Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23

Micah 5:1-4a or Romans 8:28-30

Psalm 13:6ab, 6c

Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23 or Matthew 1:18-23

Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23

The Book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,

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.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, as I read through the genealogy of your Son, I am contemplating how you guide the course of human history. You know all things and each human being personally. You know me and my place in the history of salvation. Enlighten my mind to see your divine plan and conform ever more closely to your holy will.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Mary’s Immaculate Conception: Nine months ago, on December 8, we celebrated the Solemnity of Mary’s Immaculate Conception. We celebrated how God preserved Mary from the stain of original sin. Just as the old Eve was created without the stain of sin and with divine grace, so also Mary, the new Eve, was conceived without the stain of sin and was filled with divine grace. One option for the First Reading, from Romans 8, speaks about divine foreknowledge and predestination. God’s knowledge and plan are eternal. In his eternity, God simultaneously knows the past, the present, and the future. When God created Adam and Eve, he already knew that they would sin. He also knew, in his eternity, that human beings would need to be redeemed if they were to attain eternal life. God foreknew Mary and predestined that she would be preserved from the first moment of her conception from the stain of original sin. She would be the Mother of our Redeemer and was given this singular grace to be conceived without sin.

2. Mary’s Nativity: Today, we celebrate the Feast of Mary’s birth (nativity). God foreknew when and where Mary was going to be born and who her parents would be. God foreknew everything that Mary would do in her life and how she would, with his help, persevere in his grace and never be stained by sin. Her birth was a joyful occasion. Tradition holds that Joachim and Anne, her parents, were elderly when Mary was born. Mary was their only child, and so, when Joseph married her, Joseph became their son-in-law and heir. The Bible doesn’t tell us anything about Mary’s early life, but tradition holds that she was presented to the Temple at a young age and dedicated to service to God. The Church commemorates this event each year on November 21. 

3. Mary’s Assumption: Human life is characterized by three births. We are most familiar with the day of our natural birth, our birthday. Perhaps we are less familiar with the day of our spiritual birth, the day of our baptism. But there is a third birth, the day we die and pass from earthly life to the next life. For many saints, the day of their passing is celebrated as their “birthday.” When Mary’s earthly life came to an end, she was assumed body and soul into heaven. Just as her soul was unstained by sin, so also her body did not know corruption. In heaven, Mary now intercedes for us, her children, as the Queen Mother of heaven and earth.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I venerate and honor your mother today on her birthday. I do not have gifts of gold to offer her, but only my love and sacrifice. I will strive to imitate her holiness and readiness to respond to God’s invitation and call today. Like her, I wish to hear God’s voice in the depths of my heart.

Living the Word of God: Can I pray a decade of the rosary today or five decades, and contemplate the joyful mysteries? How do the mysteries of the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Nativity of Christ, the Presentation, and the Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple speak to me today? Who in my life most needs my prayers?