Jesus and His mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and His earthly guardian, protector, and foster-father, St. Joseph, make up the Holy Family. The Feast Of The Holy Family is a Catholic religious festival that mainly celebrates the sanctity of the holy family (Jesus, Mary, and Joseph), but also celebrates the family unit. God was made incarnate into the embrace of the human family, and the majority of Jesus’ earthly life was spent in the quiet happiness of domestic life with His mother and father. This sacred time, known as the “hidden life” of Jesus, is one of which we know little from Sacred Scripture. The feast of the Holy Family is celebrated on the Sunday within the octave of Christmas. The Feast of the Holy Family falls within the octave of Christmas, on the first Sunday after Christmas. If Christmas falls on a Sunday, the feast of the Holy Family is celebrated on December 30th instead, between December 25 and January 1, with only one reading before the Gospel. Although major feast days dedicated to each member of the Holy Family—Jesus, Mary, and Joseph—also exist, the Feast of the Holy Family commemorates their life together, and the celebration focuses on religious family life. The primary purpose of the Church in instituting and promoting this feast is to present the Holy Family as the model and exemplar of all Christian families.

Devotion to the Holy Family became more popular during the 15th century, and they appeared prominently in works of art during this period of time. It was during this time that the Holy Family was presented as the ideal for Christian families and that purpose continues to this day. Because of the flight of the Holy Family into Egypt, a feast for the Holy Family has been observed by the Copts from early times. In Western Christianity, however, a cult of veneration for the Holy Family as a group, rather than as individuals, did not arise until the 17th century. This feast developed at the beginning of the 19th century in Canada and then spread to the entire Church in 1920 and was not officially recognized until the feast day was formally instituted in 1921 under Pope Benedict XV. Originally celebrated on the Sunday after Epiphany  (January 6), the Feast of the Holy Family was moved to the Sunday after Christmas in 1969, bringing it within the Christmas season. It is a Feast that seeks to portray the Holy Family of Nazareth as the “true model of life” from which our families can draw inspiration and know where to find help and comfort. This feast is also every family’s feast day, since the Holy Family is the patron and model of all Christian families. Today should be a huge family feast, since it is devoted entirely to the Holy Family as a model for the Christian family life.

HOLY FAMILY PRAYER: Dear Lord, bless our family. Be so kind as to give us the unity, peace, and mutual love that You found in Your own family in the little town of Nazareth.

Saint Joseph, bless the head of our family. Obtain for him the strength, the wisdom, and the prudence he needs to support and direct those under his care.

Mother Mary, bless the mother of our family. Help her to be pure and kind, gentle and self-sacrificing. For the more she resembles you, the better will our family be.

Lord Jesus, bless the children of our family. Help them to be obedient and devoted to their parents. Make them more and more like You. Let them grow, as You did, in wisdom and age and grace before God and man.

Holy Family of Nazareth, make our family and home more and more like Yours, until we are all one family, happy and at peace in our true home with You. Amen.🙏

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I Love You, Save Souls🙏

PRAYER TO THE HOLY FAMILY: Jesus, Mary and Joseph,in you we contemplate the splendor of true love,to you we turn with trust. Holy Family of Nazareth, grant that our families too may be places of communion and prayer,authentic schools of the Gospel and small domestic Churches. Holy Family of Nazareth, may families never again experience violence, rejection and division: may all who have been hurt or scandalized find ready comfort and healing. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, graciously hear our prayer. Amen 🙏

PRAYER: Father, help us to live as the holy family, united in respect and love. Bring us to the joy and peace of your eternal home. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever… Amen.🙏

FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS, MARY AND JOSEPH | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/feast-of-the-holy-family-of-jesus-mary-and-joseph/

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