DAILY- HOMILY

December 18, 2015 FRIDAY, 3rd Week of Advent    

[Misa de Gallo - White, with Gloria]  

Violet

Jer 23:5 – 8 / Mt 1:18 - 25   

Reading: Jer 23: 5 - 86

     Yahweh further says, "The day is coming when I will raise up a king who is David's righteous successor. He will rule wisely and govern with justice and righteousness. That will be a grandiose era when Judah will enjoy peace and Israel will live in safety. He will be called Yahweh-our-justice!"

     "The days are coming," says Yahweh, "when people shall no longer swear by Yahweh as the living God who freed the people of Israel from the land of Egypt. Rather, they will swear by Yahweh as the living God who restored the descendants of Israel from the northern empire and from all the lands where he had driven them, to live again in their own land!"

Gospel: Mt 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 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. When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do and he took his wife to his home. So she gave birth to a son and he had not had marital relations with her. Joseph gave him the name of Jesus.

Reflection:

     Jesus is the Messiah, the Promised One of God who would bring Israel back to God. In the Old Testament, Yahweh God led the people of Israel out of Egypt through great signs and wonders. Then he helped them to conquer Canaan, the Promised Land. He gave them a great king, David. But Israel would turn away from Yahweh and follow other gods. So Yahweh dispersed her in exile among the nations. After many centuries, the Israelites would come back to their own land in Palestine.  

     In the fullness of time, the Word is born as a man through Mary, an Israelite maiden. Made incarnate in a virgin, this is had to be explained to Joseph who was betrothed to Mary: an angel appears to Joseph in a dream to tell him that Mary's Child is the promised Messiah, the future Savior of Israel.

     Jesus is the fulfilment of the promises and prophesies in the Scriptures. He is the Son of David, coming from David's line, and true Son of God, made incarnate by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary.

     We thank God for his gracious gift of his Son who toook upon himself our humanity for our salvation.

WE PRAY FOR MTQ DAILY PRAYER DIARY INTENTIONS:

BIRTHDAY

     FR. MAC R. REYES, SJ

     MEL SANDIEGO

WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

     BENITO & ALICE CUA

     GLENN & MARISA ESPINO

     ZENAIDA & ALEXANDER SEE CO

Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers and for those who need our prayers the most. 

Have a good day!

**************************************************

These reflections are distributed free and are for personal use only. Feel free to send the Daily Prayer reflections to your friends, colleagues and relatives; however, if you do, please include the following: 

  +================================================+

   |  The Daily Prayer, a service and an apostolate of the

   |  priests, laity and friends of Mary the Queen Parish

   |  distributed free and for personal use only.