Sunday, December 29, 2013
Holy Family of Jesus,
Mary and Joseph
1st Reading:
Sir 3:2-6,12-14
2nd Reading: Col 3:12-21
Gospel: Luke 2:22-40 or 2:22,39-40
When the day came for the purification according to the law of Moses, they brought the baby up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, as it is written in the law of the Lord: Every firstborn male shall be consecrated to God. And they offered a sacrifice as ordered in the law of the Lord: a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.
There lived in Jerusalem at this time a very upright and devout man named Simeon; the Holy Spirit was in him. He looked forward to the time when the Lord would comfort Israel, and he had been assured by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before seeing the Messiah of the Lord. So he was led into the Temple by the Holy Spirit at the time the parents brought the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law. Simeon took the child in his arms and blessed God (…)
There was also a prophetess named Anna, daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. After leaving her father’s home, she had been seven years with her husband, and since then she had been continually about the Temple, serving God as a widow night and day in fasting and prayer. She was now eighty-four. Coming up at that time, she gave praise to God and spoke of the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem.
When the parents had fulfilled all that was required by the law of the Lord, they returned to their town, Nazareth in Galilee. There the child grew in stature and strength and was filled with wisdom: the grace of God was upon him.
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
After a long wait Simeon and Anna were overjoyed to embrace the promised Messiah. Every child born to this world is not just a source of joy to the family but to the community. Here lies the missionary dimension of every family. Mary and Joseph carried this out to perfection when they provided Jesus with an environment conducive to “growth in wisdom and stature” (Luke 2:52).
Our family too can be as holy as the family of Joseph and Mary if we observe its missionary dimension. While the family is “an association that promotes a way of life, not causes; a harmony in living, not political faiths; a bilateral loyalty, not commercial or social projects” (Griswold vs. Connecticut, 381 US 479), one cannot just enter into marriage without any noble cause or without having in view some social projects to make this world a better place to live in. Have you already identified your family’s mission vision? —Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM, Email: [email protected]. Website: www.frdan.org.
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