Today as we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family, Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Matthew (2: 13-15, 19-23) in which Joseph, listens to the angel of the Lord and takes his family to Egypt, where they stay until the death of Herod, and then they move to Nazareth in Galilee. Fr Paul says the Feast of the Holy Family normally falls on the first Sunday after Christmas. Although major feast days are dedicated to each member of the Holy Family—Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, the Feast of the Holy Family commemorates their life together, and the celebration focuses on religious family life. In Western Christianity, veneration of the Holy Family as a group, rather than as individuals, did not arise until the 17th century and was not officially recognized until the feast day was formally instituted in 1921 under Pope Benedict XV. Originally celebrated on the Sunday after Epiphany (January 6), the Feast of the Holy Family was moved to the Sunday after Christmas in 1969, bringing it within the Christmas season.So today, Fr Paul invites us to pray… Holy Family, pray for us and our families.