Dec. 18, 2014 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. Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home “Joseph, her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly (Mt 1,19). Truly, because he was just, he would not expose her to shame; for as he would not have been just had he countenanced one that was guilty, neither would he have been just if he had condemned one whose innocence had been proved. Since, then, he was just and unwilling to expose her, why had he a mind to divorce her? I give you on this point not my own opinion, but that of the Fathers: Josephs reason was the same as Peters when he said, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord, (Lk 5,8) and that of the centurion when he exclaimed, “I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof (Mt 8,8). Joseph looked on himself as a sinner and as unworthy to entertain one in whom he beheld a superhuman dignity. He beheld with awe in the Virgin-Mother a certain sign of the Divine Presence, and as he could not penetrate the mystery, he wished to divorce her. Saint Peter was struck with awe at the greatness of Christs power; the centurion by the majesty of Christ’s presence; and Joseph was naturally afraid at the novelty and splendor of the miracle and the depth of the mystery. We need not wonder that Joseph thought himself unworthy of the society of such a Virgin when we hear Saint Elizabeth exclaim with fear and trembling: “And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Lk 1,43)… But why divorce her secretly? So that people might not seek out the reason for their separation or come to demand an explanation. What could this just man have replied to… people always ready to dispute? If he had concealed his thoughts, if he had asserted his fiancée’s purity, those sceptics would have mocked him and stoned Mary… So Joseph, who wanted neither to lie nor to blame, acted rightly… But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid! What is born of her comes from the Holy Spirit.”
Posted on: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 02:13:56 +0000
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