By Beth DeCristofaro
Jacob called his sons and said to them: “Assemble and
listen, sons of Jacob, listen to Israel, your father. “You,
Judah, shall your brothers praise
Genesis 49:2, 8)
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of
David, the son of Abraham. … Thus the total number of generations from Abraham
to David is fourteen generations; from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen
generations; from the Babylonian exile to the Christ, fourteen generations. (Matthew 1:1, 17)
Piety
Behold the Desired of
all the nations will come, and the house of the Lord will be filled with glory.
(Communion Antiphon, Liturgy of the Day)
Study
Researching the
family tree is popular right now. My
good friend Don is an ordained Methodist minister who discovered that in
medieval England he had an Abbot and an Anglican nun in his family. Are there “spiritual” traits that can be
inherited he wonders?
Jesus’ genealogy is
apparently not a completely historical document but it presents Jesus as deeply
rooted in history and fulfilling sacred prophecies of Israel’s spiritual life.
In the list of names you will find holy people such as Solomon and Ruth but
also those more infamous such as poor Bathsheba who doesn’t even have her name
mentioned (she is called the wife of Uriah).
Jesus is the product of very human humans: the strong, the weak, the courageous, the
victimized, just as you and I.
Today, we pray
litanies to the holy ones who are make up our family tree of faith. We pray for intercession and guidance. We are reminded that humans have answered the
call to holiness and so can we. We are
offered that they stand with us today and, even if no one ever names us in a
litany or even remembers our name three generations from now, we will join them
in the Communion of Saints with Jesus, son of David and son of Abraham.
Action
Today, pray your
favorite litany and imagine the company with whom you stand. Or take a minute and enjoy several verses of
a wonderful “Litany of Light” by Dominican Friars Dominic DeLay and John Paul
Forté on their cd Maintain the Light by
Black & White. Their heartening
melody and naming of so many uplifting saints often keep me company as I drive
the region for my job. http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/blackwhite3
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