December 30, 2012

Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph

Read more about the Feast of the Holy Family.

On the 6th day of Christmas, my True Love gave to me...six geese a laying.

The six geese represent the first 6 days of Creation.  To me, they represent six eggs, because eggs represent new life.

Lectionary: 17

Reading 1 from the Holy Book of Sirach
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.

God is the source of all authority and life.  He sets parents over children as their first teachers and authorities whom the children must honor for all their life.

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 honors his father and mother is heard by God when he prays and stores up for himself treasures in heaven.

Whoever reveres his father will live a long life;
he who obeys his father brings comfort to his mother.

Whoever respects his father makes his mother proud.

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.

Take care of your parents.  Be assured that God will take care of you in return.

Alternate reading from the Holy Book of 1st Samuel
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."

The good and faithful Hannah missed the customary assembly for the worship of God because she wanted to spend more time with her only begotten child, Samuel, whom she had determined to give back to the Lord.

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.

And when the time came, Hannah gave her son back to the Lord.  In my eyes, an unimaginable sacrifice which shows the depth of her love and gratefulness to God.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 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.

Blessed are they who keep the Commandments:

Revelation 22:14
King James Version (KJV)
14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

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. Blessed are they who dwell in your house, O Lord.

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. Blessed are they who dwell in your house, O Lord.

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. Blessed are they who dwell in your house, O Lord.

The Church is the house of the Lord:

1 Timothy 3:15
King James Version (KJV)
15 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

Blessed are those who dwell in the house of God, Our Lord:

Hebrews 12:21-23
King James Version (KJV)
21 And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:)
22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,

Reading 2 from St. Paul's epistle to the Colossians
Col 3:12-21

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.

If we love God, we must love one another.  And forgiving each other as love forgives us.

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.

Let love be what brings us together and the result will be that peace which only Christ can bring.

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 always let our gratefulness of God be known in songs and prayers.

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.

And everything that you do, let the Word of God be your guide.  Don't do anything without realizing that God is there present with you and observing all that you do.

Wives, be subordinate to your husbands,
as is proper in the Lord.

Wives obey your husbands as you would Christ.

Husbands, love your wives,
and avoid any bitterness toward them.

Husbands love your wives as you do your own bodies, which in truth, they are.

Children, obey your parents in everything,
for this is pleasing to the Lord.

Children obey your parents for God has put them in charge over you.

Fathers, do not provoke your children,
so they may not become discouraged.

Parents, do not provoke your children, but treat them with respect so that they may blossom to a perfect love of God.

Or Col 3:12-17

This is a brief version of the reading above, I'll just post it as is with no comment.

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.

What is this love that the Father has bestowed upon us?

John 3:16
King James Version (KJV)
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

And so we are.
The reason the world does not know us
is that it did not know him.

Matthew 10:25
It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?

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.

1 Corinthians 13:12
For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us,
we have confidence in God and receive from him whatever we ask,
because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.

John 14:21-23
King James Version (KJV)
21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.  22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?  23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

And his commandment is this:
we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ,
and love one another just as he commanded us.

John 13:34-35
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. 

Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them,
and the way we know that he remains in us
is from the Spirit he gave us.

John 15:10
If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke
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.

Sts. Mary and Joseph were faithful Jews and therefore went every year to keep the feast of the Passover and God commanded.

After they had completed its days, as they were returning,
the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem,
but his parents did not know it.

One year, when they were returning home from keeping the Passover, they lost track of their son, Jesus.

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.

They thought He was in the family caravan amongst their relatives.  But they they noticed He was missing and they went to look for Him, in Jerusalem.

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.

After three days they found Him in the Temple with the teachers of the Law.  He was listening and asking questions.  Everyone was astounded at His words.

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?"

When Sts. Mary and Joseph found their son, Mary asked, "
Son, didn't you know we would be searching for you?"  He, responding, said, "Why?  Didn't you know that I would 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.

No one understood what He was saying.  But His mother kept all of this in her heart.  And Jesus grew older and wiser and everyone loved Him more and more, both God and Man.

Sincerely,

De Maria