Gospel: Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23
After the wise men had left, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod will soon be looking for the child in order to kill him.”
Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and left that night for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. In this way, what the Lord had said through the prophet was fulfilled: I called my son out of Egypt.
After Herod’s death, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go back to the land of Israel, because those who tried to kill the child are dead.” So Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel.
But when Joseph heard that Archilaus had succeeded his father Herod as king of Judea, he was afraid to go there. Joseph was given further instructions in a dream, and went to the region of Galilee.
There he settled, in a town called Nazareth. In this way, what was said by the prophets was fulfilled: He shall be called a Nazarene.

Lectio Divina
READ: “Joseph rose and took the child and his mother…”
REFLECT: Whenever we come to celebrate the feast of the Holy Family, we cannot but ask ourselves whether we can really pattern our own families to that of the Holy Family. Whether we can become good parents like Mary and Joseph. Or whether we can really approximate our families to become holy families. Our Gospel in today’s feast tells us about what Joseph did to Mary and Jesus, the family of Nazareth. Among other things, Joseph follo­wing the dictate of the angel in his dream to distance away the baby Jesus from all the dangers brought about by the evil plan of Herod. This feast invites us to have a gaze into the Holy Family. Take it as model of our families as well. Our fami­lies today are not exempt of the many dangers attacking herself. Our second reading invites us to fortify our fami­lies: “put on love, that is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you are called in one body”.
PRAY: May the Holy Family continue to be our guide and inspiration as we take the sojourn of family life.
ACT: Let us help our families and the families of others to be like the Holy Family.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2019