His mother kept all these things in her heart

Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph – Year C

Collect

O God, who were pleased to give us the shining example of the Holy Family, graciously grant that we may imitate them in practicing the virtues of family life and in the bonds of charity, and so, in the joy of your house, delight one day in eternal rewards. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

First Reading
1 Sm 1:20-22, 24-28

Those who fear the Lord honor their parents.

A reading from the first Book of Samuel

In those days Hannah conceived, and at the end of her term bore a son
   whom she called Samuel, since she had asked the LORD for him.
The next time her husband Elkanah was going up
   with the rest of his household
   to offer the customary sacrifice to the LORD and to fulfill his vows,
   Hannah did not go, explaining to her husband,
   “Once the child is weaned,
   I will take him to appear before the LORD
   and to remain there forever;
   I will offer him as a perpetual nazirite.”

Once Samuel was weaned, Hannah brought him up with her,
   along with a three-year-old bull,
   an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine,
   and presented him at the temple of the LORD in Shiloh.
After the boy’s father had sacrificed the young bull,
   Hannah, his mother, approached Eli and said:
   “Pardon, my lord!
As you live, my lord,
   I am the woman who stood near you here, praying to the LORD.
I prayed for this child, and the LORD granted my request.
Now I, in turn, give him to the LORD;
   as long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the LORD.”

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 84:2-3, 5-6, 9-10

℟. (cf. 5a) Blessed are they who dwell in your house, O Lord.

How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts!
   My soul yearns and pines for the courts of the LORD.
My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

℟. Blessed are they who dwell in your house, O Lord.

Happy they who dwell in your house!
   Continually they praise you.
Happy the men whose strength you are!
Their hearts are set upon the pilgrimage.

℟. Blessed are they who dwell in your house, O Lord.

O LORD of hosts, hear our prayer;
   hearken, O God of Jacob!
O God, behold our shield,
   and look upon the face of your anointed.

℟. Blessed are they who dwell in your house, O Lord.

Second Reading
1 Jn 3:1-2, 21-24

Family life in the Lord.

A reading from the first Letter of Saint John

Beloved:
See what love the Father has bestowed on us
   that we may be called the children of God.
And so we are.
The reason the world does not know us
   is that it did not know him.
Beloved, we are God’s children now;
   what we shall be has not yet been revealed.
We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him,
   for we shall see him as he is.

Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us,
   we have confidence in God and receive from him whatever we ask,
   because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.
And his commandment is this:
   we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ,
   and love one another just as he commanded us.
Those who keep his commandments remain in him,
   and he in them, and the way we know that he remains in us
   is from the Spirit that he gave us.

Acclamation before the Gospel
Acts 16:14b

℟. Alleluia, alleluia.

Open our hearts, O Lord,
to listen to the words of your Son.
℟. Alleluia, alleluia.

Lk 2:41-52

His parents found Jesus sitting in the midst of the teachers.

✠ A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover,
   and when he was twelve years old,
   they went up according to festival custom.
After they had completed its days, as they were returning,
   the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem,
   but his parents did not know it.
Thinking that he was in the caravan,
   they journeyed for a day
   and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances,
   but not finding him,
   they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.
After three days they found him in the temple,
   sitting in the midst of the teachers,
   listening to them and asking them questions,
   and all who heard him were astounded
   at his understanding and his answers.
When his parents saw him,
   they were astonished,
   and his mother said to him,
  “Son, why have you done this to us?
Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.”
And he said to them,
   “Why were you looking for me?
Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
But they did not understand what he said to them.
He went down with them and came to Nazareth,
   and was obedient to them;
   and his mother kept all these things in her heart.
And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor
   before God and man.

At the end of the Gospel, the Deacon, or the Priest, acclaims:

The Gospel of the Lord.

All reply:

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Lectio Divina
Luke ends his account of Jesus’ childhood (as well as his Gospel, see Lk 24:52-53), exactly where he began it: in the temple. In the first chapter of Luke’s Gospel, we find Zechariah fulfilling his duty in the temple, and today we find Jesus seated amongst the teachers listening to them and asking them questions … he was also fulfilling his duty towards his Father. In today’s account we hear Jesus’ first words spoken in Luke’s Gospel: a declaration that indicates who he is, and his relationship to the Father.

We read about Mary and Joseph’s adherence to the Law of Moses and about Jesus’ upbringing, who is already conversant with the Law even though he still hasn’t turned thirteen (and so was not yet obliged to follow the law of the Torah). We also read about Mary and Joseph’s anguish when they realise that they had lost their Son and spent three days searching for him until he was found in the temple.

We also find the dialogue between Mary and her Son, as well as the comment added by St Luke that “they did not understand the saying which he spoke to them.” Despite what the Angel Gabriel had told her, despite what Elizabeth had told her and despite what Simon and Anna had told her, Luke portrays Mary as she who has not yet understood. And it is here that we see Mary’s greatness: despite her pondering, she “kept all these things in her heart.”

Prayer

Jesus, like the family of Nazareth, there are also times that I have lost you. Help me so that like them I may continue to search for you until I find you.

Like Mary and Joseph, I take time to understand, and sometimes I still don’t understand and with a broken heart I ask you: “Why this?” Instil in me the love that Mary and Joseph had in their hearts and the fondness with which they raised you, especially when they did not understand.

Your presence on your return to Nazareth … and your presence in our families eliminates all void, hopelessness, and searching. Help me so that by what I think (or not think), say (or not say), do (or not do), I will not be a hinderance to your presence amongst us. Because the fullness of joy is found in obedience … as St Luke beautifully concludes his narrative: “He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them.” Amen.

 

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