Posted in Holy Family PRAYERS, HYMNS, Our MORNING Offering, PAPAL PRAYERS, POETRY, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, The HOLY FAMILY, THE HOLY FAMILY - FAMILIAE SANCTAE

Our Morning Offering – 9 January – O House of Nazareth The Blest

Our Morning Offering – 9 January – Sunday within the Octave of Epiphany and the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph,

O Gente Felix
O House of Nazareth The Blest
By Pope Leo XIII (1810-1903)

O house of Nazareth the blest,
Fair hostess of the Lord,
The Church was nurtured at thy breast
And shared thy scanty hoard.

In all the spreading lands of earth.
The wandering sun may see
No dearer spot, no ampler worth
Than erst was found in thee!

We know thy humble tenement
Was heaven’s hermitage:
Celestial heralds came and went
In endless embassage.

There, whatsoever Joseph asks
Christ hastens to fulfil;
While Mary loves the household tasks
That wait her joyous will.

There, Joseph toileth at her side
Her joys and griefs to share,
With thousand ties knit to his bride,
Of love and work and prayer.

Yet how their bosoms constant burn
And deeper ardours prove
In love of Christ, whose eyes return
Tokens of mutual love.

O then, in all the homes of earth,
Be Love the bond of life:
May it enthrone at every hearth
The peace that husheth strife.

All praise to thee, O Jesus,
Who parents dost obey;
Praise to the sovereign Father
And Paraclete for aye.
Amen.

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Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, PAPAL MESSAGES, PAPAL PRAYERS, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES on the FAMILY

Monthly Catholic Devotions: FEBRUARY is the Month of THE HOLY FAMILY

FEBRUARY – THE MONTH OF THE HOLY FAMILYfeb-the-month-of-the-holy-family-1-feb-2018

In January, the Catholic Church celebrated the Month of the Holy Name of Jesus and in February, we turn to the entire Holy Family—Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

The special devotion which proposes the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph as the model of virtue of all Christian households began in the 17th century.   It started almost in France – the Association of the Holy Family was founded  by the Daughters of the Holy Family in Paris in 1674.

This devotion soon spread and in 1893 Pope Leo XIII expressed his approval of a feast under this title and himself composed part of the Office.   On account of the flight into Egypt this feast has been observed by the Copts from early times.

The feast was welcomed by succeeding Pontiffs as an efficacious means for bringing home to the Christian people the example of the Holy Family at Nazareth and by the restoration of the true spirit of family life, stemming, in some measure, the evils of present-day society.

In the words of His Holiness Pope Leo XIII, “Nothing truly can be more salutary or efficacious for Christian families to meditate upon than the example of this Holy Family, which embraces the perfection and completeness of all domestic virtues.”feb the month of the holy family 1 feb 2019.jpg

Prayer to the Holy Family
By Pope Francis
Angelus, 29 December 2013

Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
in You we contemplate
the splendour of true love,
to You we turn with trust.

Holy Family of Nazareth,
grant that our families too
may be places of communion and prayer,
authentic schools of the Gospel
and small domestic Churches.

Holy Family of Nazareth,
may families never again
experience violence, rejection and division:
may all who have been hurt or scandalised
find ready comfort and healing.

Holy Family of Nazareth,
may we be made
once more mindful
of the sacredness
and inviolability of the family,
and its beauty in God’s plan.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
graciously hear our prayer.
Amen

(This prayer was composed for the Synod of the Family in 2014, so it has been very slightly adapted to remove the reference to the said Synod).prayer to the holy family by pope francis - written 2013 for the 2014 synod - 1 feb 2019.jpg