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From: Luke 2:16-21

The Adoration of the Shepherds (Continuation)


[16] And they (the shepherds) went with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and
the babe lying in a manger. [17] And when they saw it they made known the sa-
ying which had been told them concerning this child; and all who heard it won-
dered at what the shepherds told them. [19] But Mary kept all these things, pon-
dering them in her heart. [20] And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising
God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

The Circumcision of Jesus


[21] And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Je-
sus, the name given by the angels before he was conceived in the womb.

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

15-18. The birth of the Savior Messiah is the key event in the history of mankind,
but God wanted it to take place so quietly that the world went about its business
as if nothing had happened. The only people he tells about it are a few shepherds.
It was also to a shepherd, Abraham, that God gave his promise to save mankind.

The shepherds make their way to Bethlehem propelled by the sign they have re-
ceived. And when they verify it they tell what they heard from the angel and about
seeing the heavenly host. They are the first witnesses of the birth of the Messiah.
“The shepherds were not content with believing in the happy event which the an-
gel proclaimed to them and which, full of wonder, they saw for a fact; they mani-
fested their joy not only to Mary and Joseph but to everyone and, what is more,
they tried to engrave it on their memory. ‘And all who heard it wondered at what
the shepherds told them.’ And why would they not have wondered, seeing on
earth him who is in heaven, and earth and heaven reconciled; seeing that ineffa-
ble Child who joined what was heavenly — divinity — and what was earthly — hu-
manity — creating a wonderful covenant through this union. Not only were they
in awe at the mystery of the Incarnation, but also at the great testimony born by
the shepherds, who could not have invented something they had not heard and
who publish the truth with a simple eloquence” (Photius, “Ad Amphilochium”,
155).

16. The shepherds hasten because they are full of joy and eager to see the
Savior. St Ambrose comments: “No one seeks Christ halfheartedly” (”Expositio
Evangelii Sec. Lucam., in loc.”). Earlier on, the evangelist observed that our La-
dy, after the Annunciation, “went in haste” to see St Elizabeth (Lk 1:39). A soul
who has given God entry rejoices that God has visited him and his life acquires
new energy.

19. In very few words this verse tells us a great deal about our Lady. We see the
serenity with which she contemplates the wonderful things that are coming true
with the birth of her divine Son. She studies them, ponders them and stores them
in the silence of her heart. She is a true teacher of prayer. If we imitate her, if we
guard and ponder in our hearts what Jesus says to us and what he does in us,
we are well on the way to Christian holiness and we shall never lack his doctrine
and his grace. Also, by meditating in this way on the teaching Jesus has given
us, we shall obtain a deeper understanding of the mystery of Christ, which is how
“the Tradition that comes from the Apostles makes progress in the Church, with
the help of the Holy Spirit. There is a growth in insight into the realities and words
that are being passed on. This comes about in various ways. It comes through
the contemplation and study of believers who ponder these things in their hearts.
It comes from the intimate sense of spiritual realities which they experience. And
it comes from the preaching of those who have received, along with their right of
succession in the episcopate, the sure charism of truth” (Vatican II, “Dei Verbum”,
8).

21. On the meaning and rite of circumcision, see the note on Lk 1:59. “Jesus”
means “Yahweh saves” or “Yahweh is salvation”, that is, Savior. This name was
given the Child not as the result of any human decision but in keeping with the
commandment of God which the angel communicated to the Blessed Virgin and
to St Joseph (cf. Lk 1:31; Mk 1:21).

The Son of God became incarnate in order to redeem and save all men; so it is
very fitting that he be called Jesus, Savior. We confess this in the Creed: “For us
men and for our salvation he came down from heaven.” “There were indeed many
who were called by this name [...]. But how much more appropriate it is to call
by this name our Savior, who brought light, liberty and salvation, not to one peo-
ple only, but to all men, of all ages — to men oppressed, not by famine, or Egyp-
tian or Babylonian bondage, but sitting in the shadow of death and fettered by
the galling chains of sin and of the devil” (”St Pius V Catechism”, I, 36).

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.


7 posted on 12/31/2018 8:13:03 PM PST by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Salvation
Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible by Darton, Longman & Todd

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: White.


First reading Numbers 6:22-27 ©
They are to call down my name on the sons of Israel, and I will bless them
The Lord spoke to Moses and said, ‘Say this to Aaron and his sons: “This is how you are to bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them:
May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord let his face shine on you and be gracious to you.
May the Lord uncover his face to you and bring you peace.”
This is how they are to call down my name on the sons of Israel, and I will bless them.’

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 66(67):2-3,5,6,8 ©
O God, be gracious and bless us.
O God, be gracious and bless us
  and let your face shed its light upon us.
So will your ways be known upon earth
  and all nations learn your saving help.
O God, be gracious and bless us.
Let the nations be glad and exult
  for you rule the world with justice.
With fairness you rule the peoples,
  you guide the nations on earth.
O God, be gracious and bless us.
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
  let all the peoples praise you.
May God still give us his blessing
  till the ends of the earth revere him.
O God, be gracious and bless us.

Second reading Galatians 4:4-7 ©
God sent his Son, born of a woman
When the appointed time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born a subject of the Law, to redeem the subjects of the Law and to enable us to be adopted as sons. The proof that you are sons is that God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts: the Spirit that cries, ‘Abba, Father’, and it is this that makes you a son, you are not a slave any more; and if God has made you son, then he has made you heir.

Gospel Acclamation Heb1:1-2
Alleluia, alleluia!
At various times in the past
and in various different ways,
God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets;
but in our own time, the last days,
he has spoken to us through his Son.
Alleluia!

Gospel Luke 2:16-21 ©
The shepherds hurried to Bethlehem and found the baby lying in the manger
The shepherds hurried away to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. When they saw the child they repeated what they had been told about him, and everyone who heard it was astonished at what the shepherds had to say. As for Mary, she treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds went back glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen; it was exactly as they had been told.
  When the eighth day came and the child was to be circumcised, they gave him the name Jesus, the name the angel had given him before his conception.

8 posted on 12/31/2018 8:17:41 PM PST by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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