Christmas Octave: Obedience and Hope – Dec 29 – Homily – Fr Joseph Michael

 

Fr Joseph Michael gives the homily at Bloomington, IN, on Dec 29, 2025, reflecting on the Gospel of the Presentation in the Temple, highlighting the Holy Family's obedience, the duty of Catholic parents to baptize infants, Simeon's hope, Christ as a sign of contradiction, and Mary's future suffering, urging us to receive the Infant Jesus with joy during the Christmas octave.

In this homily, Father explains the special grace of the Christmas octave, during which we celebrate Jesus' birth for eight days. He points to the Gospel showing Mary and Joseph's obedience to God's laws by presenting Jesus in the Temple and offering what they could afford despite their poverty. Father stresses that Catholic parents must baptize their babies right away and raise them in the faith to protect them from the devil's influence, as delaying baptism leads to lives without Christ's light. He praises Simeon's trust in God's promise to see the Savior, teaching us to hold onto hope. Father also covers Simeon's words about Jesus being a sign that some will accept with joy while others reject, and the prophecy of a sword piercing Mary's heart, hinting at her sorrow at the Cross. Finally, he calls us to embrace the Christ Child's love and carry Christmas joy all year.

For Further Reading
Luke 2:22-40 - Presentation in the Temple Gospel - https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/2?22
CCC 1213 - Baptism's necessity for salvation - http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/1213.htm
CCC 1250 - Parents' duty in baptism - http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p2s2c1a1.htm#1250
CCC 529 - Holy Family's obedience example - http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p122a3p3.htm#526
CCC 964 - Mary's compassion with Christ - http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p123a9p6.htm#964

Ave Maria!

Mass: 5th Day in Octave of Christmas - Wkdy
Readings:  - http://usccb.org/bible/readings/122925.cfm
1st: 1jo 2:3-11
Resp: psa 96:1-3, 5-6
Gsp: luk 2:22-35

More on the Readings: https://airmaria.com/r?m=1311

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