The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary And Joseph. Year B - Sunday, December 31, 2023 (EPISODE: 455)

The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary And Joseph. Year B - Sunday, December 31, 2023
(EPISODE: 455)

Readings for Sunday, 31 December 2023
FIRST READING: Gen 15:1-6; 21:1-3 (new)
Ps 105:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9. "The Lord remembers his covenant forever."
SECOND READING: opt: Heb 11:8, 11-12, 17-19.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (Heb 1:1-2). Alleluia, alleluia! In the past, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets; now, he speaks to us through his Son. Alleluia.
GOSPEL: Luke 2:22-40

Image - Shutterstock licensed Image:  stock photo ID: 150278416. Vranov, Slovakia. The Nativity Icon – the Icon of the Birth of Jesus. Chapel of the Convent of the Holy Trinity in Lomnica, Vranov nad Toplou, Slovakia. By Adam Jan Figel
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Please listen to the audio recordings of the Mass – (Readings, prayers and homily) for The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary And Joseph. Year B - Sunday, December 31, 2023, by clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-the-the-holy-family-of-jesus-mary-and-joseph-year-b-episode-455  
(EPISODE: 455)
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As we continue on our journey through this Christmas season, this Feast of the Holy Family is a really important celebration, straight after the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord And within the Octave of Christmas.

At this time of year, we give sincere thanks for the love, nurturing, and support that our family can give us. And the love, example and intercession that the Holy Family give us on our life journey.

We think of our parents' and families' countless acts of kindness, love, and sacrifices. When we were young, we probably didn't appreciate the scale of it all. When we get older and have our own families or watch with admiration brothers and sisters and friends raising their own families, we start to appreciate what our parents must have given and sacrificed out of love. We are truly grateful for this.

We are also very mindful of people whose family life has been extremely difficult and who did not have that support that others take for granted.  That is, not everyone in this world has been blessed with an unconditionally loving and accepting family who support one another. We give thanks for mentors and all people who have been good role models and sources of care and protection for the young. These people have been family to others beyond the ties of blood.

We keep in mind, currently, families worldwide who have had it really tough this year due to illnesses, distance, separation, financial hardship and worries.

The Holy family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, are the patron saints supporting each other and sticking together when everything is going wrong around them. For example, when we look closely at the very first Christmas, we quickly see that life for the Holy family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph was anything but smooth sailing.  The joy and hope of this celebration come from the fact that God came into our world and made a home with us when everything was going badly for the world. The first Christmas came at a time of incredible unrest for the people of Israel, who were suffering under foreign domination of a pagan empire that had values quite opposed to many of the sacred religious values of the Jewish people.

Mary and Joseph are forced to take a terribly difficult trip to Bethlehem when Mary is imminently due to give birth. This would have been a difficult trip at the best of times, but it must have been extremely difficult for an expectant mother at the end of her term. They arrive at their ancestral hometown, and there is nowhere to stay. They are forced to sleep in a barn, and Mary gives birth to a baby surrounded by animals. The baby is placed in a food trough, where the animals normally eat. The shepherds, some of the poorest and lowest "outcasts" in the society then, are the first to hear about the birth and come to pay their respects.

Very soon after the birth, Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus must flee for their lives, becoming refugees from King Herod's murderous jealousy. They escape into exile in a foreign land.

In today's gospel, which is truly wonderful, the prophet Simeon and the prophetess Anna, in the temple, praise God for Jesus, who is the one who will save Israel and who comes to save the whole world. But then Simeon turns to Mary and warns her that her life will be touched by a sword of extraordinary suffering and sorrow, as the implications of loving and caring for her only son will touch her life deeply, too. Her beloved son must tread a loving path of indescribable suffering and sacrifice for our sakes.

Mary and Joseph also had countless incidents when they just had to trust in what God was doing and, all the while, were plunged into confusion about what it all meant. They trusted in God and supported each other, especially when things were unclear and did not make sense to them, and this made all the difference.

The Holy Family is our inspiration and prayerful support.  
And this feast day, and within the Christmas season, we give sincere and heartfelt thanks for family…. and the support and strength we can give each other along life's long journey, with all its joys and sorrows, graces and temptations.
Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Pray for us.

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References: Fr Paul W. Kelly.

Image - Shutterstock licensed Image:  stock photo ID: 150278416. Vranov, Slovakia. 2019/8/22. The Nativity Icon – the Icon of the Birth of Jesus. Chapel of the Convent of the Holy Trinity in Lomnica, Vranov nad Toplou, Slovakia. By Adam Jan Figel


To listen to the Sunday Mass each week (including homily) from Surfers Paradise Catholic Parish, please visit this link: Liturgy for you at Home (by SPCP) -  https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks     

Also found at -   https://tinyurl.com/FHLpwk   


The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary And Joseph. Year B  (Sunday, December 31, 2023)  (EPISODE: 455 )
The Lord be with you.
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{{Joy and peace to everyone}} Welcome everyone, we gather -  Praise and Worship of our God.

My brothers and sisters, to prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries, let us call to mind our sins.
Lord Jesus, you are mighty God and Prince of Peace. Lord have mercy

 You are Son of God and the Son of Mary. Christ have mercy

You are Word made flesh, the splendour of the Father. Lord have mercy.
May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.  Amen.
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Memorial Acclamation
3. Save us, Saviour of the world, for by your Cross and Resurrection, you have set us free.
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PREFACE: Nativity of the Lord III
EP 1
Communion side.  pwk:  LH
(theme The Word became flesh)

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{I pray this week brings you an ever-deeper experience of his compassion and love. }

Go in peace. 

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Archive of homilies and reflections:  http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email:  paulwkelly68@gmail.com

To listen to my weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here.
NB - It is often a week or so Ahead:  https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks

You are welcome to subscribe to Fr Paul's homily mail-out by sending an email to this address: paulkellyreflections+subscribe@googlegroups.com

Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:

"Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection" - Led by Rev Paul Kelly

Roman Missal, 3rd edition, 2010, (ICEL)

Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989, and 2009 by the NCC-USA.

"The Psalms" by The Grail - 1963, 2009.

Prayers of the Faithful - Robert Borg "Together we pray" - (1993).

St. Ralph Sherwin Gloria  - written and sung By Jeffrey M. Ostrowski.  2011 ccwatershed.org.

Christmas Hymn - "Word Made Flesh" by Paul W. Kelly. Based upon: John's Gospel 1:14; 1 John 4:9; & Isaiah 9:2, 6, 7. (Written on 8/5/20; 10/9/20).  Arranged and sung by Stefan Kelk, with adjusted lyrics.  2020. https://www.airgigs.com/user/stefankelk

Traditional hymns: performed by the Bobby Cole Chamber Choir, licensed via Shockwave-Sound.com   (https://www.shockwave-sound.com)

[Production - KER - 2023]

May God bless and keep you.