"Immanuel" meaning "God with us,"

God isn't distant but intimately present, offering comfort, guidance, and strength.

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Isaiah 7:10-14

Once again

The Lord addressed Ahaz, "Ask for a sign from the Lord your God,

let it come either from the deepest depths or from the heights of heaven."

But Ahaz answered, "I will not ask, I will not put the Lord to the test."

 

Then Isaiah said, "Now listen, descendants of David. Have you not been satisfied trying the patience of people,

that you also try the patience of my God? Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign:

The Virgin is with child and bears a son and calls his name Immanuel.

 

Ps 24:1-2, 3-4, 5-6 (7c, 10b) 

Let the Lord enter; he is the king of glory.

 

＊＊＊ 2nd Reading ＊＊＊

Romans 1:1-7

From Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, an apostle, called and set apart for God's Good News,

the very promises he foretold through his prophets in the sacred Scriptures, regarding his Son,

who was born in the flesh a descendant of David, and has been recognized as the Son of God,

endowed with Power, upon rising from the dead, through the Holy Spirit.

 

Through him, Jesus Christ, our Lord, and for the sake of his name,

we received grace, and mission in all the nations, for them to accept the faith.

All of you, the elected of Christ, are part of them, you, the beloved of God in Rome,

called to be holy: May God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, give you grace and peace.

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊      

Matthew 1:18-24

This is how Jesus Christ was born: Mary, his mother, had been given to Joseph in marriage,

but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.

Then Joseph, her husband, made plans to divorce her in all secrecy.

Не was an upright man, and in no way did he want to disgrace her.

 

While he was pondering over this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,

"Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife.

She has conceived by the Holy Spirit, and now she will bear a son.

You shall call him 'Jesus' for he will save his people from their sins."

 

All this happened in order to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:

The virgin will conceive and bear a son, and he will be called Emmanuel, which means: God-with-us.

When Joseph awoke, he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do, and he took his wife to his home.

 

Lectio Divina

Gospel Reflection ：

"To be open to what God would have us do."

Read: Isaiah prophesies that Emmanuel will be born of a virgin.

Saint Paul writes to the Christians in Rome saying that they are redeemed through the Son of God,

who was born in the flesh a descendent of David, and because of him they are called to holiness.

Following a dream, Joseph obeys God's command through the angel and takes Mary home as his wife.

 

Reflect: The image of the sleeping Joseph has become a popular portrayal of the husband of Mary,

and a devotion that many have found most helpful in times of dilemma.

It's said that if you have a problem you should sleep on it. Often a solution will present itself to us while we dream,

but we also reach decisions with God's help. So it is with Joseph,

who learns that Mary's child has been conceived by the Holy Spirit and that he will "save his people from their sins."

Joseph wants to do the right thing, but now with these new insights, he radically changes his decision about what that right thing is.

Joseph teaches us to reflect deeply on major decisions, and to be open to what God would have us do.

 

Pray: Ask the intercession of Saint Joseph in a difficult decision.

 

Act: Put the intention under a statue of the Sleeping Joseph.