Sunday, December 27, 2026 — Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
The Holy Family
Luke 2:22-40
Readings of the day: Genesis 15:1-6; 21:1-3 (or Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14); Psalm 105:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9 (or Psalm 128:1-2, 3, 4-5); Hebrews 11:8, 11-12, 17-19 (or Colossians 3:12-21); Luke 2:22-40.
The Gospel
When the days of purification are completed, Mary and Joseph bring the child Jesus to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, offering the sacrifice of the poor: a pair of turtledoves. In the temple, Simeon, a just and devout man who has waited for the consolation of Israel, takes the child in his arms and blesses God: “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, a light to reveal you to the nations and the glory of your people Israel.” He blesses the parents and tells Mary that this child is destined for the fall and rise of many, a sign to be contradicted, and that a sword will pierce her own soul. Anna, a prophetess of eighty-four years who never leaves the temple, also gives thanks and speaks about the child to all who await the redemption of Jerusalem. Then the family returns to Nazareth, and the child grows strong, filled with wisdom, and the favor of God is upon him.
Reflection
The Holy Family keeps the law like any poor family of Israel, and in the temple two old people recognize what the whole city misses. “Well is he called righteous who sought not his own good, but the good of his nation,” says St. Ambrose of Simeon, who waited a lifetime to hold the promise in his arms. “As long as I held not Christ, I was in prison, and could not escape from my bonds,” says Origen in Simeon’s voice. And Anna, widowed for eighty-four years, shows what a lifetime of prayer can do: she is still in the temple when the promise arrives. Families become holy the same way: by keeping the law of God in small things, by waiting in prayer, and by receiving Christ when he comes, even in the arms of the old.
From the Fathers
“Well is he called righteous who sought not his own good, but the good of his nation.”
— St. Ambrose, Exposition on Luke, in the Catena Aurea on Luke 2:22–25
“As long as I held not Christ, I was in prison, and could not escape from my bonds.”
— Origen, in the Catena Aurea on Luke 2:28–32
Saint of the day
The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Today the Church honors the family of Nazareth: Joseph, the just man who guards the Child and his Mother; Mary, who keeps all these things in her heart; and Jesus, who grows in wisdom and in favor with God and men. Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist, whose feast falls on December 27, is not celebrated this year, because the feast of the Holy Family takes precedence on this Sunday.
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Sources: the day’s readings follow the daily lectionary (USCCB, Lectionary 17). The Gospel may also be read in its short form, Luke 2:22, 39-40. The Gospel text is not reproduced here; read it at the link above. Patristic quotes: Catena Aurea on Luke 2:22–40, compiled by St. Thomas Aquinas, translated by John Henry Newman (1841, public domain).