The LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying: Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God; let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky! But Ahaz answered, "I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!" Then he said: Listen, O house of David! Is it not enough for you to weary men, must you also weary my God? Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel.
Psalms 24(23),1-2.3-4ab.5-6.
The LORD's are the earth and its fullness; the world and those who dwell in it. For he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.
Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD? or who may stand in his holy place? One whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean, who desires not what is vain.
He shall receive a blessing from the LORD, a reward from God his savior. Such is the race that seeks for him, that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.
Letter to the Romans 1,1-7.
Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised previously through his prophets in the holy scriptures, the gospel about his Son, descended from David according to the flesh, but established as Son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness through resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. Through him we have received the grace of apostleship, to bring about the obedience of faith, for the sake of his name, among all the Gentiles, among whom are you also, who are called to belong to Jesus Christ; to all the beloved of God in Rome, called to be holy. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 1,18-24.
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.
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER I think particularly of all those who are open to welcoming life by way of adoption, which is such a generous and beautiful, good attitude. Joseph shows us that this type of bond is not secondary; it is not second best. This kind of choice is among the highest forms of love, and of fatherhood and motherhood. How many children in the world are waiting for someone to take care of them! It is a risk, yes: having a child is always a risk, either naturally or by adoption. But it is riskier not to have them. It is riskier to deny fatherhood or to deny motherhood, be it real or spiritual. (General audience, 5 January 2022)
FAUSTI - Joseph enters into the genesis of the Son of God through the act of faith that accepts "the addition of God". given to Mary, the humble daughter of Zion. He is the figure of every man who, "too great to be enough for himself" (Pascal), keeps himself open to his mystery, and his mystery is God Himself. One can wait infinitely for the Messiah; but in vain. In fact, He has already come, and He only waits for one who is willing to receive Him. The gift is already given, for Israel and for the Gentiles: this is Matthew's perspective. The question is how to receive it. The story is made for the reader, so that what happened to Joseph may happen to him. The "angel" for us is the text itself, which reminds us of his experience, so that it may also become ours. Joseph is the secret name of every man, finished, who desires infinitely, indeed the "infinity". open to what transcends him and can only fill him. Man is made for this divine "addition": "You have made us for Yourself, Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in You" (St. Augustine). "Don't be afraid to take Mary with you." says the Angel to Joseph. From Her, in fact, he will receive Jesus, the Son generated by the Spirit, the God with us. Faith in the Word establishes the kinship between us and God Himself. Through it, like Joseph, we welcome the One who has the power to make us children (Jn 1:12). Everything is left to our responsibility, to our ability to respond to the Word of God: this is His "Angel" who offers us the possibility to welcome Him, to listen to Him and to respond to Him. The previous passage tells us how God enters into our history, this, instead, how we enter into His history. He assumes our flesh as it is, we assume Him as He offers Himself in Mary. Joseph is the descendant of David, to whom God promised the Messiah. But He who always promises always , compromises Himself,and what He promises in the end is Himself, compromised in all His promises. The son of David will be not only the promised Messiah, but the same Lord who promises. The Son is not born from us. He comes from the Spirit because God is Spirit. Joseph thinks that he will back down out of discretion and unworthiness. But he is encouraged by the Angel to take the Mother and the Son. He must give the name to the One who is not his own: he is Other, he is the Other Himself, who awaits his "yes" to be his son, the God-with-him, the One who saves him and every "generation" from the loneliness of not being. Joseph is presented from now on as the one who listens and executes the Word. The Church, like Joseph, "the dreamer" realizes God's dream: in adoring silence, through faith, she welcomes the gift of the Son.
-->Mary mediates to all the gift of God. Whoever rejects the Mother, rejects the Son. To detach Jesus from Mary, from Israel, from the Church, from the brethren, is to reject His Flesh, Salvation of all flesh. Christianity becomes ideology, "gnosis," which has nothing to do with the Crucified Christ, revelation of God and liberation of man. Those who say . "Christ yes, but Israel no; Christ yes, but Church no ; Christ yes , and world no" , rejects Christ Jesus who mingled Himself in one destiny with Israel, Church and world. History is not something past that is no more , it is like roots for the tree . They give it sap and allow it to rise to the sky without collapsing at the first wind. What is in Mary, comes from God : by marrying the Mother, you welcome the Son. "You shall call Him by His name" : Mary gives birth to Him , you give Him a Name, you enter into relationship with Him and He with you. This is the sublime dignity of man : to call by name the " Name," to be His interlocutor , to speak with Him from friend to friend. Jesus means "the Lord saves" .He is the Name of God, His reality for those who call upon Him. "Whoever calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved" (Acts 2:21). In no other name is there Salvation (Acts 4:12), for it is the Name from which every other name takes its life. It can be invoked by anyone, no matter how lost : it is "the Lord saves." "All will know me, from the smallest to the greatest, for I will forgive their iniquities and remember their sin no more" (Jer. 31:34). We call God by Name precisely as the ones who are lost who are saved. God is Love without limits : We know Him as such only in forgiveness. The story of Jesus is seen in continuity with the story of Israel, as the fulfillment of the promise made to him.
In this fourth and final Sunday of Advent, the Gospel (cf. Mt 1: 18-24) guides us towards Christmas through the experience of Saint Joseph, a figure seemingly in second place, but whose attitude encapsulates all Christian wisdom. He, together with John the Baptist and Mary, is one of the characters whom the liturgy proposes to us for the time of Advent; and of the three he is the most modest. He is one who does not preach, does not speak, but tries to do God’s will; and he does it in the style of the Gospel and the Beatitudes. Let us think of: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 5: 3). And Joseph is poor because he lives on what is essential, he works, he lives by his work; it is the poverty typical of those who are aware that they depend on God for everything, and place all their trust in Him.
Today’s Gospel passage presents a situation that is in human terms embarrassing and conflicting. Joseph and Mary are betrothed; they do not yet live together, but she is expecting a child by the work of God. Joseph, faced with this surprise, is naturally disturbed but, instead of reacting in an impulsive and punitive manner – as was the custom, the law protected him – he seeks a solution that respects the dignity and integrity of his beloved Mary. The Gospel says so: “And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly” (v. 19). Joseph knew that if he denounced his betrothed, he would expose her to serious consequences, even death. He had full faith in Mary, whom he chose as his bride. He does not understand, but he seeks another solution.
This inexplicable circumstance leads him to question their bond; therefore, with great suffering, he decides to detach himself from Mary without creating scandal. But the Angel of the Lord intervenes to tell him that the solution he proposes is not the one desired by God. On the contrary, the Lord opened a new path for him, a path of union, love and happiness, and said to him: “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife. For that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit” (v. 20).
At this point, Joseph trusts God totally, obeys the Angel’s words and takes Mary with him. It was precisely this unshakable trust in God that enabled him to accept a humanly difficult and, in a certain sense, incomprehensible situation. Joseph understands, in faith, that the child born in Mary’s womb is not his child, but the Son of God, and he, Joseph, will be its guardian, fully assuming its earthly paternity. The example of this gentle and wise man exhorts us to lift up our gaze and push it further. It is a question of recovering the surprising logic of God which, far from small or great calculations, is made up of openness towards new horizons, towards Christ and His Word.
May the Virgin Mary and her chaste husband Joseph help us to listen to Jesus Who comes, and Who asks to be welcomed in our plans and in our choices.
ANGELUS Fourth Sunday of Advent, 19 December 2010 Dear Brothers and Sisters,
On this Fourth Sunday of Advent the Gospel according to St Matthew recounts the birth of Jesus from St Joseph’s viewpoint. He was betrothed to Mary who, “before they came together… was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit” (Mt 1:18). The Son of God, fulfilling an ancient prophecy (cf. Is 7:14), became man in the womb of a virgin and this mystery at the same time expressed the love, wisdom and power of God for mankind, wounded by sin. St Joseph is presented as “a just man” (Mt 1:19), faithful to God’s law and ready to do his will. For this reason he enters the mystery of the Incarnation after an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, announcing: “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Mt 1:20-21). Having given up the idea of divorcing Mary secretly, Joseph took her to himself because he then saw God’s work in her with his own eyes.
St Ambrose comments that “Joseph had the amiability and stature of a just man, to make his capacity as a witness worthier” (Exp. Ev. sec. Lucam II, 5: CCL 14,32-33). St Ambrose continues: “He could not have contaminated the temple of the Holy Spirit, the Mother of the Lord, the womb rendered fertile by the mystery” (ibid., II, 6: CCL 14,33). Although he had felt distressed, Joseph “did as the Angel of the Lord commanded him”, certain that he was doing the right thing. And in giving the name of “Jesus” to the Child who rules the entire universe, he placed himself among the throng of humble and faithful servants, similar to the Angels and Prophets, similar to the Martyrs and to the Apostles — as the ancient Eastern hymns sing. In witnessing to Mary’s virginity, to God’s gratuitous action and in safeguarding the Messiah’s earthly life St Joseph announces the miracle of the Lord. Therefore let us venerate the legal father of Jesus (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 532), because the new man is outlined in him, who looks with trust and courage to the future. He does not follow his own plans but entrusts himself without reserve to the infinite mercy of the One who will fulfil the prophecies and open the time of salvation.
Dear friends, I would like to entrust all Pastors to St Joseph, universal Patron of the Church, while I urge them to offer “Christ’s [humble] words and actions each day to the faithful and to the whole world”, (Letter Proclaiming the Year for Priests, 16 June 2009). May our life adhere ever more closely to the Person of Jesus, precisely because “the One who is himself the Word takes on a body, he comes from God as a man, and draws the whole of man’s being to himself, bearing it into the Word of God” (Jesus of Nazareth, New York 2007, p. 334). Let us invoke with trust the Virgin Mary, full of grace, “adorned by God”, so that at Christmas, which is now at hand, our eyes may be opened and see Jesus, and our hearts rejoice in this wonderful encounter of love.
Book of Isaiah 7,10-14.
RispondiEliminaThe LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying:
Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God; let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky!
But Ahaz answered, "I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!"
Then he said: Listen, O house of David! Is it not enough for you to weary men, must you also weary my God?
Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel.
Psalms 24(23),1-2.3-4ab.5-6.
The LORD's are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.
For he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy place?
One whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.
He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks for him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.
Letter to the Romans 1,1-7.
Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God,
which he promised previously through his prophets in the holy scriptures,
the gospel about his Son, descended from David according to the flesh,
but established as Son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness through resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Through him we have received the grace of apostleship, to bring about the obedience of faith, for the sake of his name, among all the Gentiles,
among whom are you also, who are called to belong to Jesus Christ;
to all the beloved of God in Rome, called to be holy. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ
according to Saint Matthew 1,18-24.
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.
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER
RispondiEliminaI think particularly of all those who are open to welcoming life by way of adoption, which is such a generous and beautiful, good attitude. Joseph shows us that this type of bond is not secondary; it is not second best. This kind of choice is among the highest forms of love, and of fatherhood and motherhood. How many children in the world are waiting for someone to take care of them! It is a risk, yes: having a child is always a risk, either naturally or by adoption. But it is riskier not to have them. It is riskier to deny fatherhood or to deny motherhood, be it real or spiritual. (General audience, 5 January 2022)
FAUSTI - Joseph enters into the genesis of the Son of God through the act of faith that accepts "the addition of God". given to Mary, the humble daughter of Zion. He is the figure of every man who, "too great to be enough for himself" (Pascal), keeps himself open to his mystery, and his mystery is God Himself.
RispondiEliminaOne can wait infinitely for the Messiah; but in vain. In fact, He has already come, and He only waits for one who is willing to receive Him. The gift is already given, for Israel and for the Gentiles: this is Matthew's perspective.
The question is how to receive it.
The story is made for the reader, so that what happened to Joseph may happen to him.
The "angel" for us is the text itself, which reminds us of his experience, so that it may also become ours.
Joseph is the secret name of every man, finished, who desires infinitely, indeed the "infinity". open to what transcends him and can only fill him. Man is made for this divine "addition": "You have made us for Yourself, Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in You" (St. Augustine).
"Don't be afraid to take Mary with you." says the Angel to Joseph.
From Her, in fact, he will receive Jesus, the Son generated by the Spirit, the God with us.
Faith in the Word establishes the kinship between us and God Himself. Through it, like Joseph, we welcome the One who has the power to make us children (Jn 1:12).
Everything is left to our responsibility, to our ability to respond to the Word of God: this is His "Angel" who offers us the possibility to welcome Him, to listen to Him and to respond to Him.
The previous passage tells us how God enters into our history, this, instead, how we enter into His history. He assumes our flesh as it is, we assume Him as He offers Himself in Mary.
Joseph is the descendant of David, to whom God promised the Messiah.
But He who always promises always , compromises Himself,and what He promises in the end is Himself, compromised in all His promises.
The son of David will be not only the promised Messiah, but the same Lord who promises.
The Son is not born from us. He comes from the Spirit because God is Spirit.
Joseph thinks that he will back down out of discretion and unworthiness.
But he is encouraged by the Angel to take the Mother and the Son. He must give the name to the One who is not his own: he is Other, he is the Other Himself, who awaits his "yes" to be his son, the God-with-him, the One who saves him and every "generation" from the loneliness of not being.
Joseph is presented from now on as the one who listens and executes the Word.
The Church, like Joseph, "the dreamer" realizes God's dream:
in adoring silence, through faith, she welcomes the gift of the Son.
-->Mary mediates to all the gift of God.
RispondiEliminaWhoever rejects the Mother, rejects the Son.
To detach Jesus from Mary, from Israel, from the Church, from the brethren, is to reject His Flesh, Salvation of all flesh. Christianity becomes ideology, "gnosis," which has nothing to do with the Crucified Christ, revelation of God and liberation of man.
Those who say . "Christ yes, but Israel no; Christ yes, but Church no ; Christ yes , and world no" , rejects Christ Jesus who mingled Himself in one destiny with Israel, Church and world.
History is not something past that is no more , it is like roots for the tree .
They give it sap and allow it to rise to the sky without collapsing at the first wind.
What is in Mary, comes from God : by marrying the Mother, you welcome the Son.
"You shall call Him by His name" : Mary gives birth to Him , you give Him a Name, you enter into relationship with Him and He with you. This is the sublime dignity of man : to call by name the " Name," to be His interlocutor , to speak with Him from friend to friend.
Jesus means "the Lord saves" .He is the Name of God, His reality for those who call upon Him.
"Whoever calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved" (Acts 2:21).
In no other name is there Salvation (Acts 4:12), for it is the Name from which every other name takes its life. It can be invoked by anyone, no matter how lost : it is "the Lord saves."
"All will know me, from the smallest to the greatest, for I will forgive their iniquities and remember their sin no more" (Jer. 31:34).
We call God by Name precisely as the ones who are lost who are saved.
God is Love without limits : We know Him as such only in forgiveness.
The story of Jesus is seen in continuity with the story of Israel, as the fulfillment of the promise made to him.
POPE FRANCIS
RispondiEliminaANGELUS Sunday, 22 December 2019
In this fourth and final Sunday of Advent, the Gospel (cf. Mt 1: 18-24) guides us towards Christmas through the experience of Saint Joseph, a figure seemingly in second place, but whose attitude encapsulates all Christian wisdom. He, together with John the Baptist and Mary, is one of the characters whom the liturgy proposes to us for the time of Advent; and of the three he is the most modest. He is one who does not preach, does not speak, but tries to do God’s will; and he does it in the style of the Gospel and the Beatitudes. Let us think of: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 5: 3). And Joseph is poor because he lives on what is essential, he works, he lives by his work; it is the poverty typical of those who are aware that they depend on God for everything, and place all their trust in Him.
Today’s Gospel passage presents a situation that is in human terms embarrassing and conflicting. Joseph and Mary are betrothed; they do not yet live together, but she is expecting a child by the work of God. Joseph, faced with this surprise, is naturally disturbed but, instead of reacting in an impulsive and punitive manner – as was the custom, the law protected him – he seeks a solution that respects the dignity and integrity of his beloved Mary. The Gospel says so: “And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly” (v. 19). Joseph knew that if he denounced his betrothed, he would expose her to serious consequences, even death. He had full faith in Mary, whom he chose as his bride. He does not understand, but he seeks another solution.
This inexplicable circumstance leads him to question their bond; therefore, with great suffering, he decides to detach himself from Mary without creating scandal. But the Angel of the Lord intervenes to tell him that the solution he proposes is not the one desired by God. On the contrary, the Lord opened a new path for him, a path of union, love and happiness, and said to him: “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife. For that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit” (v. 20).
At this point, Joseph trusts God totally, obeys the Angel’s words and takes Mary with him. It was precisely this unshakable trust in God that enabled him to accept a humanly difficult and, in a certain sense, incomprehensible situation. Joseph understands, in faith, that the child born in Mary’s womb is not his child, but the Son of God, and he, Joseph, will be its guardian, fully assuming its earthly paternity. The example of this gentle and wise man exhorts us to lift up our gaze and push it further. It is a question of recovering the surprising logic of God which, far from small or great calculations, is made up of openness towards new horizons, towards Christ and His Word.
May the Virgin Mary and her chaste husband Joseph help us to listen to Jesus Who comes, and Who asks to be welcomed in our plans and in our choices.
BENEDICT XVI
RispondiEliminaANGELUS Fourth Sunday of Advent, 19 December 2010
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
On this Fourth Sunday of Advent the Gospel according to St Matthew recounts the birth of Jesus from St Joseph’s viewpoint. He was betrothed to Mary who, “before they came together… was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit” (Mt 1:18). The Son of God, fulfilling an ancient prophecy (cf. Is 7:14), became man in the womb of a virgin and this mystery at the same time expressed the love, wisdom and power of God for mankind, wounded by sin. St Joseph is presented as “a just man” (Mt 1:19), faithful to God’s law and ready to do his will. For this reason he enters the mystery of the Incarnation after an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, announcing: “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Mt 1:20-21). Having given up the idea of divorcing Mary secretly, Joseph took her to himself because he then saw God’s work in her with his own eyes.
St Ambrose comments that “Joseph had the amiability and stature of a just man, to make his capacity as a witness worthier” (Exp. Ev. sec. Lucam II, 5: CCL 14,32-33). St Ambrose continues: “He could not have contaminated the temple of the Holy Spirit, the Mother of the Lord, the womb rendered fertile by the mystery” (ibid., II, 6: CCL 14,33). Although he had felt distressed, Joseph “did as the Angel of the Lord commanded him”, certain that he was doing the right thing. And in giving the name of “Jesus” to the Child who rules the entire universe, he placed himself among the throng of humble and faithful servants, similar to the Angels and Prophets, similar to the Martyrs and to the Apostles — as the ancient Eastern hymns sing. In witnessing to Mary’s virginity, to God’s gratuitous action and in safeguarding the Messiah’s earthly life St Joseph announces the miracle of the Lord. Therefore let us venerate the legal father of Jesus (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 532), because the new man is outlined in him, who looks with trust and courage to the future. He does not follow his own plans but entrusts himself without reserve to the infinite mercy of the One who will fulfil the prophecies and open the time of salvation.
Dear friends, I would like to entrust all Pastors to St Joseph, universal Patron of the Church, while I urge them to offer “Christ’s [humble] words and actions each day to the faithful and to the whole world”, (Letter Proclaiming the Year for Priests, 16 June 2009). May our life adhere ever more closely to the Person of Jesus, precisely because “the One who is himself the Word takes on a body, he comes from God as a man, and draws the whole of man’s being to himself, bearing it into the Word of God” (Jesus of Nazareth, New York 2007, p. 334). Let us invoke with trust the Virgin Mary, full of grace, “adorned by God”, so that at Christmas, which is now at hand, our eyes may be opened and see Jesus, and our hearts rejoice in this wonderful encounter of love.