Feast of the Holy Family

CH01SUC

Luke 2:41-52 "He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them;and his mother kept all these things in her heart."

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

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."
Hannah left Samuel there.

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

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

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

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 he gave us.

Gospel Reading: Luke 2:41-52

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.