First reading 1 Samuel 1:20-22,24-28
This is the child I prayed for: he is made over to the Lord.
Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son, and called him Samuel ‘since’ she said ‘I asked the Lord for him.’
When a year had gone by, the husband Elkanah went up again with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to the Lord and to fulfil his vow. Hannah, however, did not go up, having said to her husband, ‘Not before the child is weaned. Then I will bring him and present him before the Lord and he shall stay there for ever.’
When she had weaned him, she took him up with her together with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine, and she brought him to the temple of the Lord at Shiloh; and the child was with them. They slaughtered the bull and the child’s mother came to Eli. She said, ‘If you please, my lord. As you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to the Lord. This is the child I prayed for, and the Lord granted me what I asked him. Now I make him over to the Lord for the whole of his life. He is made over to the Lord.’
Responsorial Psalm 83(84):2-3,5-6,9-10
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 Lod.
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 John 3:1-2,21-24
We are called God’s children, and that is what we are
Think of the love that the Father has lavished on us,
by letting us be called God’s children;
and that is what we are.
Because the world refused to acknowledge him,
therefore it does not acknowledge us.
My dear people, we are already the children of God
but what we are to be in the future has not yet been revealed;
all we know is, that when it is revealed
we shall be like him
because we shall see him as he really is.
My dear people,
if we cannot be condemned by our own conscience,
we need not be afraid in God’s presence,
and whatever we ask him,
we shall receive,
because we keep his commandments
and live the kind of life that he wants.
His commandments are these:
that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ
and that we love one another
as he told us to.
Whoever keeps his commandments
lives in God and God lives in him.
We know that he lives in us
by the Spirit that he has given us.
Gospel Luke 2:41-52
Mary stored up all these things in her heart
Every year the parents of Jesus used to go to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up for the feast as usual. When they were on their way home after the feast, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem without his parents knowing it. They assumed he was with the caravan, and it was only after a day’s journey that they went to look for him among their relations and acquaintances. When they failed to find him they went back to Jerusalem looking for him everywhere.
Three days later, they found him in the Temple, sitting among the doctors, listening to them, and asking them questions; and all those who heard him were astounded at his intelligence and his replies. They were overcome when they saw him, and his mother said to him, ‘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?’ he replied. ‘Did you not know that I must be busy with my Father’s affairs?’ But they did not understand what he meant.
He then went down with them and came to Nazareth and lived under their authority.
His mother stored up all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom, in stature, and in favour with God and men.
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Family
Today, we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family. It is important to recognize that this is not the feast of a perfect family, where Mary, Joseph, and Jesus lived in a happily-ever-after world. It is a celebration—a feast of love—shining brightly even in the midst of suffering, uncertainty and tension. In today’s Gospel, we learn about Jesus as a preteen who stayed behind in the Temple without His parents knowing. When they eventually found Him, Mary asked, “My child, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been worried sick, searching for you?” This highlights their struggle to understand Jesus and His actions. Despite their confusion, Mary and Joseph chose to remain faithful to Him and continued to love Him.
In our family, we learn what love truly means. In moments of tension and misunderstanding, we are continually invited to embrace love, allowing it to guide our hearts and unite us through life’s challenges. It is in these moments that we learn to navigate our differences and deepen our connections, reminding us that love is a choice we can make every day.
Reflective question:
What is the significance of this feast for me?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year C” by Sr Maria Jose FMVD.
