctified the ordinary tasks
of everyday life.
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Have mercy on us, Lord,
and forgive us all our sins.
May our lives give you worship
and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer
Let us pray
that God may bless our families
(pause)
God our Father,
you let Mary and Joseph
provide the warmth of a home
to your own Son, Jesus Christ.
Let Jesus become the heart and center
of all our Christian families.
May we all grow up in him
and become closer to one another
in patience and love.
With the Holy Family of Nazareth,
may we seek your will in all we do.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord. R/ Amen.
First Reading
Honour Your Father and Your Mother: The two foundations of family life are love and respect, says the Bible. Should these two virtues not remain the cornerstone of our homes today?
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
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.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Let the peace of Christ control your hearts;
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
On the Road With the Lord: With his family, Jesus relives the history of the People of God: from the Holy Land to Egypt, from Egypt to the Holy Land. Mary and Joseph accept being uprooted and inconvenienced by the coming of the Saviour.
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.
Prayers of the Faithful
With the Holy Family of Nazareth we trust in the Lord who knows all our needs, and we ask him to bless all human families. Let us say: R/ Lord, bless your people.
– For the family of the Church, that it may be a mother and a home for all people in need, let us pray: R/ Lord, bless your people.
– For all married couples, that they may keep the freshness of their first love or rediscover it, let us pray: R/ Lord, bless your people.
– For all the families of the world, that they may keep growing in mutual appreciation and service, let us pray: R/ Lord, bless your people.
– For children and young people, that their parents may be concerned about their growth and happiness, let us pray: R/ Lord, bless your people.
– For separated couples and their children, that they may meet warmhearted people whose understanding love help them to overcome the failure of their home life, let us pray: R/ Lord, bless your people.
– For our Christian communities, that as members of one family we learn to carry each other’s burdens and to share each other’s joys, let us pray: R/ Lord, bless your people.
Father, we trust in you. May we not deny one another all the love you show us in Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts
God our Father,
you invite us to share the family table
of Jesus your Son.
May the food and drink he gives us
change us into gifts to one another,
that we may become each other’s
bread and wine, life and joy.
Let serving love and respect
be our offering to one another and to you,
today and tomorrow and every day,
on account of your Son in our midst,
Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Introduction to the Lord’s Prayer
United before God as his sons and daughters we pray the prayer taught us by his Son Jesus of Nazareth. R/ Our Father...
Deliver Us
Deliver us Lord, from every evil
and let the peace of Christ live
in our hearts and our homes.
Keep us from all that divide us
or enclose us within ourselves.
Give us compassion, gentleness and patience,
that we may prepare in hope and joy
for the full coming among us
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom...
Invitation to Communion
This is Jesus the Lord,
who comes to unite us
as the sons and daughters of the Father.
Happy are we to be invited
at the family table of the Lord. R/ Lord, I am not worthy...
Prayer after Communion
God our Father,
Jesus your Son made himself near to us
in this Eucharistic celebration.
He has been here for us,
approachable and available to all.
May he keep on living
in our homes and our communities.
Let him make us approachable too
and available to one another,
even at the cost of personal discomfort
and with Mary and Joseph
ready for any task you may entrust us.
For we can do everything
in the name of Jesus the Lord. R/ Amen.
Blessing
It was good to be together
as the family of God’s people
and to pray with the Holy Family of Nazareth
for what is dear to all of us:
our homes, our families,
the Christian community,
the family of our nation and people.
May God bless us all
and keep us united:
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Go in the peace of the Lord. R/ Thanks be to God.
REFLECTION:
Being Holy Family
Read: The Book of Sirach offers insights into how to be a ‘holy family’ where respect, love, kindness, and care reign supreme. According to Paul, when the word of God dwells at the center of our lives, the above virtues unfold in us. Matthew narrates the flight of the Holy Family to Egypt.
Reflect: Becoming a holy family is hard work. The family of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus testifies to it. Joseph and Mary saying “yes” to God’s will did not magically make their life any easier. They had to live through poverty, homelessness, exile, near loss of the child, widowhood, and death by crucifixion…. Doesn’t this family sound just like some families we have met around? Or perhaps even our own families? That thought should console us and give us hope. If the Holy Family went through such struggles, our struggles are not exceptional. And if they survived them with trust in the words of God, we too can do so, making the word of God central to our lives. It must also impel us to be a word of God for the families around.
Pray: Pray for a family that you know to be going through hard times.
Act: Reach out to that family with a practical help that you can afford.
Reflection taken from Bible Diary 2022; written by Fr. Paulson Velyannoor, CMF