Holy Family Feast
Also Read: Mass Readings for 29 December 2024
First Reading: Sirach 3: 2-6, 12-14
Mum and Dad!
For kindness to a father will not be forgotten, and will be credited to you against your sins. (14)
On the feast of the Holy Family, we are reminded today to honour our parents. As told to us in the fourth commandment, we must follow it as a decree! Today, we praise and thank God for our parents, who have ingrained the gospel values in us. We pray for all parents today, even those who have gone to their heavenly abode. We ask pardon of our parents, if we have hurt them in anyway. We ask the Lord to forgive us.
In Jesus’ name, Amen!
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 128: 1-5
Happy is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways. (1)
The Lord bless you from Zion. May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life. (5)
Alleluia!
Second Reading: Colossians 3: 12-21
The Clothing!
As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. (12)
Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. (14-15)
The clothes we put on help us in different ways. We dress according to the need, whether at work, or play, in different seasons, or occasions, etc! Do we likewise think about our internal clothing that helps us spiritually, and emotionally? Most of the time, we don’t! The clothing mentioned here in the passage: compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience are not the first choice most often for us! “Above all, love binds everything in perfect harmony!” Therefore, if we have the love of Christ, we will find harmony! To have the love of Christ we must first know Him! If we know Him, we will strive to work from the love we have experienced in Christ!
In Jesus’ name, Amen!
Alleluia: Acts 16: 14b
Alleluia!
A certain woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. Alleluia!
Gospel: Luke 2: 41-52
Then Jesus went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart. (51)
Jesus, the son of God was the perfect son while here on earth! This episode of the trauma that his earthly parents would have gone through, reminds us of how human and Godly, his family was! We are challenged today to live like the holy family of Nazareth!! In Jesus’ name, Amen!
