Today’s Reflection
Gospel: Mt 1:1-16, 18-23 (or Mt 1:18-23)
September 8, 2022 | Thursday

Today’s Gospel

This is the account of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham.

Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.

Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah (their mother was Tamar), Perez was the father of Hezron, and Hezron of Aram. Aram was the father of Amina­dab, Aminadab of Nahshon, Nahshon of Sal­mon. 

Salmon was the father of Boaz. His mother was Rahab. Boaz was the father of Obed. His mother was Ruth. Obed was the father of Jesse.         

Jesse was the father of David, the king. David was the father of Solomon. His mother had been Uriah’s wife.

Solomon was the father of Re­ho­­boam. Then came the kings: Abi­jah, Asaph, Jehoshaphat, Joram, Uz­ziah, Jo­­tham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Ma­­­nas­seh, Amon, Josiah.         

Josiah was the father of Jechoniah and his brothers at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

After the deportation to Babylon Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel and Salathiel of Zerubbabel.         

Zerubbabel was the father of Abi­ud, Abiud of Eliakim, and El­ia­kim of Azor. Azor was the father of Za­dok, Za­dok the father of Akim, and Akim the father of Eliud. Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar of Matthan, and Matthan of Jacob.         

Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and from her came Jesus who is called the Christ ­– the Messiah.         

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 discredit 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.

Today’s Reflection:

The Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is closely linked to the coming of Jesus. God entered human history; he made himself concretely present in the lives of Mary and Joseph. Along with the Blessed Mother of God, the Church reflects on the special role of his husband Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus. Both parents dedicated their lives in faith and humble trust to the plans of God the Father. Through Mary’s fiat and Joseph’s obedience to God’s plan, the Word made flesh was born; His name is Jesus whose name in Hebrew means, “God saves.” (CCC 430). Like them, who in their humanity God’s amazing and mysterious deeds is revealed, may we allow God to work extraordinary things in us as his instruments in proclaiming the good news of our salvation in Christ. As we dedicate our lives to the Lord may we listen to his voice speaking to our heart. /Vulnerasti, 2022