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.
THE WORDS OF THE POPES BENEDICT XVI 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.
After the Angelus:
I greet all the English-speaking visitors and pilgrims here today. On this Fourth Sunday of Advent, we are filled with joy because the Lord is at hand. We heard in today’s Gospel about the promise made to Joseph, that his wife Mary was to bear a child who would save his people from their sins. This Child would be called Emmanuel, meaning that from now on, God is truly with us, he lives among us and shares our joys and sorrows, our hopes and our fears. As the great Feast of Christmas draws near, I invoke God’s abundant Blessings upon all of you, and upon your families and loved ones at home.
I wish you all a good Sunday and a serene Christmas in the light and peace of the Lord.
Today, the fourth and final Sunday of Advent, the liturgy presents the figure of Saint Joseph to us (cf. Mt 1:18-24). He is a just man who is about to get married. We can imagine what his dreams for the future are — a beautiful family, with an affectionate wife and many wonderful children, and a dignified job — simple and good dreams, the dreams of simple and good people. Suddenly however, these dreams shatter against a disconcerting discovery. Mary, his betrothed, is expecting a child, and the child is not his! What would Joseph have felt? Shock, pain, confusion, perhaps even irritation and disappointment…. He experienced his world was falling apart all around him! And what could he do?
The Law gives him two options. The first is to accuse Mary and make her pay the price for her alleged infidelity. The second is to secretly annul their engagement without exposing Mary to scandal and to harsh consequences, taking upon himself, however, the burden of shame. So, Joseph chooses this second option, the way of mercy. And behold, at the height of his crisis, right when he is thinking and evaluating all this, God lights a new light in his heart — he declares to him in a dream that Mary’s motherhood did not come about because of a betrayal, but was the work of the Holy Spirit, and that the baby to be born will be the Saviour (cf. vv. 20-21). Mary will be the Mother of the Messiah, and he will be His guardian. On waking up, Joseph understands that the greatest dream of every devout Israelite — to be the father of the Messiah — is being fulfilled for him in a completely unexpected way.
Indeed, in order to fulfil this, it would not be enough to belong to David’s lineage and be a faithful observer of the law, but he will have to entrust himself above and beyond all else to God, welcome Mary and her son in a completely different way than he had expected, different from the way things had always been done. In other words, Joseph will have to renounce all reassuring certainties, his perfect plans, his legitimate expectations, and open himself to a future that was completely to be discovered. And before God, who disrupts his plans and asks that he trust Him, Joseph says “yes”. Joseph’s courage is heroic and is exercised in silence — his courage is to trust, he welcomes, he is willing, he asks for no further guarantees.
Brothers and sisters, what does Joseph say to us today? We too have our dreams, and perhaps we think of them more, we talk about them together at Christmas. Perhaps we long for some dreams that were shattered and we see that our best expectations have to face with the unexpected, disconcerting situations. And when this happens, Joseph shows us the way. We should not give in to negative feelings, like anger or isolation — this is the wrong way! Instead, we have to attentively welcome surprises, life’s surprises, even the crises. When we find ourselves in crisis, we should not make decisions quickly and instinctively, but rather sift through them like Joseph did, who “considered everything” (cf. v. 20), and base ourselves on the underlying criterium: God’s mercy. When one experiences a crisis without giving in to isolation, anger, and fear, but keeping the door open to God, He can intervene. He is an expert in transforming crises into dreams — yes, God opens crises into new horizons we never would have imagined before, perhaps not as we would expect, but in the way he knows how. And these, brothers and sisters, are God’s horizons — surprising — but infinitely broader and more beautiful than ours! May the Virgin Mary help us live open to God’s surprises.
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.
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.
THE WORDS OF THE POPES
RispondiEliminaBENEDICT XVI 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.
After the Angelus:
I greet all the English-speaking visitors and pilgrims here today. On this Fourth Sunday of Advent, we are filled with joy because the Lord is at hand. We heard in today’s Gospel about the promise made to Joseph, that his wife Mary was to bear a child who would save his people from their sins. This Child would be called Emmanuel, meaning that from now on, God is truly with us, he lives among us and shares our joys and sorrows, our hopes and our fears. As the great Feast of Christmas draws near, I invoke God’s abundant Blessings upon all of you, and upon your families and loved ones at home.
I wish you all a good Sunday and a serene Christmas in the light and peace of the Lord.
POPE FRANCIS
RispondiEliminaANGELUS Sunday, 18 December 2022
Dear brothers and sisters, buongiorno!
Today, the fourth and final Sunday of Advent, the liturgy presents the figure of Saint Joseph to us (cf. Mt 1:18-24). He is a just man who is about to get married. We can imagine what his dreams for the future are — a beautiful family, with an affectionate wife and many wonderful children, and a dignified job — simple and good dreams, the dreams of simple and good people. Suddenly however, these dreams shatter against a disconcerting discovery. Mary, his betrothed, is expecting a child, and the child is not his! What would Joseph have felt? Shock, pain, confusion, perhaps even irritation and disappointment…. He experienced his world was falling apart all around him! And what could he do?
The Law gives him two options. The first is to accuse Mary and make her pay the price for her alleged infidelity. The second is to secretly annul their engagement without exposing Mary to scandal and to harsh consequences, taking upon himself, however, the burden of shame. So, Joseph chooses this second option, the way of mercy. And behold, at the height of his crisis, right when he is thinking and evaluating all this, God lights a new light in his heart — he declares to him in a dream that Mary’s motherhood did not come about because of a betrayal, but was the work of the Holy Spirit, and that the baby to be born will be the Saviour (cf. vv. 20-21). Mary will be the Mother of the Messiah, and he will be His guardian. On waking up, Joseph understands that the greatest dream of every devout Israelite — to be the father of the Messiah — is being fulfilled for him in a completely unexpected way.
Indeed, in order to fulfil this, it would not be enough to belong to David’s lineage and be a faithful observer of the law, but he will have to entrust himself above and beyond all else to God, welcome Mary and her son in a completely different way than he had expected, different from the way things had always been done. In other words, Joseph will have to renounce all reassuring certainties, his perfect plans, his legitimate expectations, and open himself to a future that was completely to be discovered. And before God, who disrupts his plans and asks that he trust Him, Joseph says “yes”. Joseph’s courage is heroic and is exercised in silence — his courage is to trust, he welcomes, he is willing, he asks for no further guarantees.
Brothers and sisters, what does Joseph say to us today? We too have our dreams, and perhaps we think of them more, we talk about them together at Christmas. Perhaps we long for some dreams that were shattered and we see that our best expectations have to face with the unexpected, disconcerting situations. And when this happens, Joseph shows us the way. We should not give in to negative feelings, like anger or isolation — this is the wrong way! Instead, we have to attentively welcome surprises, life’s surprises, even the crises. When we find ourselves in crisis, we should not make decisions quickly and instinctively, but rather sift through them like Joseph did, who “considered everything” (cf. v. 20), and base ourselves on the underlying criterium: God’s mercy. When one experiences a crisis without giving in to isolation, anger, and fear, but keeping the door open to God, He can intervene. He is an expert in transforming crises into dreams — yes, God opens crises into new horizons we never would have imagined before, perhaps not as we would expect, but in the way he knows how. And these, brothers and sisters, are God’s horizons — surprising — but infinitely broader and more beautiful than ours! May the Virgin Mary help us live open to God’s surprises.
_____________________________________________
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.
EliminaWhoever 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.