Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

Sunday in the Christmas Octave

Hadd fl-Ottava tal-Milied

               

Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

Festa tal-Familja Mqaddsa ta’ Gesù, Marija u Guzeppi

First Reading: 1 Samuel 1, 20-22.24-28

 So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel,[b] saying, “Because I asked the LORD for him.” When her husband Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to the LORD and to fulfill his vow,  Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, “After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the LORD, and he will live there always.”   After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull,] an ephah of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh. When the bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli,  and she said to him, “Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the LORD.  I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him.  So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD.” And he worshiped the LORD there. This is the Word of the Lord.

Qari I - 1 Samwel 1, 20-22.24-28

F’dak iz-zmien Anna tqalet, u meta wasal zmienha wildet iben u semmietu Samwel «ghaliex - kif qalet hi - tlabtu lill-Mulej.»  Elkana bil-familja kollha tala’ joffri s-sagrifiççju ta’ kull sena lill-Mulej u jtemm il-weghda tieghu.  Imma Anna ma telghetx, ghaliex qalet lil zewgha: «Meta nkun ftamt it-tifel, imbaghad niehdu biex jidher quddiem il-Mulej, u jibqa’ hemm ghal dejjem.»  U meta fatmitu, Anna tellghet ‘il binha maghha fid-dar tal-Mulej f’Silo. Hadet maghha gendus ta’ tliet snin, efa dqiq u zaqq inbid, u marret bit-tfajjel maghha.  Hemm qatlu l-gendus, u ressqu t-tifel quddiem Gheli,  u qaltlu: «Nitolbok, sidi; daqskemm int haj, sidi, jien dik il-mara li kienet wieqfa hawn hdejk titlob lill-Mulej. Ghal dan it-tifel kont tlabt, u l-Mulej laqa’ t-talba tieghi, u tani li tlabtu. U issa jien se naghtih lill-Mulej il-jiem kollha ta’ hajtu, u kemm idum haj ikun tal-Mulej.» U qiemu lill-Mulej hemmhekk. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 84

Rl    (5a): Blessed are those who dwell in your house

How lovely is your dwelling place, LORD Almighty- My soul yearns, even faints, 

for the courts of the LORD;  my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.    /R

Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. 
Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.     /R

Look on our shield O God;  look with favor on your anointed one.       /R

Salm Responsorjali - Salm 83 (84), 2-3. 5-6. 9-10

Rl    (5a): Henjin dawk li jghammru f’darek, Mulej

Kemm hi ghaziza d-dar tieghek, Mulej tal-ezerçti! ixxennaq u tinfena ruhi ghat-tempju tal-Mulej;                                                                                                                       nghanni ferhan b’ruhi u gismi lil Alla l-haj.       /Rl   

Henjin dawk li jghammru f’darek; huma jfahhruk ghal dejjem. Henjin dawk li jsibu fik il-qawwa taghhom,                                                                                                                                                             li ghandhom ghal qalbhom il-pellegrinagg ghat-tempju.      /Rl 

                                

Hares, o Alla, lejn it-tarka taghna, Hares lejn is-sultan, il-midluk tieghek.      /Rl

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Reading 2 – 1 John 3. 1.2. 21.24

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him.  And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.  The one who keeps God’s commandslives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us. This is the Word of the Lord.

Qari II - 1 Gwanni 3, 1-2, 21-24

Gheziez, araw b’liema ghozza habbna l-Missier; nistghu nissejhu wlied Alla, u hekk ahna tassew! Ghalhekk id-dinja ma taghrafniex, ghax ma gharfitx lilu. Gheziez, issa ahna wlied Alla, imma x’se nkunu ’l quddiem mhuwiex irrivelat lilna. Madankollu nafu li meta jidher hu, ahna nkunu bhalu, ghax narawh kif inhu. Gheziez, jekk il-kuxjenza taghna ma ççanfarniex, ahna qalbna qawwija quddiem Alla,  u kulma nitolbu naqilghuh minghandu, ghax qeghdin inZommu l-kmandamenti tieghu u naghmlu dak li joghgob lilu. Dan hu l-kmandament tieghu: li nemmnu fl-isem ta’ Ibnu Gesù Kristu, u nhobbu ’l xulxin, kif wissiena hu. Min izomm il-kmandamenti tieghu jghammar f’Alla u Alla fih. B’hekk naghrfu li hu jghammar fina: bl-Ispirtu li hu tana. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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Gospel - Luke 2, 41-52 

Every year, Joseph and Mary used to travel to Jerusalem and celebrate the Passover. When Jesus was twelve years old, they took him to Jerusalem for the festival. After the family celebrated Passover, Joseph and Mary started home. But, the young boy Jesus remained in Jerusalem and his parents didn't realize it. Joseph and Mary thought Jesus tagged along with the travel party. So they looked for him among their family and friends. When they didn't find him, Joseph and Mary returned to Jerusalem to look for him there. Three days later, Joseph and Mary found Jesus in the Temple sitting with some religious teachers. He listened to what they taught and asked them questions. Everyone who heard Jesus was surprised at his bright answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. "Child, why did you do this to us?" his mother scolded Jesus. "Listen! Your father and I searched for you everywhere. We were worried about you!"  "Why did you spend all your time looking for me?" Jesus answered. "Didn't you know I needed to be in my Father's house, doing what my Father wants me to do?" They didn't understand his answer. But his mother thought a lot about everything that happened. Joseph, Mary, and Jesus returned home to Nazareth. There, obeying his parents, Jesus grew in wisdom and physical size. He pleased God and the people more and more. This is the Word of the Lord.

Evangelju - Luqa 2, 41-52 

Ta’ kull sena l-genituri ta’ Gesù kienu jmorru Ìerusalemm ghall-festa tal-Ghid. Meta kellu tnax-il sena telghu wkoll, skont id-drawwa ta’ dik il-festa. Wara li ghaddew dawk il-granet qabdu t-triq lura, imma t-tfajjel Ìesù baqa’ Ìerusalemm bla ma kienu jafu l-genituri tieghu. Huma hasbuh qieghed ma’ xi whud li kienu fit-triq maghhom; i?da meta wara jum mixi fittxewh fost qrabathom u n-nies li kienu jafuhom, ma sabuhx, u ghalhekk regghu lura Gerusalemm ifittxuh. Wara tlitt ijiem sabuh fit-tempju, bilqieghda f’nofs l-ghalliema, jismaghhom u jistaqsihom; u kull min semghu baqa’ mistaghgeb bid-dehen u t-twegibiet tieghu. Kif rawh, instamtu, u ommu qaltlu: «Ibni, dan ghaliex ghamiltilna hekk? Ara, missierek u jiena konna qeghdin infittxuk b’qalbna maqsuma.» U hu qalilhom: «U ghaliex kontu qeghdin tfittxuni? Ma tafux li jiena ghandi nkun f’dak li hu ta’ Missieri?» Izda kliemu ma fehmuhx. Imbaghad nizel maghhom u raga’ mar Nazaret; u kien jobdihom. U ommu kienet tghozz f’qalbha dawn il-hwejjeg kollha. U hekk Gesù baqa’ jikber fl-gherf, fis-snin u fil-grazzja, quddiem Alla u quddiem il-bnedmin. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej  

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The Holy Family

      

  

                                                         

COMMENTARY on Sunday’s Gospel                                                                                                                                           by Sacred Space - www.sacredspace.ie

IT IS CUSTOMARY to celebrate the feast of the Holy Family on the Sunday immediately following our celebrations on the birth of Jesus at Christmas. It is a time when we can reflect on the quality of our own family life in the light of the Church’s (if not the world’s) ‘First Family’.  For a large part of his life Jesus was part of a family. We always imagine that this must have been an extremely happy family. Yet, like every other family, it must have had from time to time its ups and downs, its joys and sorrows, its problems and difficulties. 

There may have been problems about supplying the family’s needs on occasion. Surely someone fell sick at one time or another and was a source of anxiety for the rest of the family. And this was in an age when medical resources were few and relatively little was known about health and hygiene. During Jesus’ public life, Mary appears a number of times and she witnessed his death on the cross. But we do not know anything about Joseph. Had he already died by the beginning of Jesus’ public life (although his name is mentioned during Jesus’ visit to Nazareth [Luke 4:22])? Given the short life expectancy of those days, it is very possible that, by the time Jesus was in his 30s, Joseph had already died. If so, it must have been a painful experience for mother and son. There is no reason to think that Holy Family was spared any of the pains or denied any of the joys of ordinary families. 

Leaving the family

It must have been a painful time – as it can be for any family – when Jesus, already about 30 years old, left his family for the work his Father had given him to do. But warning of this had come much earlier, as described in today’s Gospel.  The family had gone to Jerusalem, according to their regular custom, to celebrate the Passover with thousands of other pilgrims. We are told that Jesus was just 12 years old, the age when he was regarded as entering adulthood and be required to observe all the requirements of the Mosaic Law. This partly explains his behaviour on this occasion. 

As the caravan of pilgrims (very likely the people of Nazareth went together with relatives and neighbours) was on its way home, Mary and Joseph suddenly realise that the Jesus is not with them. Being in a group of neighbours and relatives they would not at first have experienced any alarm if he was not in their immediate company. If he was a normal boy, he would be spending much of his time with other boys in the group.  But then – perhaps he did not turn up for a meal or in the evening time – the parents began to become anxious. When they went looking for him, there was no sign anywhere among family members and friends. So they went back to Jerusalem “looking for him everywhere”. Only people who have lost a son or daughter or sibling in this way will be able to appreciate the anxiety such a situation would engender. What was worse, the city of Jerusalem was filled with strangers and anything could happen to a young boy on his own. 

Finally, the parents went to the Temple and were amazed to find their boy calmly sitting with the religious teachers and discussing with them. And he was impressing them with his intelligence and the answers he was giving to their questions.  Mary, however, was not quite so appreciative. “My child, why have you done this to us? See how worried your father and I have been, looking for you.” “Why were you looking for me?” Jesus replied. “Did you not know that I must be busy with my Father’s affairs?” What did he mean talking like that? Mary had mentioned Jesus’ ‘father’ but Jesus had spoken about ‘my Father’. They did not yet fully grasp what he was talking about. 

They all then went back together to Nazareth where peaceful family life resumed as it had been. But this interlude was a presage of things to come. Their Son had a very special mission which went far beyond the life in Nazareth. Only later would the Mother understand. For now, she stored the memories in her heart.  From now on, Jesus would belong to a new family, the family of the world and especially of those who were committed to follow his Way. His mother, brothers and sisters would from now on be those who became his disciples, those who heard the Word of God and kept it. They would, of course, also include Mary his mother, for no one kept and heard God’s Word better than she. 

Most people, in one way or another, leave their family environment. While the family must always have top priority in our concerns, it is not an absolute priority. All of us, and especially Christians, are called to follow the example of Jesus and align ourselves with the family of the world. For, with one Father, we are all brothers and sisters to each other and are called to care for each other. One of the problems with some modern families is that they see the surrounding society as being there simply to satisfy their wants and ambitions. It is this attitude which can put unbearable pressures on young people.