MASS READINGS & SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY : Sunday - December 26, 2021 - FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS, MARY AND JOSEPH

Sunday - December 26, 2021

December 26, 2021

FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS, MARY AND JOSEPH

Lectionary: 17

 

Reading 1                                                                 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.

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.

 

OR:

 

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.”

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

 

Reading 2                                                                 Col 3:12-21 or 3:12-17

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. 

 

Wives, be subordinate to your husbands,

as is proper in the Lord.

Husbands, love your wives,

and avoid any bitterness toward them.

Children, obey your parents in everything,

for this is pleasing to the Lord.

Fathers, do not provoke your children,

so they may not become discouraged.

 

 

OR:

 

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.

And so we are.

The reason the world does not know us

is that it did not know him.

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.

 

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.

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.

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.

 

Alleluia                                                                     

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Let the peace of Christ control your hearts;

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel                                                                       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.

After they had completed its days, as they were returning,

the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem,

but his parents did not know it.

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.

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.

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?”

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.

 

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TRUSTING THE TRUTHS WE DON'T UNDERSTAND

"Joy mixed with drama marks the fifth [joyful] mystery," wrote Saint John Paul II in his encyclical on the Rosary, Rosarium Virginis Mariae (paragraph #20), as he reflected on today's Gospel story about Mary and Joseph losing the boy Jesus and finding him in the Temple. "Here he appears in his divine wisdom as he listens and raises questions, already in effect one who 'teaches'."

 

This scripture, he pointed out, reveals that Jesus was already wholly dedicated to his Father's affairs. That's the first part of the mystery: How early did he feel inspired to serve as the Son of God?

 

The second part of the mystery, John Paul II explained, is "the radical nature of the Gospel, in which even the closest of human relationships are challenged by the absolute demands of the Kingdom." Which relationships? Family relationships! In this scripture, Mary and Joseph faced the challenge that every parent experiences. They were "fearful and anxious," because they did not understand what was happening to their child.

 

Today, we are like Mary and Joseph in their moment of failing to understand the words of Jesus. His teachings challenge us to accept a more difficult life, a life of doing good to our enemies, taking a stand against injustices, standing up for Christian values, getting persecuted for it, turning the cheek and going the extra mile, a life of courageously adhering to the ways of God.

 

Our preference, when it's inconvenient or unpleasant to be so holy, is to rationalize and make excuses for any behavior that the world says is good and right but which contradicts the Church's scripture-based teachings. However, if we are sincere about following Christ, we are willing to do what is difficult. And it's usually in the doing that we begin to understand the benefits of becoming more like Christ.

 

Without this understanding, however, we have to trust that the words of Jesus are truth. Like Mary and Joseph, we need to ponder in our hearts what we do not understand and at the same time move forward in holy living. Then we discover the joy that comes from a life that's lived wholly in Christ.

 

On this Feast of the Holy Family, let us pray that Mary and Joseph will help us hear Jesus whenever our troubles or temptations get so distracting that we lose sight of him. Let us learn to recognize that Jesus is always present with us in his Holy Spirit, helping us, guiding us, and mercifully loving us, especially in the challenges we face.

 

Today's Prayer

 

Beloved Jesus, Give me the grace of being aware of the ways I stray from You and renewing a firm decision to resume the path which leads me to re-encounter You. Amen.

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God Bless You.....

The Rosary Family

The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”