FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS, MARY AND JOSEPH
Psalter: Proper / (White)
Ps 84:2-3, 5-6, 9-10
Blessed are they who dwell in your house, O Lord.
1st Reading: 1 S 1:20-22, 24-28 (or Sir 3:2-6, 12-14)
And she became pregnant. She gave birth to a son and called him Samuel because she said: ”I have asked Yahweh to give him to me.” Once more Elkanah went to the temple with his family to offer his yearly sacrifice and to pay his vow to Yahweh. Hannah would not go along but she said to her husband, ”I will bring the child there as soon as he is weaned. He shall be presented to Yahweh and stay there forever.”
When the child was weaned, Hannah took him with her along with a three-year-old bull, a measure of flour and a flask of wine, and she brought him to Yahweh‘s house at Shiloh. The child was still young.
After they had slain the bull, they brought the child to Eli. Hannah exclaimed: ”Oh, my lord, look! I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to Yahweh. I asked for this child and Yahweh granted me the favor I begged of him. I think Yahweh is now asking for this child. As long as he lives, he belongs to Yahweh.” And they worshiped Yahweh there.
2nd Reading: 1 Jn 3:1-2, 21-24 (or Col 3:12-21)
See what singular love the Father has for us: we are called children of God, and we really are. This is why the world does not know us, because it did not know him.
Beloved, we are God‘s children, and what we shall be has not yet been shown. Yet, when he appears in his glory, we know that we shall be like him, for then, we shall see him as he is.
When our conscience does not condemn us, dear friends, we may have complete confidence in God. Then, whatever we ask, we shall receive, since we keep his commands and do what pleases him.
His command is, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and that, we love one another, as he has commanded us.
Whoever keeps his commands remains in God and God in him. It is by the Spirit God has given us, that we know he lives in us.
Gospel: Lk 2:41-52
Every year, the parents of Jesus went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover, as was customary. And when Jesus was twelve years old, he went up with them, according to the custom of this feast. After the festival was over, they returned, but the boy Jesus remained in Jerusalem; and his parents did not know it.
They assumed that he was in their group of travelers and, after walking the whole day, they looked for him among their relatives and friends. As they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem, searching for him; and on the third day, they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking questions. And all the people were amazed at his understanding and his answers.
His parents were very surprised when they saw him; and his mother said to him, ”Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I were very worried while searching for you.” Then 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 this answer. Jesus went down with them, returning to Nazareth, and he continued to be obedient to them. As for his mother, she kept all these things in her heart.
And Jesus increased in wisdom and age, and in divine and human favor.
Lectio Divina
Read: Hannah returns to God the child she had asked of God. Joseph and Mary are left wondering at the words of their young son who said, ”Don‘t you know I must be in my Father‘s house?” John, the evangelist, reminds us of our true identity: we are God‘s children and God is our inheritance.
Reflect: Hannah seems to understand the core belonging of her child much better than Joseph and Mary, who are left confused at Jesus‘ words. Hannah longed for a child with the intensity of the longing of a drowning person for air. But upon receiving the child, she is willing to return him to the very source of life: God. In this, she elevates her faith to a plane equal to that of Abraham. Joseph and Mary would also learn, incrementally and wholly, to give up their son to whom he truly belonged. If only every parent on earth learned this lesson of their child‘s true origins and destiny, how holy would our families be!
Pray: Today, pray for all the families in the world.
Act: Connect with your family members today – by phone, e-mail, or a personal visit.
Daily Reflection 2018
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Biblical Texts are taken from Christian Community Bible, Catholic Pastoral Edition (57th Edition) The New English Translation for the ROMAN MISSAL
With permission from the EPISCOPAL COMMISION ON LITURGY of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines
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