The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph
Sanctae Familiae
Kept on the Sunday within the Octave of the Epiphany, this feast honours the Holy Family of Nazareth — Jesus, Mary, and Joseph — as the model of every Christian household.
On the Sunday within the Octave of the Epiphany the Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. After the manifestation of the Saviour to the nations, the liturgy turns to the hidden years of Nazareth, where the Son of God lived in obedience and love within a human family. The Gospel of the feast recalls how the Child Jesus, found in the temple among the teachers, returned with Mary and Joseph and “was subject to them” (Luke 2:51).
The household of Nazareth
For some thirty years the eternal Word dwelt in the quiet home of Nazareth, sanctifying the ordinary duties of family life. There Mary kept all these things in her heart, and Joseph, the just man, provided for and protected the Mother and the Child by the labour of his hands. The Holy Family was poor in the goods of this world but rich in every virtue: in faith, in obedience, in mutual charity, and in unbroken union with the will of God. In this household the Church beholds the pattern of what every Christian family is called to be.
A feast for the Christian home
This feast is relatively recent in its universal observance, extended to the whole Church in the early twentieth century, at a time when the Christian family stood in special need of protection and encouragement. By placing before the faithful the example of the Holy Family, the Church teaches that holiness is to be sought not only in the cloister or the sanctuary but in the daily life of the home — in the bond of marriage, in the raising of children, in patient work, and in shared prayer. The home of Nazareth becomes a school of the virtues for parents and children alike.
Under the protection of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph
The Church invites every household to consecrate itself to the Holy Family and to look to Jesus, Mary, and Joseph as guides and intercessors. Where Christ is welcomed as the unseen Head of the home, where the Mother of God is honoured, and where the example of Saint Joseph’s quiet fidelity is followed, there the peace of Nazareth may dwell. The feast is a gentle summons to make of each Christian family a dwelling-place of faith, of charity, and of prayer.
The Collect
O Lord Jesus Christ, who, being made subject to Mary and Joseph, didst consecrate domestic life with ineffable virtues: grant that, with the assistance of both, we may be taught by the example of thy Holy Family, and may attain to its everlasting fellowship. Who livest and reignest with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
Dómine Iesu Christe, qui, Maríæ et Ioseph súbditus, domésticam vitam ineffábilibus virtútibus consecrásti: fac nos, utriúsque auxilio, Famíliæ sanctæ tuæ exémplis insítui; et consórtium cónsequi sempitérnum. Qui vivis et regnas cum Deo Patre in unitáte Spíritus Sancti Deus, per ómnia sæcula sæculórum.
Patronage
The Holy Family is venerated as the model and patron of Christian households, and families are encouraged to consecrate themselves to Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.
In the Modern Calendar
In the modern calendar, the Feast of the Holy Family is kept on the Sunday within the Octave of Christmas (between Christmas and 1 January), rather than on the Sunday after the Epiphany.
Common Questions
When is the Feast of the Holy Family?
In the 1962 calendar it is kept on the Sunday within the Octave of the Epiphany (the first Sunday after 6 January), as a Second Class feast.
What does the Feast of the Holy Family celebrate?
It honours the household of Nazareth — Jesus, Mary, and Joseph — and holds it up as the model for every Christian family in faith, obedience, charity, and prayer.
Why is the Holy Family a model for families?
Because in the hidden years at Nazareth the Son of God lived in obedience to Mary and Joseph, sanctifying ordinary family life. The Church teaches that holiness can be found in the daily duties of the home, after the example of the Holy Family.
See where this feast falls in the Church’s year on the liturgical calendar, or find a Traditional Latin Mass near you.
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