MASS READINGS & SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY :Friday - December 17, 2021

Friday - December 17, 2021

December 17, 2021

Friday of the Third Week of Advent
Lectionary: 193

 

Reading 1                                                     Gn 49:2, 8-10

Jacob called his sons and said to them:

    “Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob,

        listen to Israel, your father.

 

    “You, Judah, shall your brothers praise

        –your hand on the neck of your enemies;

        the sons of your father shall bow down to you.

    Judah, like a lion’s whelp,

        you have grown up on prey, my son.

    He crouches like a lion recumbent,

        the king of beasts–who would dare rouse him?

    The scepter shall never depart from Judah,

        or the mace from between his legs,

    While tribute is brought to him,

        and he receives the people’s homage.”

 

Responsorial Psalm                                              72:1-2, 3-4ab, 7-8, 17

 

R.    (2a) I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

 

O God, with your judgment endow the king,

    and with your justice, the king’s son;

He shall govern your people with justice

    and your afflicted ones with judgment.

R.    Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.

The mountains shall yield peace for the people,

    and the hills justice.

He shall defend the afflicted among the people,

    save the children of the poor.

R.    Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.

Justice shall flower in his days,

    and profound peace, till the moon be no more.

May he rule from sea to sea,

    and from the River to the ends of the earth.

R.    Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.

May his name be blessed forever;

    as long as the sun his name shall remain.

In him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed;

    all the nations shall proclaim his happiness.

R.    Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.

 

Alleluia                                                                     

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

O Wisdom of our God Most High,

guiding creation with power and love:

come to teach us the path of knowledge!

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel                                                                       Mt 1:1-17

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,

the son of David, the son of Abraham.

 

Abraham became the father of Isaac,

Isaac the father of Jacob,

Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.

Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah,

whose mother was Tamar.

Perez became the father of Hezron,

Hezron the father of Ram,

Ram the father of Amminadab.

Amminadab became the father of Nahshon,

Nahshon the father of Salmon,

Salmon the father of Boaz,

whose mother was Rahab.

Boaz became the father of Obed,

whose mother was Ruth.

Obed became the father of Jesse,

Jesse the father of David the king.

 

David became the father of Solomon,

whose mother had been the wife of Uriah.

Solomon became the father of Rehoboam,

Rehoboam the father of Abijah,

Abijah the father of Asaph.

Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat,

Jehoshaphat the father of Joram,

Joram the father of Uzziah.

Uzziah became the father of Jotham,

Jotham the father of Ahaz,

Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.

Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh,

Manasseh the father of Amos,

Amos the father of Josiah.

Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers

at the time of the Babylonian exile.

 

After the Babylonian exile,

Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel,

Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

Zerubbabel the father of Abiud.

Abiud became the father of Eliakim,

Eliakim the father of Azor,

Azor the father of Zadok.

Zadok became the father of Achim,

Achim the father of Eliud,

Eliud the father of Eleazar.

Eleazar became the father of Matthan,

Matthan the father of Jacob,

Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.

Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.

 

Thus the total number of generations

from Abraham to David

is fourteen generations;

from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations;

from the Babylonian exile to the Christ,

fourteen generations.

 

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ROTTEN FRUITS ON THE FAMILY TREE

Today's Gospel reading might seem boring; it's nothing but a list of names. But if you knew who these people were (their struggles, their misfortunes, their sins, their triumphs), you'd find this passage to be quite fascinating.

 

When we compare the genealogies of Jesus in Luke's and Matthew's Gospels, we notice differences in who is included and who's not. The reason: The writers Luke and Matthew had different purposes and points to convey.

 

Luke was writing to Gentiles; he wanted to prove that Jesus is the Savior of the whole human race, so he traced the roots of Jesus back to everyone's common ancestor, Adam.

 

Matthew starts with Abraham in order to prove that Jesus was a true Jew. His list includes King David as a forerunner of Jesus the Messiah, because David was a ruler who was specially anointed by God. And Matthew lists others who either prophesied or foreshadowed Jesus. In doing this, Matthew conveys that Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophecies.

 

Our heritage affects who we are and what we do with our lives. Look at your family tree from the perspective of faith. Which ancestral parents (and other relatives) gave birth to Jesus in your family's heritage? Who have passed on to you the Christian faith? Who prayed? Who incorporated their faith into daily activities? Who had conversion experiences?

 

Who neglected the faith they inherited? Who rebelled against it? Who chose to follow immoral paths?

 

Matthew's list includes some rotten apples on Jesus' family tree: people who sinned in big ways, some who didn't even trust God at all. Jacob, whom we read about in today's first reading, was a liar and a thief and stole his twin brother's birthright in order to obtain the top position in the family. Ahaz, who was another member of Jesus' family heritage, was weak, amoral, and vain.

 

However, the good news that we learn from Jesus the Messiah is that God heals diseased branches to make them produce good fruits. Thus he proves that God is superior over everything and that he himself is supreme goodness.

 

For example, it was because of Ahaz's rebellion that Isaiah prophesied the well-known sign from God of the coming of the Messiah: "The virgin shall conceive and bear a son named Emmanuel."

 

In all kinds of ways, both good and bad, your ancestors have given you the gift of Jesus -- or else you would not be interested in reading this reflection today. Thank God for these people! Many of them are now enjoying closeness to him in heaven, so give them your prayer requests and enlist their support. Others are in purgatory, and even there they are praying for you and rejoicing because of how your faith has grown. You are united with all of them in the communion of saints. Value this heritage.

 

How are you giving birth to Jesus on your family tree? What are your failures? Convert those rotten fruits into good ones by turning them over to Jesus.

 

Today's Prayer

 

Thank You, Jesus, because You entered into our history and revealed to us our Father's wonderful love in Your wonderful name: God with us. Amen.

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God Bless You.....

The Rosary Family

The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”