She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus

SUNDAY 22 DECEMBER (Mt 1,18-24)

The incarnation of the Son of the Most High is the work of the Father and of the Word and of the Holy Spirit, but also the work of the Virgin Mary and of Joseph. God, in the Holy Spirit, gives his Son. Mary, in the Holy Spirit, gives her whole body and her life. Even Joseph, in the Holy Spirit, gives his heart, his mind, his will and his life. What happened for the birth to the land of Christ the Saviour must take place for the birth in every heart of the Lord Jesus. Today Jesus is born in a heart, if the Apostles of the Lord bring the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit into their hearts. The Father, in the Holy Spirit, must give men his Incarnate Son for their salvation. The Holy Spirit must convince and attract men to let themselves be made new creatures in Christ Jesus. The Son must increase his body with the addition of ever new creatures, regenerated, sanctified and made sharers in the divine nature in the waters of Baptism. If the Apostle of Christ the Lord and the disciple or minister of the Word that announces the Gospel is deprived of the Holy Spirit, this great mystery is not fulfilled. He cannot have God the Father and his Son in the heart who does not have the Holy Spirit. But not even the Word that convinces, attracts and converts might dwell in a heart devoid of the Spirit of God. The disciple of Jesus is called to dwell in the bosom of the Father like Lord Jesus. This bosom is the home of his evangelizing and saving mission.

Joseph lives in the midst of great justice. His is a justice capable of thinking the greatest good for the Virgin Mary. But God does not want Joseph to live this justice. If it is good for the Virgin Mary, it is not good for his Son, who must be born as a true son of David and not just as a descendant of Abraham. In Jesus, both the promises made by the Lord to Abraham and those made to David must be fulfilled. Joseph does not know the mystery of the Child that Mary carries in her womb. But the Father knows it and he sends his Angel to reveal it, so that Joseph may welcome it and live perfect justice from the perfection of the mystery. Today we are all falling into this temptation: we want to live a justice but in ignorance of the mystery of man, called to be born in Christ Jesus. The Apostle of the Lord is the true Angel of the Lord who must go to every man, manifest to him his mystery, invite him to welcome it, to become a mystery in the mystery. If the Angel of the Lord separates himself from the mystery, what revelation might he ever make to men? An angel without mystery has a word without mystery and a mission without mystery.

Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means “God is with us.” When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.

What is perfect justice for every man? The realization in his life of the mystery that God has written for him. This mystery is not accessed by human reasoning nor by the logic of very pure justice. It comes only by revelation. But no man can reveal his mystery to another man. Only the Angel of the Lord can. Who are the Angels of God today who must reveal to every man the mystery written for them by their Creator and God? Only the Apostles of Christ Jesus, but if they live the justice of apostolic succession and the charity of hierarchical communion. In listening and obedience to the Apostles of Jesus, are all the ministers of the Word and the witnesses of it. The more the Apostle will dwell in the bosom of Christ, the bosom of the Father, and the more his mission will be rich in fruits of conversion and salvation. Every man will know his mystery.

Mother of God, Angels and Saints, help apostles and disciples to live in the bosom of the Father.