3rd Week of Advent
18th December 2023 (Monday) Readings and Reflection
Psalter: Week 3
Reading of the Day
First Reading: Jeremiah 23:5-8
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’ Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when they shall no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ but ‘As the Lord lives who brought up and led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them.’ Then they shall dwell in their own land.”
Psalm 72:1-2, 12-13, 18-19 (R. see 7)
R/. In his days shall justice flourish, and great peace forever.
Alleluia
V/. Alleluia R/. Alleluia
V/. O Leader of the House of Israel, giver of the Law to Moses on Sinai: come to rescue us with your mighty power!
R/. Alleluia
Gospel : Matthew 1:18-24
The birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to send her away quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel” (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife.
Daily Gospel Reflection
The Reflection by Fr. Thumma Mariadas Reddy MSFS{alertWarning}
Highlight: Be just before God!
Guidlines: God’s ways are not always clear and graspable. It needs real openness and surrender to understand and do God’s will{alertSuccess}
1. Today’s gospel focuses on the person of Joseph. There is only one attribute that is applied to him. That is, being “just”. The gospel episode demonstrates how he was just. He was just because he acted magnanimously toward Mary.
2. Even though he knew nothing of the divine intervention for Mary’s pregnancy, he did not want to publicly denounce Mary. He was so concerned for Mary’s self-dignity that he decided to divorce her quietly.
3. True justice always carries charity. Humanly speaking, Joseph was obviously wronged because of the apparent infidelity of Mary by conceiving a child outside the marital bond. He had perfectly the right of a husband to avenge his honour by exposing her to the public. But for him, the right of Mary to public honour was more than his own legal honour.
4. The second aspect of how he was just is seen in his total docility and surrender to God’s will. Even though he had already totally decided to divorce Mary quietly, as soon as he knew it was God’s plan, he instantly submitted to it.
5. There were no hurt feelings, no arguing, no challenging, no contesting God’s plans, no lamenting, no annoyance about why God did not first reveal His plan to him before he underwent so much mental struggle. It was God’s plan and he just needs to submit to it. That was all that mattered to him.
Practice: Those who claim today to be just and project themselves as justice-fighters must take some lessons from St Joseph. True justice never does harm to others and it is very submissive to God’s will{alertSuccess}