06 - Feast of the
Holy Family

Readings and Gospel

Lectionary for this day - This has all the readings and Gospel

Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14 - This mentions blessings and advice to children about honoring their father and mother.

(Letter/Epistle of St Paul to the) Colossians 3:12-21 - This talks about virtues that we are to have and about the Christian family.

Luke 2:22-40 - The Presentation in the Temple

This letter is addressed to a congregation at Colossae in the Lycus Valley in Asia Minor, east of Ephesus (in today's Turkey). At the time of writing, Paul had not visited there. More information here.

Luke

The person that God called to free the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.
Through Moses, God taught the Israelites how to be His children including the Ten Commandments, how to trust and worship God, and how to be a people of God (the Church).

From Luke 2:22: It had been revealed to him by the holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Messiah of the Lord.

Temple

This is the second temple. This is a reconstruction (of the first temple) between 516 BC and 70 AD.
(The first temple was built by Solomon but destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar II (Babylonians) in 587 BC.)
This is where the Jews offered animal sacrifices and worshipped God.