Reading 1
Mi 5:1-4a or Rom 8:28-30
The LORD says:
You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah,
too small to be among the clans of Judah,
From you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel;
Whose origin is from of old,
from ancient times.
(Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time
when she who is to give birth has borne,
And the rest of his brethren shall return
to the children of Israel.)
He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock
by the strength of the LORD,
in the majestic name of the LORD, his God;
And they shall remain, for now his greatness
shall reach to the ends of the earth;
he shall be peace.
or
Brothers and sisters:
We know that all things work for good for those who love God,
who are called according to his purpose.
For those he foreknew he also predestined
to be conformed to the image of his Son,
so that he might be the firstborn
among many brothers.
And those he predestined he also called;
and those he called he also justified;
and those he justified he also glorified.
Gospel
Mt 1:1-16, 18-23 or 1:18-23
The Book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,
the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Abraham became the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.
Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah,
whose mother was Tamar.
Perez became the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
Ram the father of Amminadab.
Amminadab became the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
Salmon the father of Boaz,
whose mother was Rahab.
Boaz became the father of Obed,
whose mother was Ruth.
Obed became the father of Jesse,
Jesse the father of David the king.
David became the father of Solomon,
whose mother had been the wife of Uriah.
Solomon became the father of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
Abijah the father of Asaph.
Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of Joram,
Joram the father of Uzziah.
Uzziah became the father of Jotham,
Jotham the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.
Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of Amos,
Amos the father of Josiah.
Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers
at the time of the Babylonian exile.
After the Babylonian exile,
Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
Zerubbabel the father of Abiud.
Abiud became the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of Azor,
Azor the father of Zadok.
Zadok became the father of Achim,
Achim the father of Eliud,
Eliud the father of Eleazar.
Eleazar became the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.
Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill
what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means “God is with us.”
or
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill
what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means “God is with us.”
Meditation: Matthew 1:1-16,18-23
The Birth of the Virgin Mary
For centuries, God had been promising his people a Savior, one who would “shepherd his flock” and whose greatness would “reach to the ends of the earth” (Micah 5:3). And over the generations, countless Jews waited, trusting that God’s promises would be fulfilled. That’s why the birth of Mary was such a momentous event: It signaled the era of fulfillment.
The church has celebrated Mary’s birth since the sixth century, not only to honor her as the Mother of God but also to mark a unique moment in salvation history. As the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council put it: “After a long period of waiting, the times are fulfilled in her, the exalted Daughter of Zion, and the new plan of salvation is established” (On the Church, 55).
Today’s feast tells us that our God always keeps his promises. Both Mary and Joseph knew this truth. What a shocking message the angel Gabriel delivered when he told Mary that she, a virgin, was to bear God’s Son! She didn’t know how it would happen, yet she believed. And when Joseph learned in a dream that Mary’s child was conceived through the Holy Spirit, he too trusted God’s word and acted in faith by marrying her (Matthew 1:20-21). And neither of them was disappointed.
Today is a great day to rejoice in God’s faithfulness and love. It’s a day to celebrate that love as it was manifested in the Virgin Mary. We see that love, first of all, in her immaculate conception. But we also see it in every episode of her life. Naturally we want to honor her for saying yes to the angel at the annunciation. But that yes was the culmination of years of humble openness to the Lord. And for all those years we should rejoice and praise the Lord.
Today is also a great day to imitate Mary with our own yes to God. It’s a great day to tell him that we want to try our best to follow Mary’s example. We may not be perfectly sinless, but Christ still lives in us. Let’s honor him today by taking his own mother’s advice: “Do whatever he tells you” (John 2:5).
“Father, I trust in your faithfulness. Give me the grace to believe that you will fulfill all your promises in my life. Mary, Mother of God, pray for me to have the same trust that you did.”
Micah 5:1-4; Romans 8:28-30;? Psalm 13:6
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