Genesis
49:2, 8-10 / Matthew 1:1-17
Jacob prophesies: Judah
will hold the royal scepter.
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What is our attitude toward the members of our own family? “Love one another, just as I love you.” John 15:12
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Today, the 17th December begins a special period of
the Advent season. From today till the 24th December (Mass in the morning) a
different set of readings are used. The emphasis in the liturgy of the Church
(ie. Mass and Divine Office) is on the "O" Antiphons, dating back to
the fourth century, one for each day until Christmas Eve. These antiphons
address Christ with Messianic titles, based on the Old Testament prophecies and
how the people waited in hope for the coming of the Messiah.
In the gospel, we heard about the genealogy of Jesus Christ - three sums of
generations and fourteen in each generation.
The purpose is to tell us that from Abraham, the father of our faith, right
down to Mary, the mother of the Church, the longing is for the Messiah and
Saviour. It also reminds us that through the generations, humankind had been
shackled by sin and wickedness and is still is being tempted and lured by the
devil to eternal damnation.
As we begin this special period of Advent, let us be still and prepare
ourselves with prayer for the coming of the Saviour. Let us acknowledge our
sins and seek healing in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Let us ask for the
grace of obedience so that our hearts will be open to Jesus Christ.
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The liturgical
readings of today call our attention to Christ in his human reality: human like
us in everything – except for sin, clarifies St. Paul – a descendant of
sinners, who, as Church Fathers stress, are even singled out in Matthew’s
family tree of Christ. He is a man born of a woman, a baby in a crib, a child
growing up to manhood, a man walking the roads of Palestine, who could weep and
be angry, had friends, had a sense of humor, and attended marriage feasts.
Indeed, he was fully human, God in human form.
Opening Prayer
Father of our
Lord, Jesus Christ, your Son came among us as one of us, a
human being among other people,
simple, accessible, yet
your human face and the measure of what a human person is. Lord,
make us discover ourselves in his mirror: that we are born to be free, to be
unselfish, available, committed. Free us from our selfishness, our
cowardice and attitudes of conformism, that we may become a bit what
you want us to be, like your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.