Feast of the Holy Family Prayers
The Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph is kept on the Sunday after Christmas, or on December 30 when no Sunday falls between Christmas and New Year's Day. Pope Leo XIII promoted devotion to the Holy Family in the 1890s, and in 1921 Pope Benedict XV extended the feast to the whole Church. It holds up the hidden life at Nazareth, where the Son of God lived in obedience to Mary and Joseph for some thirty years, as the model of every Christian home.
Pray these prayers together on the feast, at a family meal during the Christmas season, when blessing a new home, or in any time of strain at home. The Prayer for a Christian Family is long enough to share: one person can lead each paragraph.
The Prayer
O Lord Jesus Christ, Who by subjecting Thyself unto Mary and Joseph, hast hallowed domestic life with unspeakable virtues, do Thou grant that, by the help of Mary and Joseph, we may order our lives after the examples of Thy Holy Family, and obtain everlasting fellowship with it. Who livest and reignest world without end. Amen.
Prayer for a Christian Family
God of goodness and mercy, we commend to Thy all-powerful protection our home, our family, and all that we possess. Bless us all as Thou didst bless the Holy Family of Nazareth. O Jesus, our most holy Redeemer, by the love with which Thou didst become man in order to save us, by the mercy through which Thou didst die for us upon the cross, we entreat Thee to bless our home, our family, our household. Preserve us from all evil and from the snares of men; preserve us from lightning and hail and fire, from flood and from the rage of the elements; preserve us from Thy wrath, from all hatred and from the evil intentions of our enemies, from plague, famine, and war. Let no one of us die without the holy Sacraments. Bless us, that we may always openly confess our faith which is to sanctify us, that we may never falter in our hope, even amid pain and affliction, that we may ever grow in love for Thee and in charity toward our neighbor. O Jesus, bless us, protect us. O Mary, Mother of grace and mercy, bless us, protect us against the evil spirit; lead us by the hand through this vale of tears; reconcile us with thy divine Son; commend us to Him, that we may be made worthy of His promises. Saint Joseph, reputed father of our Saviour, guardian of his most holy Mother, head of the Holy Family, intercede for us, bless and protect our home always. Saint Michael, defend us against all the wicked wiles of hell. Saint Gabriel, obtain for us that we may understand the holy will of God. Saint Raphael, preserve us from ill health and all danger to life. Holy Guardian Angels, keep us day and night in the way to salvation. Holy Patrons, pray for us before the throne of God. Bless this house, Thou, God our Father, who didst create us; Thou, divine Son, who didst suffer for us on the cross; Thou, Holy Spirit, who didst sanctify us in baptism. May God, in His three Divine Persons, preserve our body, purify our soul, direct our heart, and lead us to life everlasting. Glory be to the Father, glory be to the Son, glory be to the Holy Ghost. Amen.
Saints for families: Sts. Joachim and Anne, the grandparents of Jesus; St. Joseph, head of the Holy Family; and the Holy Guardian Angels, who watch over every home.
See also: Prayer for Peace in the Family, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph Aspirations, To Thee, O Blessed Joseph, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Prayers, Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, and Christmas Prayer (Traditional).
Sources: The collect of the Holy Family is from The Roman Missal Adapted to the Use of the Laity (Toronto: W. E. Blake & Son, c. 1914). The Prayer for a Christian Family is from The New Raccolta (Philadelphia: Peter F. Cunningham & Son, 1903), where it is recorded as indulgenced by Pope Leo XIII on January 19, 1889. Both public domain.
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