Daily Reading

First Reading

Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14

For the Lord honors a father above his children,
    and he confirms a mother’s right over her children.
Those who honor their father atone for sins,
   and those who respect their mother are like those who lay up treasure.
Those who honor their father will have joy in their own children,
    and when they pray they will be heard.
Those who respect their father will have long life,
    and those who honor their mother obey the Lord;
My child, help your father in his old age,
    and do not grieve him as long as he lives;
even if his mind fails, be patient with him;
    because you have all your faculties do not despise him.
For kindness to a father will not be forgotten,
    and will be credited to you against your sins;

Psalm

Psalm 128:1-2, 3, 4-5

Happy is everyone who fears the Lord,
    who walks in his ways.
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;
    you shall be happy, and it shall go well with you.
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
    within your house;
your children will be like olive shoots
    around your table.
Thus shall the man be blessed
    who fears the Lord.
The Lord bless you from Zion.
    May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
    all the days of your life.

Second Reading

Colossians 3:12-17

As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. 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.

Gospel Reading

Mt 2:13-15, 19-23

Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.”

When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.” Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He will be called a Nazorean.”

Reflection

Friends, on this feast of the Holy Family, our Gospel shows us Joseph and Mary’s flight into Egypt, pursuing their mission to protect the Christ child. This story prompts me to say something about the Christian family’s mission.

The family is, above all, the forum in which both parents and children are able to discern their missions. It is perfectly good, of course, if deep bonds and rich emotions are cultivated within the family, but those relationships and passions must cede to something that is more spiritually focused. 

A biblical prioritization of values helps us to see what typically goes wrong with families. When something other than mission is dominant—a son’s athletic achievement, a daughter’s success at university, etc.—family relationships actually become strained. The paradox is this: Precisely in the measure that everyone in the family focuses on God’s call for one another, the family becomes more loving and peaceful.John Paul II admirably summed up what I’ve been driving at when he spoke of the family as an ecclesiola (a little Church). At its best, he implies, the family is a place where God is worshiped and where the discernment of God’s mission is of paramount importance.