Daily Reflection | Gospel Reading | RVA

Gospel: Matthew 1:18-24
This is how Jesus Christ was born: Mary his mother had been given to Joseph in marriage, but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.
Then Joseph, her husband, made plans to divorce her in all secrecy. He was an upright man, and in no way did he want to disgrace her.
While he was pondering over this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. She has conceived by the Holy Spirit, and now she will bear a son. You shall call him ‘Jesus’ for he will save his people from their sins.”
All this happened in order to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: The virgin will conceive and bear a son, and he will be called Emmanuel, which means: God­with us. When Joseph awoke, he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do, and he took his wife to his home.

Lectio Divina
READ: “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary…” (Mt 1: 20)
REFLECT: We honor St. Joseph in the Gospel today. Joseph is a man of silence yet of noble deeds. Greatness is not in the words being spoken. It is how we make our life as a witness to those words. When Joseph found out that Mary was pregnant, he did not want to disgrace her publicly. By this, Joseph is defined in the Gospel as a righteous man. He is a person who does what is right. A principle influenced by his inner relationship with God. Even before Joseph realized his plan, the angel appeared to him in a dream. The angel told Joseph of the plan of God for him. It is not only the fiat of Mary that took an important part in the history of salvation. It is also the response of Joseph. The first reading Isaiah prophesied already about the coming of the savior “Emma­nuel”. Joseph just acceded to the plan of the Father. God has a plan for each one of us. He has that plan even before we were born. However, he needs our response. Mary and Joseph gave their “yes”. We need also to give our consent to God. Let us allow ourselves to be open to his will.
PRAY: “Lord may we be guided by St. Joseph the foster father of Jesus, to be able to give pro­tection and care for all those given us under our care.”
ACT: Let us look eagerly and critically whether or not we are giving care to the people given us.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Gospel: Luke 1:26-38
In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God, to a town of Galilee called Nazareth. He was sent to a virgin, who was betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the family of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
The angel came to her and said, “Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you!” Mary was troubled at these words, wondering what this greeting could mean.
But the angel said, “Do not fear, Mary, for God has looked kindly on you. You shall conceive and bear a son; and you shall call him Jesus. He will be great, and shall rightly be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the kingdom of David, his ancestor; he will rule over the people of Jacob forever; and his reign shall have no end.”
Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the holy child to be born of you shall be called Son of God. Even your relative, Elizabeth, is expecting a son in her old age, although she was unable to have a child; and she is now in her sixth month. With God nothing is impossible.”
Then Mary said, “I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me as you have said.” And the angel left her.

Reflections
“the Lord is with you!”
When St. John Paul II as­sumed the papacy the among first words that we hear from him are these: “Do not be afraid”. These are strong words from a spiritual leader. This will signal to all that fear will have no bearing in our faith journey.
Our Gospel today is also anchored on the words of the Angel Gabriel: “Do not be afraid Mary, for you have found favor with God.” With these words of the angel, Mary could only utter the words of faith and trust in the Lord. “Behold I am the hand- maid of the Lord. May it be done unto e according to your word.”
May we also be anchored on the very words of the Scriptures whenever we are confronted with fear and anxiety. This is a challenge to always believe in the Word­ who is Jesus himself.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Gospel: Luke 1:5-25*
In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there lived a priest named Zechariah, belonging to the priestly clan of Abiah. Elizabeth, Zechariah‘s wife, also belonged to a priestly family. Both of them were upright in the eyes of God, and lived blamelessly, (…) but they had no child. (…)
Now, while Zechariah and those with him were fulfilling their office, it fell to him by lot, according to the custom of the priests, to enter the Sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense. (…) On seeing the angel, Zechariah was deeply troubled and fear took hold of him.
But the angel said to him, ”Don‘t be afraid, Zechariah, be assured that your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son and you shall name him John. (…)
This son of yours will be great in the eyes of the Lord. Listen: he shall never drink wine or strong drink; but he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother‘s womb. Through him, many of the people of Israel will turn to the Lord their God. He, himself, will open the way to the Lord, with the spirit and power of the prophet Elijah; he will reconcile fathers and children; and lead the disobedient to wisdom and
righteousness, in order to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
Zechariah said to the angel, ”How can I believe this? I am an old man and my wife is elderly, too.” The angel replied, ”I am Gabriel, who stands before God; and I am the one sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good news! My words will come true in their time. But you would not believe; and now, you will be silent and unable to speak until this has happened.” (…) When his time of service was completed, Zechariah returned home; and, some time later, Elizabeth became pregnant. For five months she kept to herself, remaining at home, and thinking, ”This, for me, is the Lord‘s doing! This is his time for mercy, and for taking away my public disgrace.”

Reflections
“This, for me, is the Lord‘s doing!”
Years ago, I would not have imagined where I am now. St. Augustine and St. Therese of the Child Jesus would always say: “everything is grace”. Indeed, in my life all is grace. It is grace that I became a priest. It is grace to serve the Archdiocese of Cebu. It is grace to be with the catholic chaplains in the Armed Services of the Philippines.
The reading today from the book of Judges reminds us of God’s faithfulness. While Manoah and his wife would suffer from societal alienation on account of their being childless, God would rescue them and lift them up. The same is underlined in the Gospel reading. Elizabeth, the wife of Zechariah, who is barren was graced to conceive a child.
The Scriptures is full of evi­dence that God is faithful. In saying “everything is grace”, we also mean, God is truly faithful.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Gospel: Matthew 1:18-25
This is how Jesus Christ was born: Mary his mother had been given to Joseph in marriage, but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.
Then Joseph, her husband, made plans to divorce her in all secrecy. He was an upright man, and in no way did he want to disgrace her.
While he was pondering over this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. She has conceived by the Holy Spirit, and now she will bear a son. You shall call him ‘Jesus’ for he will save his people from their sins.” All this happened in order to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: The virgin will conceive and bear a son, and he will be called Emmanuel, which means: God­ with us. When Joseph awoke, he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do, and he took his wife to his home. He did not have any marital relations with her. When she gave birth to a son, Joseph gave him the name Jesus.

Reflections
“he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do.”
Stories of conversion, life of hope and victory over evil are themes which interest most of us. We would excitingly read ar­ticles of prominent people who returned to the faith and lived a life patterned from God. We rejoice with this victory and join in their crusade, at least by spirit. Celebrating Advent is not simply waiting. It is also ho­ ping for God’s light, peace and joy. The first reading from the book of the prophet Jeremiah reminds us of the good times God has in store for his people, where Israel "shall dwell in secu­rity”. Our Gospel also reminds us of a perturbed St. Joseph, who could not fully understand the eventuality, was given a hope by God through the angel.
While some of us may be experiencing darkness in our personal life, family circles and sometimes in the society we live in, God allows us to hope, that in him, all things will be well.
“Advent” may also mean “we could always hope”.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2019