Reading
The Book of Sirach 3: 2-7, 12-14
| 3:2 | Sons, listen to the judgment of your father, and act accordingly, so that you may be saved. |
| 3:3 | For God has honored the father in the sons, and, when seeking the judgment of the mother, he has confirmed it in the children. |
| 3:4 | He who loves God will plead with him on behalf of sins, and will keep himself away from sin, and will be heeded in the prayers of his days. |
| 3:5 | And, like one who stores up treasure, so also is he who honors his mother. |
| 3:6 | He who honors his father will find happiness in his own children, and he will be heeded in the day of his prayer. |
| 3:7 | He who honors his father will live a long life. And he who obeys his father will be a refreshment to his mother. |
| 3:12 | Do not boast in the disgrace of your father; for his shame is not your glory. |
| 3:13 | For the glory of a man is from the honor of his father, and a father without honor is a discredit to the son. |
| 3:14 | Son, support your father in his old age, and do not grieve him in his life. |
Second Reading
Colossians 3: 12-21
3:12 Therefore, clothe yourselves like the elect of God: holy and beloved, with hearts of mercy, kindness, humility, modesty, and patience.
3:13 Support one another, and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive one another. For just as the Lord has forgiven you, so also must you do.
3:14 And above all these things have charity, which is the bond of perfection.
3:15 And let the peace of Christ lift up your hearts. For in this peace, you have been called, as one body. And be thankful.
3:16 Let the word of Christ live in you in abundance, with all wisdom, teaching and correcting one another, with psalms, hymns, and spiritual canticles, singing to God with the grace in your hearts.
3:17 Let everything whatsoever that you do, whether in word or in deed, be done all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
3:18 Wives, be submissive to your husbands, as is proper in the Lord.
3:19 Husbands, love your wives, and do not be bitter toward them.
3:20 Children, obey your parents in all things. For this is well-pleasing to the Lord.
3:21 Fathers, do not provoke your children to indignation, lest they lose heart.
Matthew 2: 13- 15, 19- 23
| 2:13 | And after they had gone away, behold, an Angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph, saying: “Rise up, and take the boy and his mother, and flee into Egypt. And remain there until I tell you. For it will happen that Herod will seek the boy to destroy him.” |
| 2:14 | And getting up, he took the boy and his mother by night, and withdrew into Egypt. |
| 2:15 | And he remained there, until the death of Herod, in order to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Out of Egypt, I called my son.” |
| 2:19 | Then, when Herod had passed away, behold, an Angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph in Egypt, |
| 2:20 | saying: “Rise up, and take the boy and his mother, and go into the land of Israel. For those who were seeking the life of the boy have passed away.” |
| 2:21 | And rising up, he took the boy and his mother, and he went into the land of Israel. |
| 2:22 | Then, hearing that Archelaus reigned in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned in sleep, he withdrew into parts of Galilee. |
| 2:23 | And arriving, he lived in a city which is called Nazareth, in order to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: “For he shall be called a Nazarene.” |