First reading
Genesis 15:1–6, 21:1–3
Your heir shall be your own flesh and blood.
Responsorial psalm
Psalm 127(128):1–5
R. Happy are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways.
Second reading
Colossians 3:12–21Family life in the Lord
Gospel acclamation
Hebrews 1:1–2
In the past God spoke to our fathers through the prophets; now he speaks to us through his Son.
Gospel
Luke 2:22–40
My eyes have seen your salvation.
Images from the Word
- Revealed to him
- Glory of your people
- To praise God
- I am your shield
- By faith
Liturgical notes
After the psalmody (at Compline) there is a reading, followed by the responsory, Into your hands. Then, as a climax to the whole hour, the Canticle of Simeon, Lord, now you let your servant go in peace follows, with its antiphon.
—General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours, §89
With these words, the church describes the closing time of prayer that she assigns to the final prayer of each day—the Night Prayer. This daily cycle of praying has been restored by the liturgical reform to be the official prayer of the church for all the faithful—it is not limited to the clergy and religious as a source of daily prayer, but all Christian communities are welcome to use it as their liturgical prayer. The contents of this prayer are the Psalms (which were the source for prayer for Jesus), and the context is a gathering of the faithful. To the Night Prayer is added the Canticle of Simeon, which appears in today’s Gospel. On this Feast of the Holy Family, we could gather with our own family to make it our prayer, and could use it each day as our family prayer.
‘The shepherds went in haste, and found Mary and Joseph and the Infant lying in a manger’
—entrance antiphon