2nd book of Samuel 7,1-5.8b-12.14a.16. When King David was settled in his palace, and the LORD had given him rest from his enemies on every side, he said to Nathan the prophet, "Here I am living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God dwells in a tent!" Nathan answered the king, "Go, do whatever you have in mind, for the LORD is with you." But that night the LORD spoke to Nathan and said: "Go, tell my servant David, 'Thus says the LORD: Should you build me a house to dwell in? "Now then, speak thus to my servant David, 'The LORD of hosts has this to say: It was I who took you from the pasture and from the care of the flock to be commander of my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you went, and I have destroyed all your enemies before you. And I will make you famous like the great ones of the earth. I will fix a place for my people Israel; I will plant them so that they may dwell in their place without further disturbance. Neither shall the wicked continue to afflict them as they did of old, since the time I first appointed judges over my people Israel. I will give you rest from all your enemies. The LORD also reveals to you that he will establish a house for you. And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins, and I will make his kingdom firm. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. And if he does wrong, I will correct him with the rod of men and with human chastisements; Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever.'"
Psalms 89(88),2-3.4-5.27.29. The favors of the LORD I will sing forever; through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness. For you have said, “My kindness is established forever”; in heaven you have confirmed your faithfulness.
“I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David my servant: Forever will I confirm your posterity and establish your throne for all generations.”
“He shall say of me, 'You are my father, my God, the Rock, my savior.' Forever I will maintain my kindness toward him, and my covenant with him stands firm.”
Letter to the Romans 16,25-27. Now to him who can strengthen you, according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret for long ages but now manifested through the prophetic writings and, according to the command of the eternal God, made known to all nations to bring about the obedience of faith, to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 1,26-38. In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, "Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you." But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." But Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?" And the angel said to her in reply, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God." Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.
ANGELUS 20 December 2020 Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning!
On this Fourth and final Sunday of Advent, the Gospel proposes to us once again the account of the Annunciation. “Rejoice” says the angel to Mary, “you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus” (Lk 1:28, 31). It seems to be an announcement of pure joy, destined to make the Virgin happy. Who among the women of that time, did not dream of becoming the mother of the Messiah? But along with joy, those words foretell a great trial to Mary. Why? Because at that time she was “betrothed” (v. 27).
In such cases, the Law of Moses stated that there should be no relations or cohabitation. Therefore, by having a son, Mary would have transgressed the Law, and the punishment for women was terrible: stoning (cf. Dt 22:20-21). Certainly, the divine message would have filled Mary’s heart with light and strength; nevertheless, she found herself faced with a crucial decision: to say “yes” to God, risking everything, even her life, or to decline the invitation and continue along her ordinary journey.
What does she do? She responds thus: “Let it be to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38). “Let it be ” (“Fiat ”). But in the language in which the Gospel is written, it is not simply “let it be”. The verbal expression indicates a strong desire; it indicates the will that something happen. In other words, Mary does not say: “If it has to happen, let it happen..., if it cannot be otherwise…”. It is not resignation. She does not express a weak and submissive acceptance, but rather she expresses a strong desire, a sincere desire. She is not passive, she is active. She does not defer to God, she cleaves to God. She is a woman in love prepared to serve her Lord completely and immediately. She could have asked for a little time to think it over, or even for more explanations about what would happen; perhaps she could have set some conditions.... Instead, she does not take her time, she does not keep God waiting, she does not delay.
How often — let us think of ourselves now — how often our life is made up of postponements, even the spiritual life! For example, I know it is good for me to pray, but today I do not have time … “tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow”. We postpone things: I will do it tomorrow. I know it is important to help someone — yes, I must do it: I will do it tomorrow. It is the same chain of tomorrows ... postponing things. Today, on the threshold of Christmas, Mary invites us not to postpone, to say “yes”: “Do I have to pray? — Yes” — and I pray. “Do I have to help others? — Yes”. “How shall I do it?” — I do it. Without putting it off. Every “yes” costs something; every “yes” has its cost, but it still costs less than what that courageous “yes” cost her, that prompt “yes", that “let it be to me according to your word ”, which brought us salvation.
What, then is the “yes” we can say? Instead of complaining in these difficult times about what the pandemic prevents us from doing, let us do something for someone who has less: not the umpteenth gift for ourselves and our friends, but for a person in need whom no one thinks of! And another piece of advice: in order for Jesus to be born in us, let us prepare our hearts, let us go to pray, let us not let ourselves be swept up by consumerism. “Ah, I have to buy presents, I must do this and that”. That frenzy of doing things, more and more. It is Jesus that is important. Consumerism is not found in the manger in Bethlehem: there is reality, poverty, love. Let us prepare our hearts to be like Mary’s: free of evil, welcoming, ready to receive God.
-->“Let it be to me according to your word ”. This is the Virgin’s last word on this last Sunday of Advent, and it is the invitation to take a genuine step towards Christmas. For if the birth of Jesus does not touch our lives — mine, yours, everyone’s — if it does not touch our lives, it slips past us in vain. In the Angelus now, we too will say “let your word be fulfilled in me ”: May Our Lady help us to say it with our lives, with our approach to these last days, to prepare ourselves well for Christmas.
On this Fourth Sunday of Advent, which precedes the Nativity of the Lord, the Gospel speaks of Mary's visit to her relative Elizabeth. This event is not simply a gesture of courtesy but recounts with great simplicity the encounter of the Old Testament and the New. The two women, both pregnant at the time, in fact embody expectation and the Expected. The elderly Elizabeth symbolises Israel who awaits the Messiah, while the young Mary bears within Herself the fulfilment of this expectation for the good of all humanity.
First of all in the two women the fruit of their wombs, John and Christ, meet and recognise each other. The Christian poet Prudentius comments: 'the child imprisoned in the old womb greets with his mother's lips his Lord, the Son of the maiden' ( Apotheosis, 590: pl 59, 970). John's exultation in Elizabeth's womb is a sign of the fulfilment of expectation: God is preparing to visit his People. In the Annunciation, the archangel Gabriel speaks to Mary of Elizabeth's pregnancy (cf. 1:36) as proof of God's power; despite her old age her barren state was made fruitful.
In her greeting to Mary, Elizabeth recognises that God's promise to humanity is being fulfilled and exclaims: 'Blessed are You among women, and blessed is the fruit of Your womb! And why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" (Lk 1:42-43). In the Old Testament, the phrase "blessed are You among women" refers to both Joel (Jdc 5:24) and Judith (Jdc 13:18), two warrior women who did all they could to save Israel.
Here it is instead used to describe Mary, a peaceful young woman about to give birth to the Saviour. Thus John's gasp of joy (cf. Lk 1:44) also calls to mind King David's dance when he accompanied the entry of the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem (cf. 1 Chron 15:29). The Ark that contained the Tablets of the Lord The Law, the manna, and the rod of Aaron (cf. Heb 9:4) were the sign of God's presence in the midst of His people.The unborn John rejoices with joy before Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant, who carries in Her Womb Jesus, the Son of God made man.
The scene of the Visitation also expresses the beauty of the greeting. Where there is mutual acceptance, listening, space for the other, there is God and the joy that comes from Him. In the Christmas season we imitate Mary, visiting all those who live in distress, especially the sick, prisoners, the elderly and children. And let us also imitate Elizabeth who welcomes the guest as God himself: without wanting we will never know the Lord, without waiting for Him we will not meet Him, without seeking Him we will not find Him. Let us also meet the Lord who comes with the same joy as Mary, who went in haste to Elizabeth (Lk 1:39).
Let us pray that all men and women seek God, discovering that it is God Himself Who first comes to visit us. Let us entrust our hearts to Mary, Ark of the new and eternal Covenant, that She may make them worthy to receive God's visit in the mystery of His birth.
FAUSTI - The Angelus and the Hail Mary make of the Annunciation the most well-known and repeated narration of the Holy Scripture. Christian life carries in its heart and has as its beginning and end the Incarnation of the Word. All centered on this mystery, it is a continuous actualization "today" of the "yes" that attracted God into the world. Mary is the figure of every believer and of the whole Church. What happened to Her must happen to each and everyone. The "yes" of man who welcomes and generates the Word, from which everything begins, is the very finality of creation. God has finally found the house of which the Temple is figure. It is the encounter that He has searched for from all eternity, the moment in view of which time began, the crowning of His dream of Love, the prize of His work, the reward of His toil. At last, from the depths of His creation, which had departed from Him, a "yes" arose, capable of attracting Him. And He comes, joins and compromises Himself forever. What was the joy of God to be thus placed in the situation to have the possibility to say to Mary: "Rejoice". The Bridegroom finally, after so many dramas, finds the Bride of His Heart. His suffering is finally over. He is embraced by those He loves. His offer finds hands that welcome it and the great arms of the world understand, conceive and embrace that without which man is not man. Love is loved, it has found a home to dwell in and man's home is no longer desolate. The Angel is the presence of God in His announced Word. Our faith in His Word welcomes Him and unites us to Him : It is the Christmas of God on earth and of man in heavens. The Word becomes flesh in us, without ever leaving us again, and the Angel can go and announce it to others, until when the mystery fulfilled in Mary will be fulfilled among all men. The salvation of every man is to become like Mary: to say Yes to God's proposal of Love, to give flesh in Her body to His eternal Word, to generate the Son in the world. To the Love of God that searched for him, in disobedience and flight, Adam had answered: "I have hidden myself!" (Gen 3:10). Now, in Mary, humanity itself responds . "Here I am" to Him who has always said "here I am, here I am" to those who did not seek Him (Is 65:1). God exults with uncontainable joy. Love that has always been rejected, now He feels welcomed. Love that was always unloved, now feels loved. From millennia, indeed from eternity, He had waited for this moment in which His creature would give Him the grace to say: "Here I am", so that He could fill it with Himself. God is Advent: He necessarily comes to man, because He is Loving Love. Man is Waiting: he necessarily tends to Him, because he needs to be loved. For this reason, when man waits for Him and says. "Here I am," God cannot not come. Thus He unites with him in one flesh: it is the today of Salvation. My yes to every Word that I listen to makes me welcome the Word: a piece of the story of the Word, who has taken up residence among us, becomes flesh of my flesh. This story, just as it started from Mary and came down to us, starts from us to become flesh in all our brothers and sisters to the ends of the earth. It is the Mission of the Church.
2nd book of Samuel
RispondiElimina7,1-5.8b-12.14a.16.
When King David was settled in his palace, and the LORD had given him rest from his enemies on every side,
he said to Nathan the prophet, "Here I am living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God dwells in a tent!"
Nathan answered the king, "Go, do whatever you have in mind, for the LORD is with you."
But that night the LORD spoke to Nathan and said:
"Go, tell my servant David, 'Thus says the LORD: Should you build me a house to dwell in?
"Now then, speak thus to my servant David, 'The LORD of hosts has this to say: It was I who took you from the pasture and from the care of the flock to be commander of my people Israel.
I have been with you wherever you went, and I have destroyed all your enemies before you. And I will make you famous like the great ones of the earth.
I will fix a place for my people Israel; I will plant them so that they may dwell in their place without further disturbance. Neither shall the wicked continue to afflict them as they did of old,
since the time I first appointed judges over my people Israel. I will give you rest from all your enemies. The LORD also reveals to you that he will establish a house for you.
And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins, and I will make his kingdom firm.
I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. And if he does wrong, I will correct him with the rod of men and with human chastisements;
Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever.'"
Psalms
89(88),2-3.4-5.27.29.
The favors of the LORD I will sing forever;
through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness.
For you have said, “My kindness is established forever”;
in heaven you have confirmed your faithfulness.
“I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
I have sworn to David my servant:
Forever will I confirm your posterity
and establish your throne for all generations.”
“He shall say of me, 'You are my father,
my God, the Rock, my savior.'
Forever I will maintain my kindness toward him,
and my covenant with him stands firm.”
Letter to the Romans
16,25-27.
Now to him who can strengthen you, according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret for long ages
but now manifested through the prophetic writings and, according to the command of the eternal God, made known to all nations to bring about the obedience of faith,
to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ
according to Saint Luke 1,26-38.
In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said, "Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you."
But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."
But Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?"
And the angel said to her in reply, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God."
Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.
POPE FRANCIS
EliminaANGELUS 20 December 2020
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Good morning!
On this Fourth and final Sunday of Advent, the Gospel proposes to us once again the account of the Annunciation. “Rejoice” says the angel to Mary, “you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus” (Lk 1:28, 31). It seems to be an announcement of pure joy, destined to make the Virgin happy. Who among the women of that time, did not dream of becoming the mother of the Messiah? But along with joy, those words foretell a great trial to Mary. Why? Because at that time she was “betrothed” (v. 27).
In such cases, the Law of Moses stated that there should be no relations or cohabitation. Therefore, by having a son, Mary would have transgressed the Law, and the punishment for women was terrible: stoning (cf. Dt 22:20-21). Certainly, the divine message would have filled Mary’s heart with light and strength; nevertheless, she found herself faced with a crucial decision: to say “yes” to God, risking everything, even her life, or to decline the invitation and continue along her ordinary journey.
What does she do? She responds thus: “Let it be to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38). “Let it be ” (“Fiat ”). But in the language in which the Gospel is written, it is not simply “let it be”. The verbal expression indicates a strong desire; it indicates the will that something happen. In other words, Mary does not say: “If it has to happen, let it happen..., if it cannot be otherwise…”. It is not resignation. She does not express a weak and submissive acceptance, but rather she expresses a strong desire, a sincere desire. She is not passive, she is active. She does not defer to God, she cleaves to God. She is a woman in love prepared to serve her Lord completely and immediately. She could have asked for a little time to think it over, or even for more explanations about what would happen; perhaps she could have set some conditions.... Instead, she does not take her time, she does not keep God waiting, she does not delay.
How often — let us think of ourselves now — how often our life is made up of postponements, even the spiritual life! For example, I know it is good for me to pray, but today I do not have time … “tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow”. We postpone things: I will do it tomorrow. I know it is important to help someone — yes, I must do it: I will do it tomorrow. It is the same chain of tomorrows ... postponing things. Today, on the threshold of Christmas, Mary invites us not to postpone, to say “yes”: “Do I have to pray? — Yes” — and I pray. “Do I have to help others? — Yes”. “How shall I do it?” — I do it. Without putting it off. Every “yes” costs something; every “yes” has its cost, but it still costs less than what that courageous “yes” cost her, that prompt “yes", that “let it be to me according to your word ”, which brought us salvation.
What, then is the “yes” we can say? Instead of complaining in these difficult times about what the pandemic prevents us from doing, let us do something for someone who has less: not the umpteenth gift for ourselves and our friends, but for a person in need whom no one thinks of! And another piece of advice: in order for Jesus to be born in us, let us prepare our hearts, let us go to pray, let us not let ourselves be swept up by consumerism. “Ah, I have to buy presents, I must do this and that”. That frenzy of doing things, more and more. It is Jesus that is important. Consumerism is not found in the manger in Bethlehem: there is reality, poverty, love. Let us prepare our hearts to be like Mary’s: free of evil, welcoming, ready to receive God.
-->“Let it be to me according to your word ”. This is the Virgin’s last word on this last Sunday of Advent, and it is the invitation to take a genuine step towards Christmas. For if the birth of Jesus does not touch our lives — mine, yours, everyone’s — if it does not touch our lives, it slips past us in vain. In the Angelus now, we too will say “let your word be fulfilled in me ”: May Our Lady help us to say it with our lives, with our approach to these last days, to prepare ourselves well for Christmas.
EliminaBENEDICT XVI
RispondiEliminaANGELU23 December 2012
Dear Brothers and Sisters
On this Fourth Sunday of Advent, which precedes the Nativity of the Lord, the Gospel speaks of Mary's visit to her relative Elizabeth. This event is not simply a gesture of courtesy but recounts with great simplicity the encounter of the Old Testament and the New. The two women, both pregnant at the time, in fact embody expectation and the Expected. The elderly Elizabeth symbolises Israel who awaits the Messiah, while the young Mary bears within Herself the fulfilment of this expectation for the good of all humanity.
First of all in the two women the fruit of their wombs, John and Christ, meet and recognise each other. The Christian poet Prudentius comments: 'the child imprisoned in the old womb greets with his mother's lips his Lord, the Son of the maiden' ( Apotheosis, 590: pl 59, 970). John's exultation in Elizabeth's womb is a sign of the fulfilment of expectation: God is preparing to visit his People. In the Annunciation, the archangel Gabriel speaks to Mary of Elizabeth's pregnancy (cf. 1:36) as proof of God's power; despite her old age her barren state was made fruitful.
In her greeting to Mary, Elizabeth recognises that God's promise to humanity is being fulfilled and exclaims: 'Blessed are You among women, and blessed is the fruit of Your womb! And why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" (Lk 1:42-43). In the Old Testament, the phrase "blessed are You among women" refers to both Joel (Jdc 5:24) and Judith (Jdc 13:18), two warrior women who did all they could to save Israel.
Here it is instead used to describe Mary, a peaceful young woman about to give birth to the Saviour. Thus John's gasp of joy (cf. Lk 1:44) also calls to mind King David's dance when he accompanied the entry of the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem (cf. 1 Chron 15:29). The Ark that contained the Tablets of the Lord The Law, the manna, and the rod of Aaron (cf. Heb 9:4) were the sign of God's presence in the midst of His people.The unborn John rejoices with joy before Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant, who carries in Her Womb Jesus, the Son of God made man.
The scene of the Visitation also expresses the beauty of the greeting. Where there is mutual acceptance, listening, space for the other, there is God and the joy that comes from Him. In the Christmas season we imitate Mary, visiting all those who live in distress, especially the sick, prisoners, the elderly and children. And let us also imitate Elizabeth who welcomes the guest as God himself: without wanting we will never know the Lord, without waiting for Him we will not meet Him, without seeking Him we will not find Him. Let us also meet the Lord who comes with the same joy as Mary, who went in haste to Elizabeth (Lk 1:39).
Let us pray that all men and women seek God, discovering that it is God Himself Who first comes to visit us. Let us entrust our hearts to Mary, Ark of the new and eternal Covenant, that She may make them worthy to receive God's visit in the mystery of His birth.
FAUSTI - The Angelus and the Hail Mary make of the Annunciation the most well-known and repeated narration of the Holy Scripture. Christian life carries in its heart and has as its beginning and end the Incarnation of the Word. All centered on this mystery, it is a continuous actualization "today" of the "yes" that attracted God into the world. Mary is the figure of every believer and of the whole Church. What happened to Her must happen to each and everyone. The "yes" of man who welcomes and generates the Word, from which everything begins, is the very finality of creation. God has finally found the house of which the Temple is figure.
RispondiEliminaIt is the encounter that He has searched for from all eternity, the moment in view of which time began, the crowning of His dream of Love, the prize of His work, the reward of His toil.
At last, from the depths of His creation, which had departed from Him, a "yes" arose, capable of attracting Him. And He comes, joins and compromises Himself forever. What was the joy of God to be thus placed in the situation to have the possibility to say to Mary: "Rejoice". The Bridegroom finally, after so many dramas, finds the Bride of His Heart.
His suffering is finally over. He is embraced by those He loves. His offer finds hands that welcome it and the great arms of the world understand, conceive and embrace that without which man is not man. Love is loved, it has found a home to dwell in and man's home is no longer desolate. The Angel is the presence of God in His announced Word.
Our faith in His Word welcomes Him and unites us to Him :
It is the Christmas of God on earth and of man in heavens.
The Word becomes flesh in us, without ever leaving us again, and the Angel can go and announce it to others, until
when the mystery fulfilled in Mary will be fulfilled among all men.
The salvation of every man is to become like Mary: to say Yes to God's proposal of Love, to give flesh in Her body to His eternal Word, to generate the Son in the world.
To the Love of God that searched for him, in disobedience and flight, Adam had answered: "I have hidden myself!" (Gen 3:10). Now, in Mary, humanity itself responds . "Here I am" to Him who has always said "here I am, here I am" to those who did not seek Him (Is 65:1).
God exults with uncontainable joy.
Love that has always been rejected, now He feels welcomed.
Love that was always unloved, now feels loved. From millennia, indeed from eternity, He had waited for this moment in which His creature would give Him the grace to say: "Here I am", so that He could fill it with Himself.
God is Advent: He necessarily comes to man, because He is Loving Love.
Man is Waiting: he necessarily tends to Him, because he needs to be loved.
For this reason, when man waits for Him and says. "Here I am," God cannot not come. Thus He unites with him in one flesh: it is the today of Salvation.
My yes to every Word that I listen to makes me welcome the Word: a piece of the story of the Word, who has taken up residence among us, becomes flesh of my flesh.
This story, just as it started from Mary and came down to us, starts from us to become flesh in all our brothers and sisters to the ends of the earth. It is the Mission of the Church.