Author: admin

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Gospel: Luke 1:5-25

In the days of Herod, King of Judea,
there was a priest named Zechariah
of the priestly division of Abijah;
his wife was from the daughters of Aaron,
and her name was Elizabeth. 
Both were righteous in the eyes of God,
observing all the commandments
and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly. 
But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren
and both were advanced in years. 

Once when he was serving as priest
in his division’s turn before God,
according to the practice of the priestly service,
he was chosen by lot
to enter the sanctuary of the Lord to burn incense. 
Then, when the whole assembly of the people was praying outside
at the hour of the incense offering,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him,
standing at the right of the altar of incense. 
Zechariah was troubled by what he saw, and fear came upon him. 

But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah,
because your prayer has been heard. 
Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son,
and you shall name him John. 
And you will have joy and gladness,
and many will rejoice at his birth,
for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. 
He will drink neither wine nor strong drink. 
He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb,
and he will turn many of the children of Israel
to the Lord their God. 
He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah
to turn the hearts of fathers toward children
and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous,
to prepare a people fit for the Lord.” 

Then Zechariah said to the angel,
“How shall I know this? 
For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 
And the angel said to him in reply,
“I am Gabriel, who stand before God.
I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news. 
But now you will be speechless and unable to talk
until the day these things take place,
because you did not believe my words,
which will be fulfilled at their proper time.”
Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah
and were amazed that he stayed so long in the sanctuary. 
But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them,
and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. 
He was gesturing to them but remained mute.

Then, when his days of ministry were completed, he went home. 

After this time his wife Elizabeth conceived,
and she went into seclusion for five months, saying,
“So has the Lord done for me at a time when he has seen fit
to take away my disgrace before others.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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At the time when this Gospel passage was written, there were about 20,000 priests in Israel. Often, this honor came by birthright; any male who was a descendant of Aaron was automatically a priest. Such was the case for Zechariah.

Because of the sheer number of priests, most never had the opportunity to enter the Holy of Holies, the innermost room of the Temple where God’s presence dwelt. There sacrifices were made on behalf of the entire nation.

But today the lot falls on Zechariah. It was his time, but a bittersweet moment. 

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Though an incredible honor to pray for his people, deep within his heart, Zechariah also harbored inconsolable grief. He was now an elderly man, and his wife, Elizabeth, was barren. At that time, there was a great deal of shame associated with being childless. 

It was even grounds for divorce.

So, when Zechariah entered the Holy of Holies, he was not only praying for his nation; he was also praying for a son.

Suddenly, an angel appears telling him that his prayer has been heard! But because of his disbelief, he’s struck mute.

Scholars say this was an act of mercy on the angel’s behalf, preventing Zechariah from blaspheming – or doubting God’s power – while standing in the holiest place on earth. 

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His story presents both a challenge and a word of comfort for us today.

Notice Zechariah fell into the age-old temptation of favoring human logic over Divine Providence. While the angel promised him that his wife would conceive a son, he didn’t believe it; he thought Elizabeth was too old. 

How often do we also favor human logic over Divine Providence? Or pray to God, while doubting in our heart of hearts that we’ll actually be heard? 

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And notice where Zechariah’s prayer is heard and answered… in the Temple. Sometimes the Lord waits until we bring our intentions to the altar before answering us.

When we do offer a prayer, remember nothing is impossible for God.

Just think of Zechariah.

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Image credits: (1) CreativeKidsWork.com (2) Zechariah in the Temple, Jan Lievens (3) Catholic Answers

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Gospel: Matthew 1: 18-25

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.” 
When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home. 
He had no relations with her until she bore a son,
and he named him Jesus.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Perhaps one of the most popular scenes depicted in Christian art is the Annunciation, the moment when the angel Gabriel appears to Mary, telling her that she’ll bear the Son of God in her womb.

What’s much less depicted is today’s Gospel scene, which we might call, the annunciation to Saint Jospeh. Like Mary, Joseph learns of God’s plans for his life through the mouth of an angel, and he, too, is baffled.  

And like Mary, Joseph’s “yes” will play a crucial role in the Christmas story.

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Without his assent, the Old Testament prophesies foretelling that the Son of God would come from David’s line would not be fulfilled.

Without Joseph, Mary could easily be reduced to a life of begging, trying to provide for this miraculous child, which society would deem illegitimate. 

Without Joseph, Mary would be denied a husband to help her navigate this extraordinary change in circumstances. It takes the “yes” of both of them to bring this child into the world and to raise him in a safe, nourishing home.

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The heart of Joseph’s story is about waking up in a mess that he did not create – his wife is pregnant, and the child is not his; his heart has been broken; the future he had hoped for is over. 

Yet he does not divorce himself from it; he listens to the voice of an angel, takes Mary into his home, accepts this mysterious child, looking for God’s presence in it all. 

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Like Joseph, I’m sure we’ve all woken up a time or two, finding ourselves in circumstances we had never imagined – a malignant diagnosis, a closed door, dryness in prayer, a broken heart, a loved one suddenly taken from our midst.

The temptation is to divorce ourselves from it all, either abandoning the cross we’ve been given, or to seek relief in ways that do not help us in the end.

But Joseph reminds us that – whatever our own mess may be – God is present. There’s an angel somewhere, in some form, saying to us what was said to him and to Mary, “Do not be afraid.” 

Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us.

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Image credits: (1) Aleteia (2) Integrated Catholic Life (3) Saint Joseph with the Infant Jesus, Guido Reni

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Gospel: Matthew 1: 1-17

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.

Thus the total number of generations
from Abraham to David
is fourteen generations;
from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations;
from the Babylonian exile to the Christ,
fourteen generations.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Over the last number of years, many have used DNA test kits – like 23andMe – to learn more about their ancestry. Such advanced science didn’t exist at the time of Christ. Rather, people traced their history orally.

In today’s Gospel, for example, Matthew traces the lineage of Jesus Christ all the way back to Abraham, who lived thousands of years before in order to teach his listeners several important lessons.

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First, Matthew uses Christ’s lineage to demonstrate that God acts in history. Jesus did not strut onto the world stage as an unimpressive newcomer; his birth was the fruit of long-awaited anticipation.

The story begins with Abraham. God makes him a promise that he’d be the father of many nations, as numerous as the stars in the sky. Then the lineage moves to David, who serves as king during the climax of Israel’s power. 

Next Matthew moves to the darkest period of Israel’s history, the Babylonian exile, when the Davidic throne is reduced to dust. Finally, out of the ashes, arises Christ, the true, eternal king of Israel.

Forty-two generations over the span of two-thousand years reveal that God acts in history with purpose. And through his Spirit, God is still active in our lives today.

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Secondly, God is a God of inclusion.

In this first paragraph of Matthew’s Gospel, five of the people named in the genealogy of Jesus are women. All of them, with the exception of Mary, are not Jewish; they’re Gentiles. 

This reveals that from the beginning, God’s plan of salvation included men and women, his mission was to save everyone – not just Israel, and the Lord still relies upon men and women to accomplish his will today.

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Finally, God works through ordinary, sometimes sinful, people. Several of those listed in Christ’s genealogy were sketchy characters – from con artists to prostitutes. Yet, through it all, God’s will is done.

It’s no different today. We do not have to be perfect to be instruments of God’s grace.

As we prepare for his coming at Christmas – and at the end of time – may we offer our hearts and bodies like Mary to accomplish his will. In so doing, we become yet another generation of God’s blessed, extended family.

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Image credits: (1) The Jerusalem Gift Shop (2) 23andMe (3) We Dare to Say