Mary and Joseph present the Child Jesus in the Temple

God is First in the Family:

The need to Worship God as Families 

Leader:
Oh Most Holy Family, Jesus, Mary and Joseph; intercede for us who seek your help.

All:
For in you we place all our faith and all our trust.

Meditation:
(Lk. 2:22-24;39) When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord. "Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord," and to offer the sacrifice of "a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons," in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord. When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions of the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their town of Nazareth.

Reflection:
In order for families to be holy, joyful and healthy; they must have a profound and sincere relationship with God the Creator of all. When our families join together at Holy Mass, they have the opportunity to speak to the Father of holiness; to receive the Son of joy, and to be touched by the Holy Spirit of healing. And yet many of our children have abandoned their Catholic faith and the worship of our Father in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Let us never cease to work for their return; so that one day, united again as families, we will all worship our God from whom all families receive their life and their strength.

Prayer-All:
We firmly believe that all blessings come from the Lord. What greater blessing can we receive than the gift of our families? To the Lord we owe our praise and gratitude for all of his gifts and blessings. We pray that all the members of our families, especially those who no longer practice their faith, will join together on the Lord's Day to offer Jesus' Holy Mass: the greatest act of thanksgiving the world has ever known.

 Our Father...
Hail Mary....
Glory be to the Father...