Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
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| “Birth of the Virgin” (detail) by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, 1660 |
Readings and Commentary:[3]
You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah,
too small to be among the clans
of Judah,
From you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel;
Whose origin is from of old,
from ancient times.
(Therefore the Lord will give
them up, until the time
when she who is to give birth has
borne,
And the rest of his brethren
shall return
to the children of Israel.)
He shall stand firm and shepherd
his flock
by the strength of the LORD,
in the majestic name of the LORD,
his God;
And they shall remain, for now
his greatness
shall reach to the ends of the
earth;
he shall be peace.
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Commentary on Mi 5:1-4a
Or :
We know that all things work for
good for those who love God,
who are called according to his
purpose.
For those he foreknew he also
predestined
to be conformed to the image of
his Son,
so that he might be the firstborn
among many brothers.
And those he predestined he also
called;
and those he called he also
justified;
and those he justified he also
glorified.
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Commentary on Rom 8:28-30
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 13:6ab, 6c
Though I trusted in your mercy,
let my heart rejoice in your
salvation.
R. With delight I rejoice in the Lord.
Let me sing of the LORD, “He has
been good to me.”
R. With delight I rejoice in the Lord.
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Commentary on Ps 13:6ab, 6c
Gospel
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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Commentary on Mt 1:1-16, 18-23
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Or
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.”
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mt 1: 18-23
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Reflection:
From the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church of the Second Vatican Council
(Lumen Gentium n. 61)
Since the sixth century, the
Church has had a special celebration honoring the birth of St. Mary. She takes
her place at the base of the branch of the limb on the family tree that
included King David, and that produced Jesus of Nazareth, the Savior and
Christ. We join the Lord Jesus, whose mother she became, in thanking God for
the event that would ultimately demonstrate God’s love for us all. God did this
by providing a vessel for Jesus that was pure and free of all worldly
contamination. (Indeed we believe that her conception was immaculate, the
genealogy of original sin was broken for her.)
The birth of the Theotokos (the
Mother of God) is for us like a great chorus of cheers that begins the final
lap of a great race. Using the race analogy, her birth to Saints Anne and Joachim was God’s great burst of energy
that infused his great plan with the final piece needed to complete his act of
sacrifice that would save us all.
Just as we thank God for all his
creation, the earth he made, the life he placed upon the earth, and all that he
has given us since, we thank him especially for the gift of the life of St.
Mary. It was through her obedience and courage that she brought us a child that
would be the revelation of God’s love, Jesus Christ.
In this
strange year where many of us will not be able to receive the Blessed Sacrament
or celebrate as a community in our houses of worship, we must be prepared to
receive spiritual communion in prayer:
My
Jesus,
I
believe that You
are
present in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I
love You above all things,
and
I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since
I cannot at this moment
receive
You sacramentally,
come
at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there
and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You.
Amen.
Pax
[1]
The picture is “Birth of the Virgin” (detail) by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo,
1660.
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the
psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is
for private use only.
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