Feast of the Holy Family: Readings & Sermon
The Mass readings for the Feast of the Holy Family are selected from the pre-1955 Missal of St. Pius X. Followed by the sermon of Monsignor Thomas Sebastian, Oratory Chapel of St. Francis of Assisi, Society of Christ the King.
INTROIT: Proverbs 23:24, 25
THE FATHER OF THE JUST rejoiceth greatly. Let Thy father and Thy mother be joyful, and let her rejoice that bore Thee. Psalm 83:2 – 3. How lovely are Thy tabernacles, O Lord of Hosts! My soul longeth and fainteth for the courts of the Lord. V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be; world without end. Amen. THE FATHER OF THE JUST rejoiceth greatly. Let Thy father and Thy mother be joyful, and let her rejoice that bore Thee.
EPISTLE: Colossians 3:12 – 17
BRETHREN: Put ye on therefore as the elect of God, holy, and beloved, the bowels of mercy, benignity, humility, modesty, patience, supporting one another: and pardoning one another, if any hath a quarrel against any man. As also our Lord hath pardoned us: so you also. But above all these things have charity, which is the bond of perfection: and let the peace of Christ exult in your hearts, wherein also you are called in one body: and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you abundantly, in all wisdom: teaching and admonishing your own selves, with psalms, hymns, and spiritual canticles, in grace singing in your hearts to God. All whatsoever you do in word or in work, all things in the Name of our Lord JESUS CHRIST, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.
GRADUAL and ALLELUIA: Psalm 26:4; 83:5
One thing I have asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the House of the Lord all the days of my life. V. Blessed are they that dwell in Thy House, O Lord, they shall praise Thee forever and ever. Alleluia, Alleluia. V. Isaias 45:15 Verily Thou art a hidden God, the God of Israel, the Saviour. Alleluia.
GOSPEL: St. Luke 2:42 – 52
WHEN JESUS WAS TWELVE YEARS OLD, they going up into Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast, and having fulfilled the days, when they returned, the Child JESUS remained in Jerusalem: and His parents knew it not. And thinking that He was in the company, they came a day’s journey, and sought Him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. And not finding Him, they returned Jerusalem seeking Him. And it came to pass, after three days they found Him in the Temple sitting in the midst of the Doctors, hearing them, and asking them questions. And all were astonished that heard Him, upon His wisdom and answers. And seeing Him, they wondered. And His mother said to Him, “Son, why hast Thou so done to us? Behold Thy father and I sorrowing did seek Thee.” And He said to them, “What is it that you sought Me? Did you not know, that I must be about My Father’s business?” And they understood not the word that He spoke unto them. And He went down with them, and came to Nazareth: and He was subject to them. And His mother kept all these words in her heart. And JESUS proceeded in wisdom and age, and grace with God and men.
OFFERTORY: St. Luke 2:22
THE PARENTS OF JESUS carried Him to Jerusalem, to present Him to the Lord.
COMMUNION VERSE: St. Luke 2:51
JESUS WENT DOWN with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them.
SERMON of Monsignor Sebastian:
And it came to pass, that, after three days, they found Him in the Temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard Him were astonished at His wisdom and His answers - S. Luke 2:46 – 47
THE HOLY FAMILY: Our Lord Jesus, His Blessed Mother, and Blessed Joseph, His foster Father and Guardian of Our Lady, perfectly imitates and reflects the Heavenly Family: the Most Holy Trinity. The perfect and most complete unity of God Almighty, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, is also the most perfect society. Co-equal and Co-eternal, living and loving each other in such sublime circumstances it is impossible for any human mind to fully comprehend.
Our human families must do all they can to fully imitate the Holy Family of Nazareth: Our Blessed Lord, although He is fully God, is subject to His earthly parents (cf. S. Luke 2:51) as an example to us all to always be respectful of proper authority utilised in a proper way; contrariwise S. Augustine (d. 430) and S. Thomas Aquinas (d. 1274) teach us that we are never bound to obey unjust or sinful commands, even from legitimate rulers; so if our dear parents ask us to do something wrong, we do not commit sin in respectfully resisting their sinful command. I wish to take this wonderful feast of the Holy Church, that of the Holy Family, Our Lord Jesus, His Blessed Mother, Mary Most Holy and His Foster-Father Blessed Joseph, to contrast order with disorder, the later which has infected the sanctity of our families, our Church and our human society.
As I have said, the Holy Family of Nazareth imitates and reflects that perfect Divine Family, the Most Holy Trinity; and so our own corporeal families must, to be happy in this life, imitate and reflect that same Holy Family of Nazareth. The natural family, which is a society, that is, made up of individuals who come together for mutual benefit and support, when it lives in spiritual harmony becomes a supernatural family. I have previously taught you all that what is natural is not destroyed by grace, rather, it is perfected by grace (cf. S. Thomas, Summa Theo. Pars I). When our natural families are made holy by the grace of the Sacraments, and when all members of that family live in that grace, they are elevated supernaturally to a higher and more perfect order. So to, should our Church, and most especially our little hidden Chapel of S. Francis. There should be nothing but holy harmony; there is no place for petty anger, arguing or jealousy – these things are unbecoming to the life of a Christian. The same must be said of other places where the True Mass and True Faith live: they must be above the fray of sinful argumentation. We here at S. Francis are truly a supernatural family, that is, assisted by grace we come together to worship and pray and help each other become saints. In this morning’s Epistle the Apostle exhorts us to remain, as God’s Elect (His Chosen) in the grace of true harmony: to be holy, merciful, humble, modest and patient. He further teaches us to pardon one another… as Our Lord hath pardoned us: that we are to maintain the peace of Christ in our hearts and to be thankful and grateful. Part of our living a life in the grace of CHRIST JESUS is to live within His supernatural family, the Holy Church, with joy. The Apostle also reminds us that we are to continue always to learn more and more about Our Lord and our Faith: let the word of Christ dwell in you abundantly, in all wisdom (Colossians 3:16). And that everything that we do or accomplish is done in the Name of Our Lord and King JESUS CHRIST: everything that we do.
So we have the example of the Holy Family and the teachings of the Apostle for proper and true order, which then allows us to discuss what disorder is and how we must all avoid it. First, for our families, our Church and our society to be well ordered and happy we must live fully in the True Faith, outside of which there is no salvation; as the Apostle teaches us, there is but One Lord, One Faith and One Baptism (Ephesians 4:5)! Living in the True Faith means living in TRUTH. The greatest disorder that harms human society today is the denial of truth; the truth of God and His Holy Church and the truth of man’s nature. Everything in creation has a proper nature and when it strays from that nature it is inopposition to its very self. A man is a man, no matter what he may do to alter the appearance of his nature. The family, especially the proper nature of marriage and children, remains that. Anything that is not one man and one woman and their natural (or lawfully and morally adopted) progeny is a mockery, a deception and an affront to God. These disorders are dangerous and deadly to our families, our Church, our society and our souls!
Be grateful to God for the gift of the Holy Family for our example and edification: be grateful to God for the gift of the supernatural holy family: the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church!
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. We love you. Save souls. Amen.
