MASS READINGS FOR HOLY FAMILY SUNDAY
29.12.2024
First reading
1 Samuel 1:20-22, 24-28
‘Samuel, as long as he lives, is lent to the Lord.’
In due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, ‘I have asked for him from the Lord.’
The man Elkanah and all his house went up to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and to pay his vow. But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, ‘As soon as the child is weaned, I will bring him, so that he may appear in the presence of the Lord and dwell there for ever.’
And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and she brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. And the child was young. Then they slaughtered the bull, and they brought the child to Eli. And she said, ‘Oh, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the Lord. For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him. Therefore I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.’ And he worshipped the Lord there.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 84(83):2-3. 5-6. 9-10. ℟cf. 5a
Blessed are they who dwell in your house, O Lord.
How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts.
My soul is longing and yearning
for the courts of the Lord.
My heart and my flesh cry out
to the living God.
Blessed are they who dwell in your house, O Lord.
Blessed are they who dwell in your house,
for ever singing your praise.
Blessed the people whose strength is in you,
whose heart is set on pilgrim ways.
Blessed are they who dwell in your house, O Lord.
O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob.
Turn your eyes, O God, our shield;
look on 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 children of God; and so we are.’
Beloved: See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.
Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.
Gospel Acclamation Cf. Acts 16:14b
Alleluia, alleluia.
Open our hearts, O Lord,
that we may pay attention to the words of your Son.
Alleluia.
Gospel Luke 2:41-52
Jesus is found by his parents sitting among the teachers.
The parents of Jesus went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, but supposing him to be in the group they went a day’s journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. After three days they found him in the Temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, ‘Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.’ And he said to them, ‘Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?’ And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favour with God and man.
