Dec 28, 2025: Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph (A)

Introduction

The readings invite us to see how God sanctifies family life itself — making the home a place where faith is formed, hope is sustained, and love becomes a living witness to the presence of Christ in the world.

1st Reading – Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14

God sets a father in honor over his children;
a mother’s authority he confirms over her sons.
Whoever honors his father atones for sins,
and preserves himself from them.
When he prays, he is heard;
he stores up riches who reveres his mother.
Whoever honors his father is gladdened by children,
and, when he prays, is heard.
Whoever reveres his father will live a long life;
he who obeys his father brings comfort to his mother.

My son, take care of your father when he is old;
grieve him not as long as he lives.
Even if his mind fail, be considerate of him;
revile him not all the days of his life;
kindness to a father will not be forgotten,
firmly planted against the debt of your sins —
a house raised in justice to you.

Each year on the Feast of the Holy Family, the first reading invites us into the heart of family relationships, focusing especially on the bond between parents and children.

This year, our first reading comes from the Book of Sirach, a work within ancient Israel’s Wisdom tradition. This tradition seeks to offer practical guidance for living faithfully in right relationship both with one another and with God. Sirach was originally composed in Hebrew by Yeshua ben Sira around 180 BC, yet the form most fully preserved today is the Koine Greek translation prepared by his grandson in Egypt about a generation later.

The Church places this reading alongside the Gospel’s depiction of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph to underscore how honoring parents, caring for one another, and living out the responsibilities of family are at the heart of discipleship.

God sets a father in honor over his children; a mother’s authority he confirms over her sons.

In a culture shaped by patriarchy, the explicit affirmation of a mother’s authority is striking. Sirach presents parental authority not as a social convention but as something established and confirmed by God himself. Honor is due to both parents, and the mother’s role is given theological weight alongside the father’s.

Whoever honors his father atones for sins, and preserves himself from them. When he prays, he is heard; he stores up riches who reveres his mother.

The Hebrew verb kabed (“honor”) literally means “to make heavy” or “to give weight.” Honoring one’s parents is not simply a matter of polite respect; it is the recognition of their gravity, treating them as substantial presences whose dignity must be carried with seriousness.

Similarly, the Hebrew verb kipper (“atone”) conveys the idea of covering, purging, or reconciling. In the context of temple ritual it referred to expiation, but within Wisdom literature it assumes a moral dimension: the reconciliation of one’s life with God through righteous conduct.

Thus, honoring one’s parents becomes a moral act that shapes the heart toward righteousness and repentance, placing the child firmly within the path of God’s mercy.

Whoever honors his father is gladdened by children, and, when he prays, is heard. Whoever reveres his father will live a long life; he who obeys his father brings comfort to his mother.

As is characteristic of the Wisdom tradition, the author enumerates the blessings that flow from faithful living: longevity, answered prayer, familial joy, and generational continuity.

These are not mechanical rewards but signs of a life ordered according to God’s design.

My son, take care of your father when he is old; grieve him not as long as he lives. Even if his mind fail, be considerate of him; revile him not all the days of his life; kindness to a father will not be forgotten, firmly planted against the debt of your sins — a house raised in justice to you.

These verses clarify that the instruction is directed not to youth, but to adult sons. Honor here takes concrete form as patient care, compassion, and restraint, especially in the face of physical or cognitive decline. The obligation to honor one’s parents does not end with independence; it deepens as parents become vulnerable.

The absence of a parallel instruction regarding care for the mother likely reflects ancient social structures in which widows were typically supported by male relatives. The father, as former head of the household, is portrayed as uniquely vulnerable in old age, now dependent upon the very children he once sustained.

Read as a whole, this passage reframes the commandment to honor father and mother as a lifelong vocation. Respect for parents is not limited to obedience in youth but matures into responsibility, mercy, and fidelity in adulthood — an enduring expression of justice lived within the family.

2nd Reading – Colossians 3:12-21

Brothers and sisters:
Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved,
heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,
bearing with one another and forgiving one another,
if one has a grievance against another;
as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do.
And over all these put on love,
that is, the bond of perfection.
And let the peace of Christ control your hearts,
the peace into which you were also called in one body.
And be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,
as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another,
singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs
with gratitude in your hearts to God.
And whatever you do, in word or in deed,
do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Wives, be subordinate to your husbands,
as is proper in the Lord.
Husbands, love your wives,
and avoid any bitterness toward them.
Children, obey your parents in everything,
for this is pleasing to the Lord.
Fathers, do not provoke your children,
so they may not become discouraged.

In today’s second reading, Saint Paul addresses the Christian household from within the larger vision of life “in Christ.” It invites us to see the home as a privileged place of discipleship, where the virtues of the Christian life are learned, practiced, and made visible through daily acts of self-giving love.

Brothers and sisters: Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, 

The image of “putting on” virtue suggests deliberate formation — virtues are not merely felt but assumed, like a garment that identifies Christians on sight by their manner of living.

Note that the virtues themselves are relational — all directed toward others, and all requiring unselfish sensitivity.

bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do.

The pattern and measure of Christian forgiveness is Christ himself. Believers are called to extend mercy not as a moral achievement, but as a response to the forgiveness already received from God.

And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection.

After clothing ourselves with self-sacrificial attributes of Christ, Paul instructs us to put on love (agápē) as the outer garment that holds all the others together. It does not replace the preceding virtues but binds and informs them.

And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body. And be thankful.

The “peace of Christ” is not mere coexistence or passive tolerance, nor is it imposed externally. It is an inner peace that arises from reconciliation with God and orders relationships within the one Body of Christ, making gratitude the natural response.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 

Paul envisions a community shaped by Scripture, mutual instruction, and prayerful praise.

And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

This is the governing principle for all that follows: We must always remember that, as Christians, we are acting in Christ’s name.

Wives, be subordinate to your husbands, as is proper in the Lord.

This verse has often been isolated from its context and heard through modern ears as an endorsement of inequality or domination. The Church, however, reads this directive within a much broader biblical, theological, and sacramental vision of marriage — one that is fundamentally incompatible with the devaluation of women.

It is important to recognize that Saint Paul is writing within the social framework of the Greco-Roman household, where hierarchies were assumed and rarely questioned. What is striking is not that Paul addresses wives, but that he does so directly and morally, acknowledging them as responsible agents in the Christian community rather than as property of their husbands. Subordination here does not mean blind obedience or inferiority; it is a relationship redefined by discipleship to Christ

Catholic teaching understands this passage in light of the fuller New Testament witness, especially Paul’s parallel teaching in Ephesians, which begins with the call to “be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ” (5:21). Marriage, therefore, is rooted in mutual self-gift, not unilateral power. Any interpretation that justifies coercion, control, or abuse distorts both Scripture and Church teaching. Authentic Christian authority is always modeled on Christ, who leads by service and lays down his life for those entrusted to him.

Husbands, love your wives, and avoid any bitterness toward them.

To the traditional expectation that wives should be submissive, the author adds a command that husbands act with love and gentleness toward their wives. In a patriarchal world where men exercised near-total control over wives, children, and slaves, this call for mutual concern was nothing short of revolutionary.

The Church interprets this passage through a sacramental lens. In Matrimony, husband and wife are equal in dignity, each created in the image of God and each freely consenting to a covenant of lifelong love. The call for a wife’s subordination cannot be separated from the command that immediately follows: a husband must love his wife with self-sacrificial devotion, rejecting bitterness or harshness. Together, these verses articulate complementary responsibilities ordered toward communion, not hierarchy for its own sake.

Read in this light, Paul’s instruction calls both spouses to a demanding form of love that transforms cultural structures from within.

Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, so they may not become discouraged.

Similarly, the traditional expectation of obedience from children is not removed, but fathers are warned against oppressive or discouraging behavior. Authority is thus tempered by responsibility, and discipline by attentiveness to the child’s dignity and well-being.

Taken as a whole, this Christian household code does not simply mirror its cultural setting but transforms it from within. Patriarchal privilege gives way to moral accountability, and authority is reshaped by love.

When the virtues named at the beginning of the passage govern family life, they foster unity, peace, and mutual flourishing — then and now.

Gospel – Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23

When the magi had departed, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said,
“Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, 
and stay there until I tell you.

Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.”
Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night 
and departed for Egypt.
He stayed there until the death of Herod, 
that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled,
Out of Egypt I called my son.

When Herod had died, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream
to Joseph in Egypt and said,
“Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, 
for those who sought the child’s life are dead.”
He rose, took the child and his mother, 
and went to the land of Israel.
But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea 
in place of his father Herod, 
he was afraid to go back there.
And because he had been warned in a dream, 
he departed for the region of Galilee.
He went and dwelt in a town called Nazareth,
so that what had been spoken through the prophets
might be fulfilled, 
He shall be called a Nazorean.

Today’s gospel reading reminds us that the Incarnation unfolded amid real human danger and uncertainty. The Holy Family experienced fear, displacement, and vulnerability, yet remained rooted in trust and faithfulness.

Their story reveals that holiness within family life is not found in the absence of hardship, but in steadfast obedience to God’s will, even when the path forward is marked by risk and sacrifice.

Matthew’s Gospel also communicates on a deeper symbolic level, especially for its Jewish audience. Throughout the infancy narrative, Matthew presents Jesus as the new Moses and the embodiment of a renewed Israel. Like Moses, Jesus survives a massacre of innocents, is forced into flight, and later returns at God’s command (cf. Exodus 1:22, 2:15, 4:19). These parallels reveal that the child protected by Mary and Joseph is not only saved from danger, but entrusted with a divine mission: to lead God’s people to true freedom and fulfill the Law and the Prophets.

Seen this way, the flight into Egypt is not only a story of family courage and obedience, but a sign that salvation history is quietly unfolding within the life of the Holy Family.

When the magi had departed,

This opening verse places the narrative immediately after the magi visit the Holy Family in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:1-12), marking a sudden transition into the events that follow.

behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.”

God intervenes through an angelic warning, directing Joseph to protect the child from Herod’s murderous intent.

Egypt, long a place of refuge for Jews beyond Herod’s jurisdiction, would have been a plausible and accessible sanctuary. Jewish communities were well established there, and Joseph could reasonably expect to find work as a craftsman.

Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt.

Joseph’s defining trait in Matthew’s infancy narrative is immediate obedience. He does not question, delay, or seek reassurance. His fidelity extends beyond observance of the Mosaic Law to trusting submission to God’s unfolding revelation. Each decisive action (taking Mary as his wife, protecting her reputation, leading the family into exile) flows from attentive obedience.

Saint John Chrysostom, commenting on this passage, draws particular attention to Joseph’s faithfulness and obedience:

“On hearing this, Joseph was not scandalized, nor did he say, ‘This is hard to understand. You yourself told me not long ago that He would save His people, and not He is not able to save even Himself. Indeed, we have to flee and undertake a journey and be away for a long time…’. But he does not say any of these things, because Joseph is a faithful man. Neither does he ask when they will be coming back, even though the angel had left it open when he said ‘and remain there till I tell you.’ This does not hold him back: on the contrary, he obeys, believes and endures all trials with joy” (Homily on St. Matthew, 8).

He stayed there until the death of Herod,

The Holy Family may have stayed in Egypt as long as three years.

that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

Matthew cites Hosea 11:1, in which the prophet recalls Israel’s exodus from Egyptian bondage and teaches his contemporaries about God’s faithful love: When Israel was a child I loved him, out of Egypt I called my son. 

While Hosea was speaking of the historical people of Israel, Matthew reads the passage typologically: Jesus recapitulates Israel’s story in his own life. He is both the new Moses and the embodiment of the new Israel, through whom God’s saving promises reach fulfillment.

When Herod had died, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.”

Note the parallel structure to the previous scene: the event is contingent on the termination of an earlier event (when the magi had departed / when Herod had died), followed by the exclamatory word “behold” (idoú), and the appearance of an angel of the Lord in a dream to Joseph.

This parallel structure is not just a literary device; it’s a theological cue that reinforces the sense that salvation history unfolds in ordered stages.

He rose, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel.

Once more, Joseph obeys without hesitation.

But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go back there.

After Herod’s death, his kingdom was divided among his sons, with Archelaus receiving Judea. Archelaus quickly proved as ruthless as his father: at the outset of his reign, he ordered his troops to crush a Passover uprising, killing about 3,000 people. His misrule and cruelty provoked repeated complaints, and Emperor Augustus eventually deposed him, a judgment that underscores how excessive his brutality was, even by Roman standards.

And because he had been warned in a dream, he departed for the region of Galilee.

Joseph’s fears are confirmed by a warning via another dream, and therefore instead takes the family to Galilee, where Herod Antipas reigned.

Note how the life of the Holy Family is marked by a mixture of consolation and trial. They are not sheltered from suffering, but sustained by divine guidance through it.

“It can be clearly seen that God, who is full of love for man, mixes pleasant things with unpleasant ones, as He did with all the Saints. He gives us neither dangers nor consolations in a continual way, but rather He makes the lives of the just a mixture of both.” (Saint John Chrysostom, Homily on St. Matthew, 8).

He went and dwelt in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He shall be called a Nazorean.”

Nazareth, the site of the Annunciation (Luke 1:26), was an obscure Galilean village associated with insignificance and contempt; ‘Nazorean’ itself became a term of derision (John 1:46; Acts 24:5), underscoring the Messiah’s humble and rejected status.

No prophet explicitly foretold this title, but Matthew’s broad phrasing (“what had been spoken through the prophets”) points to a theological synthesis: the prophets anticipated a suffering, lowly Servant (cf. Isaiah 52-53; Jeremiah 11:19; Psalm 22).

Early Christian writers also discerned wordplay here. Saint Jerome noted that Nazorean may allude to Isaiah 11:1, where the Davidic king is a nezer — a branch springing from Jesse’s roots — thus identifying Jesus as the true heir of David and fulfillment of Israel’s hope (Commentary on Matthew 2.23).

Connections and Themes

Family living. Today’s readings highlight the relational character of family life, showing how bonds of care and responsibility shape both the household and the wider community. In our first reading, we glimpse the dynamics of family living in the ancient world, where honor and respect safeguard the dignity of each member. In our second reading, Saint Paul directs our attention to the family of God, urging believers to embody compassion, humility, and patience, virtues that flow from the bond of perfection in Christ. The gospel narrative portrays a family attentive to God’s directives, revealing that true fidelity is lived in obedience and trust.

Today’s feast invites us to recognize family life as the place where love is learned, practiced, and revealed. Yet family is more than a private household; it is also the image of the Church, the family of God, where the same virtues are lived in communion. At the heart of both stands the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph — the model of mutuality, kindness, and fidelity. In their hidden life at Nazareth, we glimpse how God chose to dwell in ordinary bonds of family, making them the very place where divine love takes root and flourishes.

A celebration of wisdom.  Today’s readings converge on the theme of wisdom, understood as the insight gained from life and faith that enables us to live with integrity. Wisdom is discovered in the relationships closest to us: children honoring their parents and, in turn, teaching them what true parenthood means; husbands and wives shaping one another into forgiving and faithful partners; families learning mutual care across generations. Yet wisdom also shines in obedience and trust. In the gospel reading, Joseph’s responsiveness to the angel’s commands mirrors Sirach’s call for filial respect, showing that family life flourishes when guided by faithful obedience to God. Saint Paul reminds us that in the family of God, wisdom takes the form of compassion, humility, gentleness, and patience, virtues that flow from Christ, the bond of perfection. In the end, wisdom is love lived out — in the household, in the Church, and in the Holy Family itself, where God chose to dwell in ordinary bonds of trust and fidelity.