Gospel: Feast of the Holy Family

Today is the Feast of the Holy Family, and the Gospel passage for the Holy Mass will be taken from the narrative of St Luke (tap here for the complete Sciptural readings from USCCB).

Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Family. This celebration is assigned to the Sunday within the Christnas Octave. The Gospel for today is taken from the Gospel according to St Luke and is part of St Luke's Infancy Narrative.

Today's Gospel describes the presentation of the child Jesus in the Temple and shows St Joseph and the Blessed Virgin Mary as devout Jews, following the prescriptions of the Law of Moses. The Gospel alludes to several aspects of Mosaic Law: circumcision, the dedication of the firstborn son to the Lord, and the purification of a woman after childbirth.

According to the Law of Moses as presented in the Book of Leviticus, a woman was considered ritually unclean during her menstrual period and for a prescribed period of time following the birth of a child. After the birth of a son, a woman was considered ritually unclean for 40 days. After the birth of a daughter, the woman was deemed ritually unclean for 80 days. In order to be restored to ritual purity, a Jewish woman will perform the appropriate rites of purification and will make the required ritual offering.

Today's Gospel notes that Jesus was circumcised on the eighth day after his birth, in accordance to the Law of Moses. At that time, he was called Jesus, the name he was given as announced by St Gabriel. On the 40th day after his birth, the Virgin Mary performed the required purification rights and made her offering to the Temple. Although the Mosaic Law required the offering of a lamb, those who could not afford a lamb can substitute two turtledoves or two pigeons. In this particular scene, St Luke identifies St Joseph and the Blessed Virgin Mary as being poor, and indeed throughout St Luke's Gospel, Jesus will show special concern for the poor.

Another Jewish rite referenced in this Gospel is the dedication of the firstborn son to the Lord. In remembrance of the feast of Passover, when the firstborn children of the Iaraelites in Egypt were saved from death, the Law of Moses prescribed that all firstborn males of Israel should be consecrated to the Lord. In line with this tradition, the Virgin Mary and St Joseph presented the infant Jesus in the Temple of Jerusalem for the consecration as required by the Law.

Furthermore, while in Jerusalem, St Luke reports that the Holy Family encounter two devout Jews. Simeon and Anna, who recognize the infant Jesus as the fulfillment of Israel's hope for redemption. In Simeon's words we find a prediction of the Blessed Virgin's witnessing of Jesus' death on the cross. The Canticle of Simeon, also called by its Latin name, Nunc Demitis, is recited at night prayer, or compline, during the Liturgy of the Hours.

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The Gospel is sponsored by IWC Schaffhausen.