From: Romans 8:28-30
Christians are Children of God (Continuation)
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Commentary:
28. Awareness of God as Father helps us see all the events of our life as orche-
strated by the lovable Will of God. Our Father gives us what is best for us and
expects us to discover his paternal love in adverse as well as in favorable events.
“Notice”, St Bernard points out, “that he does not say that things suit our whims
but that they work for our good. They serve not caprice but usefulness; not plea-
sure but salvation; not what we desire but what is good for us. In that sense
everything works for our good, even death itself, even sin [...]. Is it not the case
that sins do good to him who on their account becomes more humble, more fer-
vent, more solicitous, more on guard, more prudent?” (”De Fallacia Et Brevitate
Vitae”, 6). If we have this optimistic, hopeful attitude, we will overcome every dif-
ficulty we meet: “The whole world seems to be coming down on top of you.
Whichever way you turn you find no way out. This time, it is impossible to over-
come the difficulties.
“But, have you again forgotten that God is your Father?—all-powerful, infinitely
wise, full of mercy. He would never send you anything evil. That thing that is wor-
rying you is good for you, even though those earthbound eyes of yours may not
be able to see it now.
“’Omnia in bonum!’ Lord, once again and always, may your most wise Will be
done!” (St. J. Escriva, “The Way of the Cross”, IX, 4).
29. Christ is called the “first-born” for many reasons. He is “the first-born of all
creation” (Col 1:15) because he is eternally begotten and because “all things
were made through him” (Jn 1:3). He is also the new Adam and therefore the
head of the human race in the work of redemption (cf. 1 Cor 15:22, 45). He is
“the first-born from the dead” (cf. Col 1:18; Rev 1:5) and therefore is the head
of all those who have reached heaven and all who are awaiting their future resur-
rection (1 Cor 15:20, 23). Finally, he is the “first-born among many brethren” be-
cause, in the order of grace, he gives us a share in his divine sonship: by means
of habitual grace—”sanctifying” grace—we become children of God and brothers
and sisters of Jesus Christ. “For, just as God chose to communicate to others
his natural goodness, giving them a share in that goodness, so that he might be
not only good but also the author of good things; so the Son of God chose to
communicate to others a sonship like his own, so that he might be not only a
son, but the first-born of many sons” (St Thomas Aquinas, “Commentary on
Rom, ad loc.”).
This remarkable fact is what leads the Christian to imitate Christ: our divine son-
ship moves us to reflect the words and gestures of his Only-begotten Son.
“Lord, help me decide to tear off, through penance, this pitiful mask I have fa-
shioned with my wretched doings.... Then, and only then, by following the path
of contemplation and atonement, will my life begin to copy faithfully the features
of your life. We will find ourselves becoming more and more like you.
“We will be other Christs, Christ himself, ‘ipse Christus’” (St. J. Escriva, “The
Way of the Cross”, VI).
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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.
From: Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23
The Ancestry of Jesus Christ
[2] Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob
the father of Judah and his brothers, [3] and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah
by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, [4] and
Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahson, and Nah-
son the father of Salmon, [5] and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz
the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, [6] and Jesse the fa-
ther of David the king.
And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, [7] and Solomon the
father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of
Asa, [8] and Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram,
and Joram the father of Uzziah, [9] and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham
the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, [10] and Hezekiah the father
of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah,
[11] and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the depor-
tation to Babylon.
[12] And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel,
and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, [13] and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud,
and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, [14] and Azor the
father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim and Achim the father of Eliud,
[15] and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Mat-
than the father of Jacob, [16] and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of
Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.
The Virginal Conception of Jesus, and His Birth
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Commentary:
1. This verse is a kind of title to St Matthew’s entire Gospel. The promises God
made to Abraham for the salvation of mankind (Gen 12:3) are fulfilled in Jesus
Christ, as is Nathan’s prophecy to King David of an everlasting kingdom (2 Sam
7:12-16).
The genealogy presented here by St Matthew shows Jesus’ human ancestry and
also indicates that salvation history has reached its climax with the birth of the
Son of God through the working of the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ, true God and
true man, is the expected Messiah.
The genealogy is presented in a framework of three series, each consisting of
fourteen links which show the progressive development of salvation history.
For the Jews (and for other Eastern peoples of nomadic origin) genealogical trees
were of great importance because a person’s identity was especially linked to fa-
mily and tribe, with place of birth taking secondary importance. In the case of the
Jewish people there was the added religious significance of belonging by blood to
the chosen people.
In Christ’s time each family still kept a careful record of its genealogical tree,
since because of it people acquired rights and duties.
6. Four women are named in these genealogies—Tamar (cf. Gen 38; 1 Chron 2:4),
Rahab (cf. Josh 2:6,17), Bathsheba (cf. 2 Sam 11:12, 24) and Ruth (cf. Book of
Ruth). These four foreign women, who in one way or another are brought into the
history of Israel, are one sign among many others of God’s design to save all
men.
By mentioning sinful people, God’s ways are shown to be different from man’s.
God will sometimes carry out his plan of salvation by means of people whose
conduct has not been just. God saves us, sanctifies us and chooses us to do
good despite our sins and infidelities—and he chose to leave evidence of this at
various stages in the history of our salvation.
11. The deportation to Babylon, described in 2 Kings 24-25, fulfilled the prophets’
warning to the people of Israel and their kings that they would be punished for
their infidelity to the commandments of the Law of God, especially the first
commandment.
16. Jewish genealogies followed the male line. Joseph, being Mary’s husband,
was the legal father of Jesus. The legal father is on a par with the real father as
regards rights and duties. This fact provides a sound basis for recognizing St
Joseph as Patron of the whole Church, since he was chosen to play a very spe-
cial role in God’s plan for our salvation; with St Joseph as his legal father, Jesus
the Messiah has David as his ancestor.
Since it was quite usual for people to marry within their clan, it can be concluded
that Mary belonged to the house of David. Several early Fathers of the Church
testify to this—for example, St Ignatius of Antioch, St Irenaeus, St Justin and Ter-
tullian, who base their testimony on an unbroken oral tradition.
It should also be pointed out that when St Matthew comes to speak of the birth
of Jesus, he uses an expression which is completely different from that used for
the other people in the genealogy. With these words the text positively teaches
that Mary conceived Jesus while still a virgin, without the intervention of man.
18. St. Matthew relates here how Christ was conceived (cf. Luke 1:25-38): “We
truly honor and venerate (Mary) as Mother of God, because she gave birth to a
person who is at the same time both God and man” (”St. Pius V Catechism”,
I, 4, 7).
According to the provisions of the Law of Moses, engagement took place about
one year before marriage and enjoyed almost the same legal validity. The mar-
riage proper consisted, among other ceremonies, in the bride being brought so-
lemnly and joyously to her husband’s house (cf. Deuteronomy 20:7).
From the moment of engagement onwards, a certificate of divorce was needed
in the event of a break in the relationship between the couple.
The entire account of Jesus’ birth teaches, through the fulfillment of the prophe-
cy of Isaiah 7:14 (which is expressly quoted in verses 22-23) that: 1) Jesus has
David as His ancestor since Joseph is His legal father; 2) Mary is the Virgin
who gives birth according to the prophecy; 3) the Child’s conception without the
intervention of man was miraculous.
19. “St. Joseph was an ordinary sort of man on whom God relied to do great
things. He did exactly what the Lord wanted him to do, in each and every event
that went to make up his life. That is why Scripture praises Joseph as ‘a just
man’. In Hebrew a just man means a good and faithful servant of God, someone
who fulfills the divine will (cf. Genesis 7:1; 18:23-32; Ezekiel 18:5ff.; Proverbs 12:
10), or who is honorable and charitable toward his neighbor (cf. Tobias 7:6; 9:6).
So a just man is someone who loves God and proves his love by keeping God’s
commandments and directing his whole life towards the service of his brothers,
his fellow men” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 40).
Joseph considered his spouse to be holy despite the signs that she was going
to have a child. He was therefore faced with a situation he could not explain. Pre-
cisely because he was trying to do God’s will, he felt obliged to put her away; but
to shield her from public shame he decided to send her away quietly.
Mary’s silence is admirable. Her perfect surrender to God even leads her to the
extreme of not defending her honor or innocence. She prefers to suffer suspicion
and shame rather than reveal the work of grace in her. Faced with a fact which
was inexplicable in human terms she abandons herself confidently to the love
and providence of God. God certainly submitted the holy souls of Joseph and Ma-
ry to a severe trial. We ought not to be surprised if we also undergo difficult trials
in the course of our lives. We ought to trust in God during them, and remain faith-
ful to Him, following the example they gave us.
20. God gives His light to those who act in an upright way and who trust in His
power and wisdom when faced with situations which exceed human understan-
ding. By calling him the son of David, the angel reminds Joseph that he is the
providential link which joins Jesus with the family of David, according to Nathan’s
messianic prophecy (cf. 2 Samuel 7:12). As St. John Chrysostom says: “At the
very start he straightaway reminds him of David, of whom the Christ was to
spring, and he does not wish him to be worried from the moment he reminds him,
through naming his most illustrious ancestor, of the promise made to all his li-
neage” (”Hom. on St. Matthew”, 4).
“The same Jesus Christ, our only Lord, the Son of God, when He assumed hu-
man flesh for us in the womb of the Virgin, was not conceived like other men,
from the seed of man, but in a manner transcending the order of nature, that is,
by the power of the Holy Spirit, so that the same person, remaining God as He
was from eternity, became man, which He was not before” (”St. Pius V Cate-
chism”, I, 4, 1).
21. According to the Hebrew root, the name Jesus means “savior”. After our
Lady, St. Joseph is the first person to be told by God that salvation has begun.
“Jesus is the proper name of the God-man and signifies ‘Savior’—a name given
Him not accidentally, or by the judgment or will of man, but by the counsel and
command of God” [...]. All other names which prophecy gave to the Son of God
— Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (cf.
Isaiah 9:6) — are comprised in this one name Jesus; for while they partially sig-
nified the salvation which He was to bestow on us, this name included the force
and meaning of all human salvation” (”St. Pius V Catechism”, I, 3, 5 and 6).
23. “Emmanuel”: the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14, quoted in this verse, foretold about
700 years in advance that God’s salvation would be marked by the extraordinary
event of virgin giving birth to a son. The Gospel here, therefore, reveals two truths.
First, that Jesus is in fact the God-with-us foretold by the prophet. This is how
Christian tradition has always understood it. Indeed the Church has officially
condemned an interpretation denying the messianic sense of the Isaiah text
(cf. Pius VI, Brief, “Divina”, 1779). Christ is truly God-with-us, therefore, not only
because of His God-given mission but because He is God made man (cf. John
1:14). This does not mean that Jesus should normally be called Emmanuel, for
this name refers more directly to the mystery of His being the Incarnate Word.
At the Annunciation the angel said that He should be called Jesus, that is,
Savior. And that was the name St. Joseph gave Him.
The second truth revealed to us by the sacred text is that Mary, in whom the
prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 is fulfilled, was a virgin before and during the birth itself.
The miraculous sign given by God that salvation had arrived was precisely that a
woman would be a virgin and a mother at the same time.
“Jesus Christ came forth from His mother’s womb without injury to her maternal
virginity. This immaculate and perpetual virginity forms, therefore, the just theme
of our eulogy. Such was the work of the Holy Spirit, who at the conception and
birth of the Son so favored the Virgin Mother as to impart fruitfulness to her while
preserving inviolate her perpetual virginity” (”St. Pius V Catechism”, I, 4, 8).
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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.