THE FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY
Kind God, may I receive the Body of Your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, born from the womb of the Virgin Mary, and so be received into His mystical body and numbered among His members.
Loving Father, as on my earthly pilgrimage I now receive Your beloved Son under the veil of a sacrament, may I one day see Him face to face in glory, who lives and reigns with You forever. Amen. By Knights of the Holy Eucharist. THE FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY
Your heir shall be your own
flesh and blood
The word of the Lord was
spoken to Abram in a vision, ‘Have no fear, Abram, I am your shield; your
reward will be very great.’
Lord,’ Abram replied ‘what do you intend to give me? I go childless…’. Then Abram said, ‘See, you have given me no descendants; some man of my household will be my heir.’ And then this word of the Lord was spoken to him, ‘He shall not be your heir; your heir shall be of your own flesh and blood.’ Then taking him outside he said, ‘Look up to heaven and count the stars if you can. Such will be your descendants’ he told him. Abram put his faith in the Lord, who counted this as making him justified.
The Lord dealt kindly with
Sarah as he had said, and did what he had promised. So Sarah conceived and bore
a son to Abraham in his old age, at the time God had promised. Abraham named
the son born to him Isaac, the son to whom Sarah had given birth.
He, the Lord, is our God. He
remembers his covenant for ever
O sing to him, sing his
praise; tell all his wonderful works!
Be proud of his holy name, let
the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice.
Consider the Lord and his
strength; constantly seek his face.
Remember the wonders he has
done, his miracles, the judgements he spoke.
O children of Abraham, his
servant, O sons of the Jacob he chose.
He remembers his covenant for
ever, his promise for a thousand generations,
the covenant he made with
Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac.
The faith of Abraham and of
Sarah
It was by faith that Abraham
obeyed the call to set out for a country that was the inheritance given to him
and his descendants, and that he set out without knowing where he was going. It
was equally by faith that Sarah, in spite of being past the age, was made able
to conceive, because she believed that he 
who had made the promise would be faithful to it. Because of this, there came from one man, and one who was already as good as dead himself, more descendants than could be counted, as many as the stars of heaven or the grains of sand on the seashore.
who had made the promise would be faithful to it. Because of this, there came from one man, and one who was already as good as dead himself, more descendants than could be counted, as many as the stars of heaven or the grains of sand on the seashore.
It was by faith that Abraham,
when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He offered to sacrifice his only son even
though the promises had been made to him and he had been told: It is
through Isaac that your name will be carried on. He was confident that
God had the power even to raise the dead; and so, figuratively speaking, he was
given back Isaac from the dead.
My eyes have seen your
salvation
Now in Jerusalem there was a
man named Simeon. He was an upright and devout man; he looked forward to
Israel’s comforting and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to
him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death until he had set eyes on the
Christ of the Lord. Prompted by the Spirit he came to the Temple and when the
parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the Law required, he took
him into his arms and blessed God; and he said:
‘Now, Master, you can let your
servant go in peace,
just as you promised;
because my eyes have seen the
salvation
which you have prepared for
all the nations to see,
a light to enlighten the
pagans
and the glory of your people
Israel.’
There was a prophetess also,
Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was well on in years.
Her days of girlhood over, she had been married for seven years before becoming
a widow. She was now eighty-four years old and never left the Temple, serving
God night and day with fasting and prayer. She came by just at that moment and
began to praise God; and she spoke of the child to all who looked forward to
the deliverance of Jerusalem.
When they had done everything
the Law of the Lord required, they went back to Galilee, to their own town of
Nazareth. Meanwhile the child grew to maturity, and he was filled with wisdom;
and God’s favour was with him.
Father, help us to live as the holy family, united in respect and love. Bring us to the joy and peace of your eternal home. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Pauline Prayer of the Church
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