The Lord comes! Go to meet Him and say – Great is His reign and His kingdom will have no end. He is God, the Strong One, the Ruler of the world, the Prince of peace, alleluia!
Advent Reflection – 22 December – The Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year A, Readings: Isaiah7:10-14, Psalm 24:1-6, Romans 1:1-7, Matthew 1:18-24
“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.” ... Matthew 1:20-21
REFLECTION – “Behold,” says the prophet Isaiah, “a virgin will conceive and bear a son and he will be called Emmanuel, a name which means God-with-us.” (7:14) The name ‘God-with-us,’ given to our Saviour by the prophet, signifies that two natures are united in His one person. Before time began he was God, born of the Father but in the fullness of time He became Emmanuel, God-with-us, in the womb of His mother, because when “the Word was made flesh and lived among us.” (Jn 1:14) He deigned to unite our frail human nature to His own person. Without ceasing to be what He had always been, He began in a wonderful fashion to be what we are, assuming our nature in such a way that He did not lose his own…
And so, Scripture says: “Mary gave birth to her firstborn son… and she named him Jesus.” (Lk 2:7.21). Jesus, then, is the name of the Virgin’s son. According to the angel’s explanation, it means one who is to save His people from their sins. In doing so, He will also deliver them from any defilement of mind and body they have incurred on account of their sins.
But the title “Christ” implies a priestly or royal dignity. In the Old Testament it was given to both priests and kings on account of the anointing with chrism or holy oil which they received. They prefigured the true king and high priest who, on coming into this world, “was anointed with the oil of gladness above all his peers” (Ps 44[45]: 8). From this anointing or chrismation, He received the name of Christ and those who share in the anointing which He Himself bestows, that is, the grace of the Spirit, are called Christians. May Jesus Christ fulfil His saving task, by saving us from our sins, may He discharge His priestly office by reconciling us to God the Father and may He exercise His royal power by admitting us to His Father’s kingdom…” … St Bede the Venerable (673-735) Father and Doctor of the Church
MEDITATION – “He came from heaven to suffer and die for us, so that we might love Him. How can we remain ungrateful?” … St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787) Doctor of the Church
ADVENT ACTION – “O my Jesus, I love You and will always love You. Inflame my heart everyday with the memory of Your love for me. Mary, my mother, help me to live a life grateful to God, who has loved me, even after I have so greatly offended Him.” … St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787) Doctor of the Church
PRAYER
O KING OF ALL NATIONS
and keystone of the Church
come and save man,
whom You formed from the dust!
AnaStpaul 
I had never considered that Mary might have been there when the angel spoke to Joseph. But as she was full of all graces, why not. Well I know what I’m going to think about this evening and in the morning I am alone with am alone with my angel, Jesus, Mary, Joseph, Barnabas, and Lucy lighting my soul. Oh what you get me into with your posts.
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That’s great news! We lead each other and how can so many say that religious imagery is evil?
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I read a letter St Jerome wrote to a know-it-all, Vigilantus (sic) I sure liked his him focused succinctly in his angry rebuttal. I wish, sometimes, I was more like him, but that wouldn’t be me.
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Jerome was Jerome – I do know a few like him, actually. But not you and me. We each have our own place in the Mystical Body.
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We certainly do!
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