Through the holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her

8 SEPTEMBER (Mt 1,1-16.18-23)

Narrating the marvels that the Lord has done in Mary is impossible for any human language. It is as if a person wanted to describe the beauty of the universe locked in a dark room, without even a crack to look up into the sky. We are closed in the darkness of our flesh, our minds and our thoughts. Wehave earthly notions of beauty. The very concept of heavenly beauty is missing us. We can only imagine it. We do not know its reality.

We can also see her clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, with twelve stars that act as her royal crown, but they are always concepts of notdivine beauty. We can attribute to the Mother of God all the beauty of all creation, the earth, the sea and the entire universe, but they are always similesdrawn from our creation. The Virgin Mary is beyond the created beauty. Beyond all thought and to be thought beauty. Beyond all imagined and to be imagined beauty. The Virgin Mary belongs to the divine and heavenly beauty of another world.

The Lord truly has made her entirely beautiful and most beautiful. He created a new heaven, a new paradise and his new eternal home, in her. All the heavenly beauty is little before hers. The heart of Mary is his everlasting home. God rejoices in living in this heart. In it he finds the completeness of his creation. Without the Virgin Mary it is as if in the Paradise of God something were missing. Not some an accidental, secondary and accessory, but rather necessary and vital thing. Something that gives true fulfillment. The Lord has bestowed her this great glory: to give full beauty even to his Heaven, to hiseternal home. It is not a little. That’s all.

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 Messiah.

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 fulfill 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.”

Mary is the Mother of God. It is the title from which every other title receives truth. Mary is truly the Mother of God, because from her, through the work of the Holy Spirit the Eternal Word of the Father was born. The true God was born from Her. This honour and this grace is only hers and no one else’s. All this happened through the work of the Holy Spirit. Before this great mystery everyone must kneel down and contemplate the extraordinary greatness of the gift of grace made her from the Lord. Never will in history a thing like this happen.

Virgin Mary, Mother of the Redemption, Angels and Saints help us contemplate Mary.