Posted on 12/31/2020 10:17:53 PM PST by Cronos
The LORD said to Moses:
“Speak to Aaron and his sons and tell them:
This is how you shall bless the Israelites.
Say to them:
The LORD bless you and keep you!
The LORD let his face shine upon
you, and be gracious to you!
The LORD look upon you kindly and
give you peace!
So shall they invoke my name upon the Israelites,
and I will bless them.”
R/ (2a) May God bless us in his mercy.
May God have pity on us and bless us;
may he let his face shine upon us.
So may your way be known upon earth;
among all nations, your salvation.
R/ May God bless us in his mercy.
May the nations be glad and exult
because you rule the peoples in equity;
the nations on the earth you guide.
R/ May God bless us in his mercy.
May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you!
May God bless us,
and may all the ends of the earth fear him!
R/ May God bless us in his mercy.
Brothers and sisters:
When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son,
born of a woman, born under the law,
to ransom those under the law,
so that we might receive adoption as sons.
As proof that you are sons,
God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,
crying out, “Abba, Father!”
So you are no longer a slave but a son,
and if a son then also an heir, through God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets;
in these last days, he has spoken to us through the Son.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph,
and the infant lying in the manger.
When they saw this,
they made known the message
that had been told them about this child.
All who heard it were amazed
by what had been told them by the shepherds.
And Mary kept all these things,
reflecting on them in her heart.
Then the shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God
for all they had heard and seen,
just as it had been told to them.
When eight days were completed for his circumcision,
he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel
before he was conceived in the womb.
catholic,prayer,christmas,lk2
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| Luke | |||
| English: Douay-Rheims | Latin: Vulgata Clementina | Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000) | |
| 16. | And they came with haste; and they found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. | Et venerunt festinantes : et invenerunt Mariam, et Joseph, et infantem positum in præsepio. | και ηλθον σπευσαντες και ανευρον την τε μαριαμ και τον ιωσηφ και το βρεφος κειμενον εν τη φατνη |
| 17. | And seeing, they understood of the word that had been spoken to them concerning this child. | Videntes autem cognoverunt de verbo, quod dictum erat illis de puero hoc. | ιδοντες δε διεγνωρισαν περι του ρηματος του λαληθεντος αυτοις περι του παιδιου τουτου |
| 18. | And all that heard, wondered; and at those things that were told them by the shepherds. | Et omnes qui audierunt, mirati sunt : et de his quæ dicta erant a pastoribus ad ipsos. | και παντες οι ακουσαντες εθαυμασαν περι των λαληθεντων υπο των ποιμενων προς αυτους |
| 19. | But Mary kept all these words, pondering them in her heart. | Maria autem conservabat omnia verba hæc, conferens in corde suo. | η δε μαριαμ παντα συνετηρει τα ρηματα ταυτα συμβαλλουσα εν τη καρδια αυτης |
| 20. | And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God, for all the things they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. | Et reversi sunt pastores glorificantes et laudantes Deum in omnibus quæ audierant et viderant, sicut dictum est ad illos. | και υπεστρεψαν οι ποιμενες δοξαζοντες και αινουντες τον θεον επι πασιν οις ηκουσαν και ειδον καθως ελαληθη προς αυτους |
| 21. | And after eight days were accomplished, that the child should be circumcised, his name was called JESUS, which was called by the angel, before he was conceived in the womb. | Et postquam consummati sunt dies octo, ut circumcideretur puer, vocatum est nomen ejus Jesus, quod vocatum est ab angelo priusquam in utero conciperetur. | και οτε επλησθησαν ημεραι οκτω του περιτεμειν αυτον και εκληθη το ονομα αυτου ιησους το κληθεν υπο του αγγελου προ του συλληφθηναι αυτον εν τη κοιλια |
15. And it came pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
16. And they came with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
17. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
18. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
19. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
20. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.
GREEK EXPOSITOR. (Geometer.) The shepherds were filled with astonishment at the things that they saw and heard, and so they left their sheep-folds, and set out by night to Bethlehem, seeking for the light of the Saviour; and therefore it is said, They spoke one to another, &c.
BEDE. As men who were truly watching, they said not, Let us see (the child; but) the word which has come to pass, i. e. the Word which was from the beginning, let us see how it has been made flesh for us. since this very Word is the Lord. For it follows, Which the Lord hath made, and has shewn to us; i. e. Let us see how the Lord hath made Himself, and hath shewn His flesh to us.
AMBROSE. How remarkably Scripture weighs the import of each word. For when we behold the flesh of the Lord, we behold the Word, which is the Son. Let not this seem to you a slight example of faith, because of the humble character of the shepherds. For simplicity is sought for, not pride. It follows, And they came in haste. For no one indolently seeks after Christ.
ORIGEN. But because they came in haste, and not with loitering steps, it follows, They found Mary, (i. e. her who had brought Jesus into the, world,) and Joseph, (i. e. the guardian of our Lord’s birth,) and the babe lying in the manger, (i. e. the Saviour Himself.)
BEDE. It seems to succeed in due order, that after having rightly celebrated the incarnation of the Word, we should at length come to behold the actual glory of that Word. Hence it follows: But when they saw it, they made known the word which had been spoken to them.
GREEK EXPOSITOR. (Photius) Beholding with hidden faith indeed the happy events which had been told them, and not content with marvelling at the reality of those things which at the very first they saw and embraced when the Angel told them, they began to relate them not only to Mary and Joseph, but to the others also, (and what is more they impressed them on their minds,) as it follows, And all who heard it marvelled. For how could it be otherwise, at the sight of one of the heavenly host upon earth, and earth in peace reconciled to heaven; and that ineffable Child binding together in one, by His divinity, heavenly things, by His humanity, earthly things, and by this conjunction of Himself effecting a wonderful union!
GLOSS. Not only do they marvel at the mystery of the incarnation, but also at so wonderful an attestation of the shepherds, men who could not have devised these unheard of things, but were with simple eloquence proclaiming the truth.
AMBROSE. Esteem not the words of the shepherds as mean and despicable. For from the shepherds Mary increases her faith, as it follows: Mary kept all these sayings, and pondered them in her heart. Let us learn the chastity of the sacred Virgin in all things, who no less chaste in her words than in her body, gathered up in her heart the materials of faith.
BEDE. (Hom. ubi sup.) For keeping the laws of virgin modesty, she who had known the secrets of Christ would divulge them to no one, but comparing what she had read in prophecy with what she now acknowledged to have taken place, she did not utter them with the mouth, but preserved them shut up in her heart.
GREEK EXPOSITOR. (Metaphrastes) Whatever the Angel had said unto her, whatever she had heard from Zacharias, and Elisabeth, and the shepherds, she collected them all in her mind, and comparing them together, perceived in all one harmony. Truly, He was God who was born from her.
ATHANASIUS. (non occ.) But every one rejoiced in the nativity of Christ, not with human feelings, as men are wont to rejoice when a son is born, but at the presence of Christ and the lustre of the Divine light. As it follows: And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for every thing they had heard, &c.
BEDE. That is to say, from the Angels, and had seen, i. e. in Bethlehem, as it was told them, i. e. they glory in this, that when they came they found it even as it was told them, or as it was told them they give praise and glory to God. For this they were told by the Angels to do, not in very word commanding them, but setting before them the form of devotion when they sung glory to God in the highest.
BEDE. (Hom. ubi sup.) To speak in a mystery, let the shepherds of spiritual flocks, (nay, all the faithful,) after the example of these shepherds, go in thought even to Bethlehem, and celebrate the incarnation of Christ with due honours. Let us go indeed casting aside all fleshly lusts, with the whole desire of the mind even to the heavenly Bethlehem, (i. e. the house of the living bread,) that He whom they saw crying in the manger we may deserve to see reigning on the throne of His Father. And such bliss as this is not to be sought for with sloth and idleness, but with eagerness must we follow the footsteps of Christ. When they saw Him they knew Him; and let us haste to embrace in the fulness of our love those things which were spoken of our Saviour, that When the time shall come that we shall see with perfect knowledge we may be able to comprehend them.
BEDE. Again, the shepherds of the Lord’s flock by contemplating the life of the fathers who went before them, (which preserved the bread of life,) enter as it were the gates of Bethlehem, and find therein none other than the virgin beauty of the Church, that is, Mary; the manly company of spiritual doctors, that is, Joseph; and the lowly coming of Christ contained in the pages of Holy Scripture, that is, the infant child Christ, laid in the manger.
ORIGEN. That was the manger which Israel knew not, according to those words of Isaiah, The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib. (Isa. 3:1.)
BEDE. (Hom. ubi sup.) The shepherds did not hide in silence what they knew, because to this end have the Shepherds of the Church been ordained, that what they have learned in the Scriptures they might explain to their hearers.
BEDE. (in loc.) The masters of the spiritual flocks also, while others sleep, at one time by contemplation enter into the heavenly places, at another time pass around them by seeking the examples of the faithful, at another time by teaching return to the public duties of the pastoral office.
BEDE. (Hom. ubi sup.) Every one of us, even he who is supposed to live as a private person, exercises the office of shepherd, if, keeping together a multitude of good actions and pure thoughts, he strive to rule them with due moderation, to feed them with the food of the Scriptures, and to preserve them against the snares of the devil.
2:21
21. And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
BEDE. (ubi sup.) Having related our Lord’s nativity, the Evangelist adds, And after that eight days were accomplished for the circumcision of the child.
AMBROSE. Who is this Child, but He of whom it was said, Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given? (Is. 9:6, Gal. 4:5.) For He was made under the law, that He might redeem them who were under the law.
EPIPHANIUS. (lib. i. Hær. 30.) Now the followers of Ebion and Cerinthus say e, “It is enough for a disciple if he be as his Master. But Christ circumcised Himself. Be thou therefore circumcised.” But herein do they deceive themselves, destroying their own principles; for if Ebion should confess that Christ as God descended from heaven and was circumcised on the eighth day, it might then afford the ground of an argument for circumcision; but since he affirms Him to be mere man, surely as a boy he cannot be the cause of Himself being circumcised, as neither are infants the authors of their own circumcision. But we confess that it is God Himself who has descended from heaven, and that inclosed in a virgin’s womb, He abode there the whole time necessary for her delivery, until He should perfectly form to Himself of the virgin’s womb a human body; and that in this body He was not in appearance but truly circumcised on the eighth day, in order that the figures having come to this spiritual fulfilment, both by Himself and His disciples, might now be spread abroad no longer the figures but the reality.
ORIGEN. As we have died with Him at His death, and risen together with Him at His resurrection, so with Him have we been circumcised, and therefore need not now circumcision in the flesh.
EPIPHANIUS. (ubi sup.) Christ was circumcised for several reasons. First indeed to shew the reality of His flesh, in opposition to Manichæus f and those who say that He came forth in appearance only. Secondly, that He might prove that His body was not of the same substance with the Deity, according to Apollinaris, and that it descended not from heaven, as Valentinian said. Thirdly, to add a confirmation to circumcision which He had of old instituted to wait His coming. Lastly, to leave no excuse to the Jews. For had He not been circumcised, they might have objected that they could not receive Christ uncircumcised.
BEDE. He was circumcised also that He might enjoin upon us by His example the virtue of obedience, and might take compassion on them who being placed under the law, were unable to bear the burdens of the law, to the end that He who came in the likeness of sinful flesh might not reject the remedy with which sinful flesh was wont to be healed. For circumcision brought in the law the same assistance of a saving cure to the wound of original sin which Baptism does in the time of the grace of revelation, except that as yet the circumcised could not enter the gates of the heavenly kingdom, but comforted after death with a blessed rest in Abraham’s bosom, they waited with a joyful hope for their entrance into eternal peace.
ATHANASIUS. (De Sabbato et Circumcisione.) For circumcision expressed nothing else, but the stripping off of the old birth, seeing that part was circumcised which caused the birth of the body. And thus it was done at that time as a sign of the future baptism through Christ. Therefore as soon as that of which it was a sign came, the figure ceased. For since the whole of the old man Adam is taken away by baptism, there remains nothing which the cutting of a part prefigures.
CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA. It was the custom on the eighth day to perform the circumcision of the flesh. For on the eighth day Christ rose from the dead, and conveyed to us a spiritual circumcision, saying, Go and teach all nations, baptizing them. (Matt. 28:19.)
BEDE. Now in His resurrection was prefigured the resurrection of each of us both in the flesh and the Spirit, for Christ has taught us by being circumcised that our nature must both now in itself be purged from the stain of vice, and at the last day be restored from the plague of death. And as the Lord rose on the eighth day, i. e. the day after the seventh, (which is the Sabbath,) so we also after six ages of the world and after the seventh, which is the rest of souls, and is now carrying on in another life, shall rise as on the eighth day.
CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA. But according to the command of the law, on the same day He received the imposition of a name, as it follows, His name was called Jesus, which is interpreted Saviour. For He was brought forth for the salvation of the whole world, which by His circumcision He prefigured, as the Apostle says to the Colossians, “Ye are circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the stripping off of the body of the flesh, to wit, the circumcision of Christ.” (Col. 2:11.)
BEDE. That upon the day of His circumcision He also received the imposition of the name was likewise done in imitation of the old observances. For Abraham, who received the first sacrament (Gen. 17:5.) of circumcision, was on the day of his circumcision thought worthy to be blessed by the increase of his name.
ORIGEN. But the name of Jesus, a glorious name and worthy of all honour, a name which is above every other, ought not first to be uttered by men, nor by them be brought into the world. Therefore significantly the Evangelist adds, which was called of the Angel, &c.
BEDE. Of this name the elect also in their spiritual circumcision rejoice to be partakers, that as from Christ they are called Christians, so also from the Saviour they may be called saved, which title was given them of God not only before they were conceived through faith in the womb of the Church, but even before the world began.
For: Friday, January 1, 2021
Octave Day of Christmas
Solemnity: Mary, the Holy Mother of God
From: Numbers 6:22-27
Blessing by Priests
-----------------------------
[22] The LORD said to Moses, [23] "Say to Aaron and his sons, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,
[24] The LORD bless you and keep you:
[25] The LORD make his face to shine
upon you, and be gracious to you:
[26] The LORD lift up his countenance
upon you, and give you peace.
[27] "So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them."
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Commentary:
6:23-27. This is one of the earliest blessing formulae that the Bible has conserved for us. It is referred to in some psalms (cf. Ps 31:17; 67:2; etc.) and it was used by priests in the temple liturgy. It consists of three petitions, each beginning with the name of the Lord. Some ancient authors saw in this triple invocation an advance announcement of the Blessed Trinity. It goes on to pray for protection, grace and peace--three gifts which sum up man's aspirations and which God alone can provide in all their fullness.
The Church carries on the tradition of blessing the faithful during liturgical ceremonies, especially at the end of the eucharistic celebration, beseeching God to show them his favor. The Roman Missal includes this text as one of the optional blessings the priest can use at the end of Mass.
Divine Sonship (Continuation)
-------------------------------------------
[4] But when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, [5] to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. [6] And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" [7] So through God you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then an heir.
******************************************************************
Commentary:
6. Abba is an Aramaic word which has come down to us with its translation "Father". As can be deduced from Mt 14:36 (cf. note on Lk 11:1), this is the same word as our Lord used in his personal prayer. However, it is not a word ever used by Jews to address God, probably because it contains the kind of trust and tenderness that small children have in their dealings with their father. Jesus, however, did not hesitate to use it and to encourage his followers to use it. In this way he invites us to relate to God with the trust and tenderness of a child towards its father -- as well he might, because by redeeming us Christ not only freed us from the yoke of the Law but enabled us to have a new relationship to God, to be God's sons and daughters. St Paul echoes this teaching (cf. also Rom 8:16-17) and attributes to the Holy Spirit that movement in man's heart which impels him to cry out, full of love and hope, "Abba! Father!"
This all means that "if we have a constant relationship with the Holy Spirit, we shall become spiritual ourselves, we shall realize that we are Christ's brothers and children of God, and we shall not hesitate to call upon our Father [...]. Words cannot go so far as the heart, which is moved by God's goodness. He says to us, 'You are my son.' Not a stranger, not a well-treated servant, not a friend – that would be a lot already. A son! He gives us free access to treat him as sons, with a son's piety and I would even say with the boldness and daring of a son whose Father cannot deny him anything" (St. J. Escriva, Christ Is Passing By, 136 and 185).
In this verse we can see the roles of the three Divine Persons in man's supernatural life. The Father sends the Holy Spirit, here called "the Spirit of his Son", to help us activate our gift of divine sonship.
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 saying which had been told them concerning this child; and all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. [19] But Mary kept all these things, pondering 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 Jesus, 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 received. 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 angel proclaimed to them and which, full of wonder, they saw for a fact; they manifested 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 ineffable Child who joined what was heavenly – divinity -- and what was earthly -- humanity -- 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 Lady, 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 people only, but to all men, of all ages -- to men oppressed, not by famine, or Egyptian 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).
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