Our Great Journey

Our weekly post offers prayer resources, a glimpse of the upcoming Sunday Gospel with short commentary, discussion/reflection questions and suggestions for living the Gospel.

This week our theme is “Holy Family” based on Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23/ Mateo 2:13-15, 19-23

The week of December 29 is Christmas break, January 4 @ Home and January 11 @ Church.

Opening Prayer:

Loving Father, as we look at the Nativity scene, we remember Mary, the Holy Mother of God, who said yes to your plan of salvation. Help us to be like St. Joseph who protected and loved Jesus and Mary. We adore Jesus forever and ever. Amen.

In addition to our prayers from the heart, our prayer for December is the The Apostle’s Creed. Please pray this prayer daily to learn. (At Mass, we pray the Nicene Creed which was written after the Apostle’s Creed. We typically pray the Apostle’s Creed at the beginning of the rosary. Click to learn more about the differences between the Apostle’s & Nicene Creeds.)

Using the Bible, invite a family member to read the Gospel aloud.

Things to talk about:

God speaks to Joseph through dreams in this Gospel. What are some ways God speaks to you?
Mary, Joseph, and Jesus had to live in a new country. What do you think that experience was like?
Joseph and Mary trusted where God was leading them. Share about a time you fully trusted God.
What are the most important things children learn from adults? What are the most important things adults learn from children?

Things to do:

When Christmas falls on a Sunday, the Feast of the Holy Family is celebrated on December 30th. Otherwise, it is celebrated on the Sunday between Christmas and New Year’s Day. Have a special family day in honor of the Feast of the Holy Family. Pick a special family activity to do together.
Read more about Mother Elizabeth Seton, the first American born saint to be canonized. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton was impacted by her friend’s belief in the Eucharist. Explain your understanding of the Eucharist.
Choose a person in your family to write a letter or card to. Spend time thinking about what you have learned from that person and tell them how much you appreciate them.

Closing Prayer

Prayer to the Holy Family

Each family is a domestic Church – they do on a small scale what the Universal Church does on a large scale. We can turn to the Holy Family to help us build up our own domestic Church.

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.

Holy Family of Nazareth, make us once more mindful of the sacredness and inviolability of the family, and its beauty in God’s plan.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, Graciously hear our prayer. Amen.

-By Pope Francis, Amoris laetitia (Amoris laetitia is an apostolic exhortation by Pope Francis addressing the pastoral care of families.)

Name those who need our prayers. Close with the Sign of the Cross.

Catholic Insight

This Sunday we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family. We all have families, our immediate family, friends, and the groups and communities we belong to.

Jesus lived a truly human life and was subject to the authority of his parents. From them, he learned to live in loving human relationships, to work, be obedient and learn the customs and rules of his community, to know the stories of his ancestors and to pray.

The family is the model God gives us to teach us how to live with all people. (CCC, 1655)

This Gospel invites us to consider Joseph’s protection of Jesus in the face of danger. Just like in the announcement of Jesus’ birth, an angel appears to Joseph in a dream. The angel warns him of Herod’s plans to harm Jesus. Joseph follows the command of the angel and takes Joseph and Mary to Egypt, returning only after receiving word in another dream that it was safe to do so.

Among Matthew’s themes in this infancy narrative is Jesus as the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies about the messiah. The story of the Holy Family’s flight to Egypt recalls the story of Moses in the Book of Exodus.

We will grow in faith and love when we look to the Holy Family as our example and when we look to say yes and do what God asks of us when make Christ the center of our lives.

Did you know…that the story of the Holy Family returning to Israel after living in Egypt parallels the story of Moses leading the Hebrews out of Egypt? Jesus is often referred to as “the new Moses” because he brings freedom and liberation to God’s people.

Additional key concepts for this week:

Holy Family– The Holy Family refers to the family of Jesus, his mother the Virgin Mary, and his foster father Saint Joseph. They are venerated as the ultimate model for family life, emphasizing virtues such as love, obedience, and faith.

Flight into Egypt – The Holy Family’s flight to Egypt is a pivotal event recounted in the Gospel of Matthew, when Joseph, Mary, and the infant Jesus fled Bethlehem to escape King Herod’s violent decree. This event fulfills the prophecy in Hosea 11:1, “Out of Egypt I called my son”. Egypt provided a safe haven as it was outside Herod’s direct control and had a substantial Jewish population.

Resources adapted from 52Sundays.com, Celebrating the Lectionary, At Home with the Word, Celebrating Families, Sunday Connection

December 29, 2025 – Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph