The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

Mass Readings

• First Reading Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14
• Responsorial Psalm Psalm 128:1-2, 3, 4-5
• Second Reading Colossians 3:12-21
• Gospel Luke 2:22-40

Open the Mass Readings on USCCB.org →

Step Into the Story

Forty days after a birth, the Law of Moses sent a Jewish mother to the Temple for purification, and every firstborn son had to be presented as the Lord’s and redeemed for five shekels. Leviticus allowed two turtledoves or pigeons for a family too poor to buy a lamb. Ben Sira, a Jerusalem scribe writing around 180 B.C., insists that honoring father and mother atones for sins. Holiness mostly happens at home.

1. c. 180 B.C.Ben Sira writes in Jerusalem
2. 63 B.C.Pompey takes Jerusalem
3. 40 B.C.Rome names Herod king
4. c. 20 B.C.Herod begins the Temple
5. This week’s scene: c. 5 B.C.Jesus brought to the Temple

Climb to Jerusalem with Mary and Joseph, likely around 5 B.C. King Herod is old and dying, but his Temple is still going up; work began around 20 B.C. and will not finish for decades. Hear the masons’ hammers and the creak of hoisting gear. Pass through the outer court, crowded with pilgrims, into the Court of the Women. Feel the cool stone under your feet. Watch Joseph hand over the price of two small birds. The Lamb of God is carried in by people who cannot afford a lamb.

Then two old people steal the scene. Simeon, who has waited all his life for “the consolation of Israel,” takes the child in his arms. Anna, a widow of the tribe of Asher, likely eighty-four, who all but lives in the Temple, comes up at that very hour. Stand close to Mary. Watch the old man’s face as he looks down at the baby, and wait for what he will say to her.

Encounter the Lord

Go to the Temple courts with Mary and Joseph. They are carrying a newborn and two small birds, the offering of the poor. No one notices them, except an old man who has waited his whole life. Simeon takes the Child in his arms and says he can now die in peace, because he has seen salvation.

Then the Gospel says simply that they went home to Nazareth, and the Child grew. For thirty years the Son of God lived in a small house, obeyed His mother and foster father, learned a trade and prayed with His family. God chose to save the world first through an ordinary home. That means your home, with its routines and its tensions, is not too small for Him.

This week, pray together as a family at least once, even if it is only grace before a meal. Do one quiet act of service at home without being asked, and offer it to Christ.

Know Your Faith

The Hidden Life at Nazareth

Jesus spent most of His life in ordinary daily work, obedient to the Law of God and to His parents (CCC 531). His everyday obedience to Mary and Joseph perfectly fulfilled the Fourth Commandment and reflected His obedience to His Father in heaven (CCC 532).

The Presentation in the Temple

At the Presentation, Jesus is shown to be the firstborn Son who belongs to the Lord. Simeon and Anna recognize Him as the long-expected Messiah, the light to the nations, and also as a sign that will be opposed (CCC 529).

The Domestic Church

The Christian family is a domestic church: a community of faith, hope and charity, and an image of the communion of the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit (CCC 2204-2205). The home is the first school of Christian life, where we learn work, love, forgiveness and prayer (CCC 1657).

Honor Your Father and Mother

Children of every age owe their parents respect and gratitude (CCC 2214-2215). Parents have the first responsibility for the education of their children, beginning with a home where tenderness, forgiveness and fidelity are the rule (CCC 2221-2223).