Saturday, December
28, 2013
Feast of Holy Family
of Jesus,
Mary and Joseph
5:30 pm Novena to Our Lady
6:00 pm Mass in English
Prayer for the Feast
of the Holy Family
Dear Lord, bless our
family. Be so kind as to give us the unity, peace, and mutual love that You
found in Your own family in the little town of Nazareth.
Saint Joseph, bless
the head of our family. Obtain for him the strength, the wisdom, and the
prudence he needs to support and direct those under his care.
Mother Mary, bless
the mother of our family. Help her to be pure and kind, gentle and
self-sacrificing. For the more she resembles you, the better will our family be.
Lord Jesus, bless the
children of our family. Help them to be obedient and devoted to their parents.
Make them more and more like You. Let them grow, as You did, in wisdom and age
and grace before God and man. Holy Family of Nazareth, make our family and home
more and more like Yours, until we are all one family, happy and at peace in
our true home with You. Amen.
First Reading
SIRACH 3:3-7, 14-17
3 Whoever respects a father expiates sins,
4 whoever honours a mother is like someone
amassing a fortune.
5 Whoever respects a father will in turn be
happy with children, the day he prays for help, he will be heard.
6 Long life comes to anyone who honours a
father, whoever obeys the Lord makes a mother happy.
7 Such a one serves parents as well as the
Lord.
14 for kindness to a father will not be
forgotten but will serve as reparation for your sins.
15 On your own day of ordeal God will remember
you: like frost in sunshine, your sins will melt away.
16 Whoever deserts a father is no better than a
blasphemer, and whoever distresses a mother is accursed of the Lord.
17 My child, be gentle in carrying out your
business, and you will be better loved than a lavish giver.
“The
Word of the Lord”
PSALMS 127:1-5
1 [Song of Ascents Of Solomon] If Yahweh does
not build a house in vain do its builders toil. If Yahweh does not guard a city
in vain does its guard keep watch.
2 In vain you get up earlier, and put off going
to bed, sweating to make a living, since it is he who provides for his beloved
as they sleep.
3 Sons are a birthright from Yahweh, children
are a reward from him.
4 Like arrows in a warrior's hand are the sons
you father when young.
5 How blessed is the man who has filled his
quiver with them; in dispute with his enemies at the city gate he will not be
worsted.
Second Reading
COLOSSIANS 3:12-21
12 As the chosen of God, then, the holy people
whom he loves, you are to be clothed in heartfelt compassion, in generosity and
humility, gentleness and patience.
13 Bear with one another; forgive each other if
one of you has a complaint against another. The Lord has forgiven you; now you
must do the same.
14 Over all these clothes, put on love, the
perfect bond.
15 And may the peace of Christ reign in your
hearts, because it is for this that you were called together in one body.
Always be thankful.
16 Let the Word of Christ, in all its richness,
find a home with you. Teach each other, and advise each other, in all wisdom.
With gratitude in your hearts sing psalms and hymns and inspired songs to God;
17 and whatever you say or do, let it be in the
name of the Lord Jesus, in thanksgiving to God the Father through him.
18 Wives, be subject to your husbands, as you
should in the Lord.
19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be sharp
with them.
20 Children, be obedient to your parents always,
because that is what will please the Lord.
21 Parents, do not irritate your children or
they will lose heart.
“The
Word of the Lord”
Gospel Reading
MATTHEW 2:13-15,
19-23
13 After they had left, suddenly the angel of
the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, 'Get up, take the child and
his mother with you, and escape into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you,
because Herod intends to search for the child and do away with him.'
14 So Joseph got up and, taking the child and
his mother with him, left that night for Egypt,
15 where he stayed until Herod was dead. This
was to fulfil what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: I called my son out
of Egypt.
19 After Herod's death, suddenly the angel of
the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt
20 and said, 'Get up, take the child and his
mother with you and go back to the land of Israel, for those who wanted to kill
the child are dead.'
21 So Joseph got up and,
taking the child and his mother with him, went back to the land of Israel.
22 But when he learnt that Archelaus had
succeeded his father Herod as ruler of Judaea he was afraid to go there, and
being warned in a dream he withdrew to the region of Galilee.
23 There he settled in a town called Nazareth.
In this way the words spoken through the prophets were to be fulfilled: He will
be called a Nazarene.
“The
Gospel of the Lord”
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