ADVENT MASS READINGS & SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY : Saturday - December 17, 2022

Saturday - December 17, 2022

December 17, 2022

Friday of the Third Week in 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.    (see 7)  Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.

 

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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An Amazing Reality

The last line of the Gospel passage above offers much for us to meditate upon this day and throughout the week ahead. “Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.” What an amazing reality we celebrate! God Himself took on our human life, experienced conception, birth, infancy, childhood, etc. As a human, He also experienced hatred, abuse, persecution, and murder. Again, what an amazing reality we celebrate!

For the next eight days, the readings for Mass will focus more directly upon this amazing reality. We ponder today the lineage of Christ Jesus and see that He comes from the line of Abraham and David and that His ancestors were the great Judges, Kings and Levitical Priests. In the coming days of preparation for Christmas, we will ponder the role of Saint Joseph, the response of our Blessed Mother to the angel, the Visitation, Zechariah’s lack of faith and our Blessed Mother’s perfect faith.

As we enter into this octave of immediate preparation for the celebration of the birth of Christ, do use it as a time of true spiritual preparation. Though all of Advent is a season of preparation, these final days should especially focus upon the great mysteries surrounding the Incarnation and birth of the Christ Child. We must ponder the people Whom God chose to be intimately involved, and we should reflect upon the smallest of details regarding how this miracle of miracles took place.

Reflect, today, upon the true reason for Advent and Christmas. This final week leading up to Christmas can oftentimes become filled with busyness and other forms of preparation, such as shopping, cooking, traveling, decorating, etc. Though all of these other preparations have a place, don’t neglect the most important preparation—the spiritual preparation of your soul. Spend time with the Scriptures this week. Savor the story. Think about the amazing reality that we are about to celebrate.

Today’s Prayer

My precious Lord, I thank you for coming to dwell among us, and I thank you for this Advent season in which I am able to prayerfully ponder all that You have done for me. Please make this last week before Christmas a time of true preparation in which I prayerfully ponder the amazing reality of Your Incarnation. May this last week of preparation not be wasted but, rather, used as a foundation for a glorious and prayerful celebration of the holy gift of Christmas. Jesus, I trust in You. Amen.

 

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!”