← Prev Calendar Next →

The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

feast Christmas Time

Holy Day of Obligation

Mass Readings → Liturgy of the Hours →

Selected Mass Reading

Second Reading — Colossians 3:12-21

Put ye on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, the bowels of mercy, benignity, humility, modesty, patience: Bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if any have a complaint against another. Even as the Lord hath forgiven you, so do you also. But above all these things have charity, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of Christ rejoice in your hearts, wherein also you are called in one body: and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you abundantly: in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual canticles, singing in grace in your hearts to God. All whatsoever you do in word or in work, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. Wives, be subject to your husbands, as it behoveth in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and be not bitter towards them. Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, provoke not your children to indignation, lest they be discouraged.

Feast Days

John the Evangelist
John the Evangelist Apostle, Evangelist, Gospel writer 10–98

Saint John the Evangelist was born around 6 AD, traditionally in the land of Israel, and is revered as the beloved disciple who leaned close to Jesus at the Last Supper and bore intimate witness to the mystery of the Word made flesh. Christian tradition identifies him with John the Apostle, one of the Twelve and, with Peter and James, a pillar of the early Church in Jerusalem after the Lord’s Resurrection. Remembered for his steadfast fidelity, John is often held to be the only apostle to die a natural death, after a long life spent strengthening the faith of believers. The Church venerates him especially as the Evangelist who gave us the Gospel that soars in contemplation of Christ’s divinity, and as a shepherd whose teaching helped form the life of the early Christian communities, often associated with Ephesus. In Christian memory he is also linked with exile on Patmos during persecution, a sign of his perseverance in trial. He is patron of many places and communities that bear his name. His feast day is December 27.