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Theme:
A.
For Holy Families Today
B.
A Family Where Children Can Grow Up
Readings:
Sir
3:2-6, 12-14; Ps 105:1-2,
3-4, 6-7, 8-9
Col 3:12-21
Lk 1:22-40
Note.
For the readings, we take those of year B as given in the new edition
of the Lectionary of 1981. Whoever prefers the old readings may still
use them.
Greeting
(see the Gospel)
Our
eyes are seeing the saving love
which the Lord has prepared for all to see,
a light to enlighten the nations
and the glory of his people.
This light is Jesus our Lord.
May the Lord Jesus be always with you. R/ And
also with you.
Introduction by the Celebrant
A.
For Holy Families Today
On
this Feast of the Holy Family we think of all the Christian families.
Are there holy families outside the one of Nazareth? Yes, there are,
each in its own unique way, if the members, parents and children, love
and respect one another and let God nourish and deepen their affection;
yes, if food and joy and cares are shared; yes, if clashes are resolved
in a way that lets people grow together in forgiveness and understanding;
yes, there are holy families where the door is open in hospitality and
where the Lord himself is welcomed in people who are poor and suffering.
It is the Lord himself who welcomes us here today.
B.
A Family Where Children Can Grow Up
In
today’s celebration of the Holy Family our Christian families are given
a model. In many ways the Holy Family of Nazareth was unique and impossible
to imitate. Today’s scriptures stress one way in which all our families
can follow them: seeking God’s will and obeying it and finding joy and
happiness in it even when that will demands sacrifices. Jesus is shown
as someone who, from the child he was at Christmas, grew up to full
maturity and who would carry out God’s will to the very end. Like him,
may we grow to maturity in our faith and our love.
Penitential
Act
Let
us ask the Lord to forgive us
for the times we have hurt one another
in our families and communities.
(pause)
Lord Jesus, let your servants see
the peace of your forgiveness:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus
Christ, you are the light of all the nations
and the salvation of the whole world:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord
Jesus, you are the glory of your people,
the sign of God’s mercy:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Have
mercy on us, Lord,
reconcile us with you and with one another.
Live in our homes and communities
and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening
Prayer
Let
us pray to our Father
to make us all one family in Christ
(pause)
God our Father,
you gave to your Son Jesus Christ
the warmth and security of a family
with Mary and Joseph at Nazareth.
Make your Son also share the life
of all our Christian families
and make your Church a community
where we learn to accept and help one another
as members of one family.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Scripture
Readings
First
Reading: Sir 3:2-6, 12-14
The
Lord established that children should respect their father; he confirmed
the right of the mother over her children.
Whoever
honors his father atones for his sins; he who gives glory to his mother
prepares a treasure for himself.
Whoever
honors his father will receive joy from his own children and will be
heard when he prays.
Whoever
glorifies his father will have a long life. Whoever obeys the Lord gives
comfort to his mother.
My
child, take care of your father in his old age, do not cause him sorrow
as long as he lives.
Even
if he has lost his mind, have patience; do not be disrespectful to him
while you are in full health.
For
kindness done to one's father will never be forgotten, it will serve
as reparation for your sins.
Second
Reading: Col 3:12-21
Clothe
yourselves, then, as is fitting for God's chosen people, holy and beloved
of him. Put on compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience
to bear with one another and forgive whenever there is any occasion
to do so. As the Lord has forgiven you, forgive one another. When you
have put on all these, take love as your belt so that the dress be perfect.
May the peace of Christ overflow in your hearts; for this end you were
called to be one body. And be thankful.
Let
the word of God dwell in you in all its richness. Teach and admonish
one another with words of wisdom. With thankful hearts sing to God psalms,
hymns and spontaneous praise. And whatever you do or say, do it in the
Name of Jesus, the Lord, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Wives,
submit yourselves to your husbands, as you should do in the Lord. Husbands,
love your wives and do not get angry with them. Children, obey your
parents in everything, because that pleases the Lord. Parents, do not
be too demanding of your children, lest they become discouraged.
Responsorial
Psalm: Ps 105:1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8-9
R.
The Lord remembers his covenant forever.
Give
thanks to the LORD, invoke his name;
make known among the nations his deeds.
Sing to him, sing his praise,
proclaim all his wondrous deeds.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant forever.
Glory
in his holy name;
rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD!
Look to the LORD in his strength;
constantly seek his face.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant forever.
You
descendants of Abraham, his servants,
sons of Jacob, his chosen ones!
He, the LORD, is our God;
throughout the earth his judgments prevail.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant forever.
He
remembers forever his covenant
which he made binding for a thousand generations
which he entered into with Abraham
and by his oath to Isaac.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant forever.
Gospel
Introduction: A Light to Enlighten the
Nations
Mary
and Joseph are told that the child Jesus is not theirs to keep for themselves.
They must give him to all as the Savior of everyone and accept the difficulties
of this mission.
Gospel
Reading: Lk 2:22-40
When
the day came for the purification according to the law of Moses, they
brought the baby up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, as it is
written in the law of the Lord: Every firstborn male shall be consecrated
to God. And they offered a sacrifice as ordered in the law of the Lord:
a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.
There
lived in Jerusalem at this time a very upright and devout man named
Simeon; the Holy Spirit was in him. He looked forward to the time when
the Lord would comfort Israel, and he had been assured by the Holy Spirit
that he would not die before seeing the Messiah of the Lord. So he was
led into the Temple by the Holy Spirit at the time the parents brought
the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law.
Simeon
took the child in his arms and blessed God, saying,
"Now, O Lord, you can dismiss
your servant in peace,
for you have fulfilled your word
and my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you display for all the people to see.
Here is the light you will reveal to the nations
and the glory of your people Israel."
His
father and mother wondered at what was said about the child. Simeon
blessed them and said to Mary, his mother, "See him; he will be
for the rise or fall of the multitudes of Israel. He shall stand as
a sign of contradiction, while a sword will pierce your own soul. Then
the secret thoughts of many may be brought to light."
There
was also a prophetess named Anna, daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe
of Asher. After leaving her father's home, she had been seven years
with her husband, and since then she had been continually about the
Temple, serving God as a widow night and day in fasting and prayer.
She was now eighty-four. Coming up at that time, she gave praise to
God and spoke of the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance
of Jerusalem.
When
the parents had fulfilled all that was required by the law of the Lord,
they returned to their town, Nazareth in Galilee. There the child grew
in stature and strength and was filled with wisdom: the grace of God
was upon him.
Commentary
• Gospel
Reflections by Fr. Gerry Pierse, C.Ss.R.
General
Intercessions
On
this feast of the Holy Family of Nazareth, let us pray to God our Father
as one family of God’s sons and daughters. Let us say: R/
Listen to your people, Lord.
–
For God’s family of the Church, that it may keep defending respect for
life, the call to fidelity and love, the sacredness of the marriage
bond, let us pray:
R/ Listen to your people, Lord
–
For mothers like Mary, with a warm heart and a spirit of service, for
mothers who keep caring for their children and teaching them generosity
and courage, let us pray:
R/ Listen to your people, Lord
–
For fathers like Joseph, industrious, sacrificing and serving God, for
parents who prepare their children to become free and responsible adults,
let us pray:
R/ Listen to your people, Lord
–
For couples who live together as strangers, that they may discover one
another in patience and forgiveness and mutual trust, let us pray:
R/ Listen to your people, Lord
–
For children, that as they grow up they may appreciate their parents
and be grateful to them; for grandparents, that children and grandchildren
may help and love them in the evening of their life, let us pray:
R/ Listen to your people, Lord
–
For all of us here gathered in the eucharist, that we may share each
other’s lives and concerns as one big, caring family, let us pray:
R/ Listen to your people, Lord
Lord
our God, Jesus grew up in a human family. May Mary and Joseph teach
us to let Jesus grow up in us, for he is our Lord for ever and ever.
R/ Amen.
Prayer
over the Gifts
God
our Father,
you invite us to share the family table
of Jesus your Son.
May the food and drink he gives us
change us into gifts to one another,
that we may become each other’s
bread and wine, life and joy.
Let serving love and respect
be our offering to one another and to you,
today and tomorrow and every day,
on account of your Son in our midst,
Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Introduction
to the Eucharistic Prayer
We
thank today our Father for having given us the Holy Family as a model
of love and service for all our homes. May our families be as responsive
to God as the Holy Family was.
Introduction
to the Lord’s Prayer
United
before God as his sons and daughters
we pray the prayer taught us
by his Son, Jesus of Nazareth. R/ Our Father...
Deliver
Us
Deliver
us, Lord, from every evil
and let the peace of Christ live
in our hearts and our homes.
Keep us from all that divides us
or encloses us within ourselves.
Give us compassion, gentleness and patience,
that we may prepare in hope and joy
the full coming among us
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. R/ For
the kingdom...
Invitation
to Communion
This
is Jesus the Lord,
who comes to unite us
as the sons and daughters of the Father.
Happy are we to be invited
at the family table of the Lord. R/ Lord, I
am not worthy...
Prayer
after Communion
God
our Father,
Jesus your Son made himself near to us
in this eucharistic celebration.
He has been here for us
approachable and available to all.
May he keep on living
in our homes and our communities.
Let him make us approachable
and available to one another,
even at the cost of personal discomfort
and, with Mary and Joseph,
ready for any task you may entrust to us.
For we can do everything
in the name of Jesus the Lord. R/ Amen.
Blessing
It
was good to be together
as the family of God’s people
and to pray with the Holy Family of Nazareth
for what is dear to all of us:
our homes, our families,
the Christian community,
the family of our nation and people.
May God bless you all
and keep you united:
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Go
in the peace of the Lord. R/ Thanks be to God.
Gospel
Commentary
(Sunday)
A
day to pray for families, as we remember Mary and Joseph carrying Jesus
to the Temple to present him to God as their first-born. Who is the
child they carry? This time it is through Simeon and Anna that the revelation
is given. People of wisdom, prayer and faith, God enlightened them to
see in this simple child God's anointed one. Like Elizabeth, John the
Baptist, the shepherds, even Stephen, Simeon is filled with joy. "Lord,
you have been faithful to your promise, and now you can let your servant
go in peace, for my eyes have seen your salvation." Jesus is the
light for all nations, and the glory of his own people. The cross cannot
be forgotten: a sword will pierce his mother's soul. Yet, through his
wounds we shall be healed.
TOP
Taken
from Liturgy
Alive for Sundays, Cycle B
Copyright © 2002 by Claretian Publications
A division of Claretian Communications, Inc.
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Email: cci@claret.org
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