The Holy Family

The Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and Saint Joseph are the Holy Family. The Roman Catholic Church, celebrates the liturgical feast of the Holy Family in honor of Jesus of Nazareth, his mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and his foster father, Saint Joseph, as a family. 

 

 

 

The feast is celebrated on the Sunday that follows  Christmas (in the case that Sunday is 1 January, then it is celebrated on 30 December instead).

 

Prayer Before a Picture of the Holy Family

O most loving Jesus, Who by Thy surpassing virtues and the example of Thy home life didst hallow the household in which Thou didst choose to live while on earth, mercifully look down upon this family, whose members, humbly prostrate before Thee, implore Thy protection. Remember that we are Thine, bound and consecrated to Thee by a special devotion. Protect us in Thy mercy, deliver us from danger, help us in our necessities, and impart to us strength to persevere always in the imitation of Thy Holy Family, so that, by serving Thee and loving Thee faithfully during this mortal life, we may at length give Thee eternal praise in heaven.

O Mary, dearest Mother, we implore thy assistance, knowing that thy divine Son will hearken to thy petition.

And do thou, most glorious patriarch, St. Joseph, help us with thy powerful patronage, and place our petitions in Mary's hands, that she may offer them to Jesus Christ.

AMEN.

 

Matthew 2:13-23

The Escape to Egypt

¹³ When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

¹⁴ So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, ¹⁵ where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

¹⁶ When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. ¹⁷ Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

¹⁸ “A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.”

The Return to Nazareth

¹⁹ After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt ²⁰ and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”

²¹ So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. ²² But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, ²³ and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene. 


Churches in Malaysia

 Holy Family Church, Kajang

11, Jalan Gereja

Kajang

Selangor Darul Ehsan

43000

Malaysia

Email : hfc-11@streamyx.com

Tel : +603 87331154

Fax : +603 87330471

Website : http://www.hfckajang.org/

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Churches in Singapore
Church of the Holy Family (1936)

6, Chapel Road, Singapore 429509

Tel : +6502 6344 0046      Fax : +6502 6348 0552

Website : http://holyfamily.org.sg/

 

Sunday, December 30, 2012
The Holy Family (Feast)
 
First Reading
Sirach 3: 2 - 7, 12 - 14

2	For the Lord honored the father above the children, and he confirmed the right of the mother over her sons.
3	Whoever honors his father atones for sins,
4	and whoever glorifies his mother is like one who lays up treasure.
5	Whoever honors his father will be gladdened by his own children, and when he prays he will be heard.
6	Whoever glorifies his father will have long life, and whoever obeys the Lord will refresh his mother;
7	he will serve his parents as his masters.
12	O son, help your father in his old age, and do not grieve him as long as he lives;
13	even if he is lacking in understanding, show forbearance; in all your strength do not despise him.
14	For kindness to a father will not be forgotten, and against your sins it will be credited to you;

Psalm
Psalms 128: 1 - 5 

1	Blessed is every one who fears the LORD, who walks in his ways!
2	You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you.
3	Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table.
4	Lo, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the LORD.
5	The LORD bless you from Zion! May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life!

Second Reading
Colossians 3: 12 - 21

12	Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience,
13	forbearing one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
14	And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
15	And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful.
16	Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teach and admonish one another in all wisdom, and sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
17	And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
18	Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
19	Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them.
20	Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.
21	Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.

Gospel
Luke 2: 22 - 40 

22	And when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord
23	(as it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord")
24	and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, "a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons."
25	Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
26	And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
27	And inspired by the Spirit he came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the law,
28	he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,
29	"Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word;
30	for mine eyes have seen thy salvation
31	which thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32	a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to thy people Israel."
33	And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him;
34	and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against
35	(and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed."
36	And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phan'u-el, of the tribe of Asher; she was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years from her virginity,
37	and as a widow till she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.
38	And coming up at that very hour she gave thanks to God, and spoke of him to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.
39	And when they had performed everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth.
40	And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.