Monday of the Third Week of Advent
By Beth DeCristofaro
Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ. Thus the total number of generations from Abraham to David is fourteen generations (Mt 1: 16-17)
May his name be blessed forever; as long as the sun his name shall remain. In him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed; all the nations shall proclaim his happiness. (Ps 72: 17)
Piety
Blessed be your name, Lord Jesus, who slept and cried in a manger. Who walked and died on the dusty earth. Blessed be your name, Lord Jesus, who Was before birth. Who loved me before I was born. Blessed be your name, Lord Jesus, who Is after death. Who sustains me beyond my death. Blessed be your name, Lord Jesus.
Study
http://www.usccb.org/nab/121707.shtml
Jesus is rooted in time and space – measured in generations and physical parents. The fourteen generations recited by Matthew is both a literary device and an attempt to explain the eternal. “Fourteen,” a sacred number, is thought to refer to David, the great king of the line of Judah to whom God had given priority through
Jesus is also, of course, rooted outside time and space. Isaiah’s words are historic, traceable in historic events. Yet the prophecy, sprung from God is beyond those historic years and manifested in the person of Jesus. The psalmist recognizes that the power of
In the Advent season we are invited to ponder the mystery, but more importantly, to prepare our hearts to glorify and revel in the mystery. Always beyond us, the mystery of God nevertheless permeates and gives great meaning to our reality rooted in time and space. In spite of our limitations God is within and moves us. We can refuse God’s movement within. Can we allow ourselves to be animated and propelled by what we do not understand? Do our actions reflect that we are heirs to the promise given by God to the Chosen People and recipient of Jesus’ call “come, follow me”?
Action
Spend some quiet, peaceful time considering the mystery of God becoming human, anchored in space and time, giving eternal meaning and glory to space, time and self. Consider the poetry of
In the beginning the Word
Was; he lived in God
And possessed in him
His infinite happiness.
That same Word was God, who is the Beginning;
He was in the beginning
And had no beginning.
He was himself the Beginning
And therefore had no beginning.
The Word is called Son;
He was born of the Beginning
Who had always conceived him,
And was always conceiving him,
Giving of his substance always,
Yet always possessing it…
As the lover in the beloved
Each lived in the other,
And the Love that unites them
Is one with them,
their equal…
One love in them all
Makes of them one Lover,
And the Lover is the Beloved
In whom each one lives. …[1]
…When the time had come
For him to be born,
He went forth like the bridegroom
From his bridal chamber,
Embracing his bride
Holding her in his arms,
Whom the gracious Mother
Laid in a manger
Among some animals
That were there at that time.
Men sang songs
And angels melodies
Celebrating the marriage
Of Two such as these
Bu God there in the manger
Cried and moaned;
And these tears were jewels
The bride brought to the wedding.
The Mother gazed in sheer wonder
On such an exchange:
In God, man’s weeping,
And in man, gladness,
To the one and the other
Things usually so strange.[2]
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