A family to pattern ours

TODAY is Sunday, the 29th of December 2019. This day the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of the

Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.

This day’s Psalm is,

“Blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways.”

The 1st Reading is from

Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14. It says:

For 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.

The 2nd Reading is from Colossians 3:12-17. Clothe yourself, 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. Above all, clothe yourself with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 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 and say, do it in the name of Jesus, the Lord, giving thanks to God, the Father, through him.

This Sunday’s Gospel is from 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 soon Herod will 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 Archelaus 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 a region in 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.

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 protect baby Jesus from all the dangers brought about by the evil plan of Herod.

The feast invites us to have a gaze into the Holy family. Take it as a model of our families as well. Our families today are not exempt from the many dangers attacking the family of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus.

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.”