Our Lady of Nazareth
Sancta Maria de Nazareth
The hidden life of our Lord at Nazareth belongs to the mystery of salvation, and is an example of holiness: in the home at Nazareth our Savior, subject to Mary and Joseph (cf. Luke 2, 51), spent the greater part of his life on earth. The Roman Liturgy commemorates this mystery of salvation especially on the Sunday within the octave of Christmas, when it celebrates the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Many particular Churches and religious institutes also give liturgical honor to the Mother of God under the title of "Our Lady of Nazareth." This title celebrates in particular the role of Our Lady at Nazareth in the service of her Son and his work of salvation.
This Mass, with its two series of readings, celebrates:
- the mystery of the incarnation of the Word (cf. Preface, Collect) and his self-emptying: "when the fullness of time had come, God sent his son, born of a woman, born under the law" (1st Reading, Galatians 4, 4-7; cf. Collect); at Nazareth, as a real child, he "advanced in wisdom and age and favor" (Gospel, A, Luke 2, 41-52), and "was subject" to his parents (Communion Antiphon, Luke 2, 51);
- the life shared by the Mother with her Son: in the home at Nazareth, "as the first disciple of her Son," our Lady "receives the message of the Gospel, treasures it in her heart, and reflects on it in her mind" (Preface);
- the virginal relationship between Mary and Joseph, united "in an unbreakable bond of chaste love" (Preface), sharing a humble life of Prayer, silence, and work (cf. Preface), and partners in joy (cf. Entrance Antiphon), in sorrow (cf. Gospel, B, Luke 2, 41-52), and in the upbringing of Christ (cf. Communion Antiphon, Luke 2, 51);
- the kingdom of God, which is already present and active in the Holy Family of Nazareth, and which is built up on earth "silently" (Prayer after Communion) and among the disciples, whose life is hidden in Christ (cf. Collect, Colossians 3, 3).
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Entrance Antiphon
Proverbs 23, 24a. 25
Great joy fills a father's heart when his son is righteous.
Let your father and mother be glad,
let the one who gave you birth rejoice.
Let your father and mother be glad,
let the one who gave you birth rejoice.
Exsultat gaudio pater iusti,
gaudeat pater tuus et mater tua,
et exsultet, quæ genuit te.
COLLECT
All-holy Father, in the wonder of your wisdom and love
you decreed that your Son should be born of a woman,
and be subject to her guidance;
grant that we may enter more and more
into the mystery of your incarnate Word
and with him lead a hidden life on earth
until, escorted by his Virgin Mother,
we may joyously enter your home in heaven.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Domine, sancte Pater,
qui mira dispensatione voluisti
Filium tuum ex muliere nasci eique esse subiectum,
concede nos incarnati Verbi mysterium altius penetrare
et cum ipso absconditam in terris ducere vitam
donec, a Virgine Matre comitati,
domum tuam læti ingredi mereamur.
Per Dominum.
LITURGY OF THE WORD
I
First Reading
Gal 4, 4-7
God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law.
A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Galatians
Brothers and sisters:
When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son,
born of a woman, born under the law,
to ransom those under the law,
so that we might receive adoption.
As proof that you are children,
God sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts,
crying out, “Abba, Father!”
So you are no longer a slave but a child,
and if a child then also an heir, through God.
The word of the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 131, 1. 2. 3
R. In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.
LORD, my heart is not proud;
nor are my eyes haughty;
I do not busy myself with great matters,
with things too sublime for me. R.Rather, I have stilled my soul,
hushed it like a weaned child.
Like a weaned child on its mother’s lap,
so is my soul within me. R.Israel, hope in the LORD,
now and forever. R.Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Virgin Mother of God,
he whom the whole world cannot contain
enclosed himself as a child within your womb.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Lk 2, 22. 39-40
They returned to their own home of Nazareth.
The child grew to maturity, and he was filled with wisdom.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke
When the days were completed for their purification
according to the law of Moses,
Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem
to present him to the Lord.
When Mary and Joseph had fulfilled all the prescriptions
of the law of the Lord,
they returned to Galilee,
to their own town of Nazareth.
The child, Jesus, grew and became strong, filled with wisdom;
and the favor of God was upon him.
The Gospel of the Lord.
Or:
Lk 2:41-52
Jesus went down with them and came to Nazareth, where he was subject to them.
Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover,
and when Jesus was twelve years old,
they went up according to festival custom.
After they had completed its days, as they were returning,
the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem,
but his parents did not know it.
Thinking that Jesus was in the caravan,
they journeyed for a day
and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances,
but not finding him,
they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.
After three days they found Jesus in the temple,
sitting in the midst of the teachers,
listening to them and asking them questions,
and all who heard him were astounded
at his understanding and his answers.
When Jesus’ parents saw him,
they were astonished,
and his mother said to him,
“Son, why have you done this to us?
Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.”
And Jesus said to them,
“Why were you looking for me?
Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
But his parents did not understand what he said to them.
Jesus went down with them and came to Nazareth,
and was obedient to them;
and his mother kept all these things in her heart.
And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor
before God and people.
II
First Reading
Col 3, 12-17
May the fullness of Christ’s message live within you.
A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Colossians
Brothers and sisters:
Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved,
heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,
bearing with one another and forgiving one another,
if one has a grievance against another;
as the Lord has forgiven you,
so must you also do.
And over all these put on love,
that is, the bond of perfection.
And let the peace of Christ control your hearts,
the peace into which you were also called in one body.
And be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,
as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another,
singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs
with gratitude in your hearts to God.
And whatever you do, in word or in deed,
do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him.
The word of the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 84, 2-3. 5-6. 9-10
R. (see 5a) Blessed are they who dwell in your house, O Lord.
How lovely your dwelling,
O LORD of hosts!
My soul yearns and pines
for the courts of the LORD.
My heart and flesh cry
out for the living God. R.Happy are those who dwell in your house!
They never cease to praise you.
Happy are those who find refuge in you,
whose hearts are set on pilgrim roads. R.LORD of hosts, hear my prayer;
listen, God of Jacob.
O God, look kindly on our shield;
look upon the face of your anointed. R.Alleluia
Colossians 3, 15a. 16a
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
May the peace of Christ rule in your hearts
and the fullness of his message live within you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS
We offer you, O Lord,
these offerings of conciliation and praise,
humbly asking that,
following the example of the Virgin of Nazareth
we may present our very selves
as a holy sacrifice pleasing to you.
Through Christ our Lord.
PREFACE
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
May the peace of Christ rule in your hearts
and the fullness of his message live within you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Mt 2, 13-15. 19-23
He went and lived in a town called Nazareth.
He went and lived in a town called Nazareth.
When the magi had departed,
behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said,
“Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt,
and stay there until I tell you.
Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.”
Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night
and departed for Egypt.
He stayed there until the death of Herod,
that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled,
“Out of Egypt I called my son.”
When Herod had died, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream
to Joseph in Egypt and said,
“Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel,
for those who sought the child’s life are dead.”
Joseph rose, took the child and his mother,
and went to the land of Israel.
But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea
in place of his father Herod,
Joseph was afraid to go back there.
And because he had been warned in a dream,
he departed for the region of Galilee.
Joseph went and dwelt in a town called Nazareth,
so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled,
“He shall be called a Nazorean.”
LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS
We offer you, O Lord,
these offerings of conciliation and praise,
humbly asking that,
following the example of the Virgin of Nazareth
we may present our very selves
as a holy sacrifice pleasing to you.
Through Christ our Lord.
Munera tibi placationis et laudis offerimus, Domine,
humiliter deprecantes,
ut, Virginis Nazarethanæ sequentes exempla,
nosmetipsos exhibeamus hostiam sanctam, tibi placentem.
Per Christum.
PREFACE
The daily life of Our Lady in the home at Nazareth
(De beatæ Virginis conversatione in domo Nazarethana)
The Lord be with you.
R. And with your spirit.
Lift up your hearts.
R. We lift them up to the Lord
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
R. It is right and just.
It is truly right to give you thanks,
truly just to give you glory, Father most holy,
on this celebration of the glorious Virgin Mary.
For at Nazareth she receives with faith
the message of Gabriel
and becomes the Mother of your Son,
begotten by you before the ages,
now born into this world of time
as our Savior and our brother.
At Nazareth too,
in loving communion with her Son,
she watches over the growing Church
in the person of her child
and hands on to us
the shining example of her life.
In the holy house of Nazareth,
as the first disciple of her Son,
she receives the message of the Gospel,
treasures it in her heart,
and reflects on it in her mind.
At Nazareth also this purest of virgins,
united with Joseph, the just man,
in an unbreakable bond of chaste love,
praises you in song,
worships you in silence,
honors you by her daily life,
and gives you glory as she cares for her family.
Now, with all the Saints and Angels,
we praise you for ever:
on this celebration of the glorious Virgin Mary.
For at Nazareth she receives with faith
the message of Gabriel
and becomes the Mother of your Son,
begotten by you before the ages,
now born into this world of time
as our Savior and our brother.
At Nazareth too,
in loving communion with her Son,
she watches over the growing Church
in the person of her child
and hands on to us
the shining example of her life.
In the holy house of Nazareth,
as the first disciple of her Son,
she receives the message of the Gospel,
treasures it in her heart,
and reflects on it in her mind.
At Nazareth also this purest of virgins,
united with Joseph, the just man,
in an unbreakable bond of chaste love,
praises you in song,
worships you in silence,
honors you by her daily life,
and gives you glory as she cares for her family.
Now, with all the Saints and Angels,
we praise you for ever:
Vere dignum est tibi gratias agere,
vere iustum est te glorificare, Pater sancte,
in hac celebratione gloriosæ Virginis Mariæ.
Quæ Nazareth nuntium Gabrielis fide suscipiens,
Filium tuum, quem ab æterno genuisti,
in tempore nobis generat salvatorem et fratrem.
Ibi, intime cum Filio conversata,
Ecclesiæ fovet primordia
et nobis tradit præclara vitæ documenta.
Ibi beata Mater, facta discipula Filii,
primitias Evangelii suscipit,
in corde servat et mente revolvit.
Ibi purissima Virgo, Ioseph viro iusto
arctissimo virginalique amoris vinculo iuncta,
te celebrat canticis, adorat silentio,
te laudat vita, labore glorificat.
Et ideo cum Sanctis et Angelis universis
te collaudamus, sine fine dicentes:
Holy, Holy, Holy....
Communion Antiphon
Luke 2, 51
Jesus went down with them
and came to Nazareth,
where he was subject to them.
where he was subject to them.
Descendit Iesus cum eis
et venit Nazareth
et erat subditus illis.
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
All-holy Father,
look with kindness on those you have strengthened
with the Sacrament from heaven,
so that, through the example
of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
we may work silently
at building up your kingdom on earth
and so enjoy its fulfilment in heaven,
in the company of your Son.
Who lives and reins for ever and ever.
look with kindness on those you have strengthened
with the Sacrament from heaven,
so that, through the example
of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
we may work silently
at building up your kingdom on earth
and so enjoy its fulfilment in heaven,
in the company of your Son.
Who lives and reins for ever and ever.
Quos cælestibus, Pater sancte, reficis sacramentis,
propitius intuere,
ut, beatæ Virginis Mariæ exemplis roborati,
Regnum tuum silenti opere ædificantes in terris,
eo cum Filio tuo indesinenter fruamur in cælis.
Qui vivit.
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