Gospel: Matthew 1:1-16, 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.”
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Reflection:
Today Friday Sept. 8 is the Nativity/Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The
Nativity of the Blessed Mother is celebrated as a liturgical feast in the Roman
Catholic calendar nine months after the solemnity of her Immaculate Conception,
celebrated on 8 December.
Today is
also the birthday of my Mother (Natividad Jabonete Dasmarinas); she was born on
September 8 1942. Her name Natividad is the Spanish translation of Nativity. I
reflected on how she was given that name and I arrived to this conclusion that
my grandparents had a special devotion also to the Blessed Mother. Otherwise
they would have not named my mother Natividad.
We
Catholics have this very deep devotion to the Blessed Mother for the reason
that she is our universal mother. The respect and devotion that we give her is
the same respect and devotion that we gave our own mothers. How can we not
venerate Mama Mary when she is the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ?
In the
gospel, Joseph was about to quietly divorce Mary whom he found to be pregnant
already through the Holy Spirit. But the Lord intervened through an angel and it
told Joseph not to leave Mary. For the reason that the child that she carries in her womb was
conceived by the Holy Spirit.
Joseph
humbly listened to the Lord, he did not leave Mary and the salvific plan of God
was realized with the birth of Jesus.
Do you
always listen to the voice of the Lord? - Marino J. Dasmarinas
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