4th Sunday of Advent - A - Sunday, December 18, 2022 (EPISODE-396 )
Readings for Sunday, December 18, 2022 - 4th Sunday of Advent - A
FIRST READING: Isa 7:10-14
Ps 24:1-2, 3-4, 5-6. "Let the Lord enter, he is king of glory"
SECOND READING: Rom 1:1-7
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (Matt 1:23). Alleluia, alleluia! The virgin will give birth to a son; his name will be Emmanuel: God-is-with-us. Alleluia!
GOSPEL: Matt 1:18-24
Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed. Stock Photo ID: 1417111835 - FLORENCE, ITALY - JANUARY 11, 2019: Altarpiece of saint Joseph the Worker, by Pietro Annigoni in the Basilica di San Lorenzo in Florence, Italy. Editorial Use Only.Photo Contributor - Zvonimir Atletic
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Please listen to the audio recordings of the Mass – (Readings, prayers, and homily), for 4th Sunday of Advent - A - Sunday, December 18, 2022, by clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-advent-4a-fourth-sunday-of-advent-year-a-episode-396/s-ayX3dVN45U2 (EPISODE-396)
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prologue:
Our time of Advent waiting is almost over. The excitement and the beauty of this Christmas Feast is so close, only a couple of days away, now.
God has entered human history in a definitive and miraculous way. And through "God with us," we are saved.
It puts me in mind of the words of this hymn:
HYMN
Suggested tune: Bishopthorpe or St Flavian tre: CM
The King shall come when morning dawns,
And light triumphant breaks;
When beauty gilds the eastern hills,
And life to joy awakes.
0 brighter than that glorious morn
Shall this fair morning be,
When Christ, our King, in beauty comes,
And we his face shall see.
The King shall come when morning dawns,
And earth's dark night is past;
0 haste the rising of that morn,
The day that ever shall last.
(P.339, Magnificat DEC 2019: vol 10; no.2).
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Our God has a very long memory and a very good memory. And Our God is faithful. He keeps his promises.
Something foretold long ago. Something promised by Our God more than 700 years before. Is now being fulfilled, just as God said. It is a reminder to us that God thinks in many hundreds of years. God has the whole picture, whilst we individually only have a glimpse of a small part of it. But God has all the time in the world to ensure that what he promised will be fulfilled at the perfect time.
When we stick with God, we are in very good hands.
"In Matthew's version …, an unnamed angel speaks to Joseph in a dream. …Leaving the angel unnamed redirects the reader's attention in two ways. First, attention is turned away from the person of the angel to his mission: he is a messenger doing God's bidding. In this, he is a model of what Joseph himself should be: an obedient servant. Second, the anonymity of the angel highlights the role of Joseph. … In Matthew's genealogy, Jesus is the 'son of David' (1:1) whose lineage is traced through Joseph. (Also), Matthew presents the husband of Mary in terms that recall the story of the patriarch Joseph (Genesis 37 - 50) who receives his messages from God through dreams and who rescues his family by bringing them to Egypt (Genesis 45:19 - 46:6) - … Joseph is the righteous, obedient, and compassionate protector of his wife and her child. Joseph is a wonderful model of discipleship for us. He is humble, honest, quick to respond when asked, and is 'all about' God's priorities and vision, not his own. He is happy to be the Lord's humble and loyal servant and stay in the background to what God is achieving. Nevertheless, his cooperation, along with his blessed wife, Mary, allows God to do great and wonderful things through them.
The significance of the Child is indicated by his two names. He is 'Emmanuel.' (This) indicates WHAT Jesus is doing: He is 'God (who is come down from heaven to make his home with us.' It (also) shows that Jesus is the fulfilling the ancient prophecy of Isaiah 7:14, (our First Reading); and so God, indeed, is the one who is utterly faithful to His promises. The second name indicates WHO Jesus is: 'Jesus' means 'Saviour,' for 'he is the one who will save his people from their sins' (2:21). #"
Joseph is described quite deliberately, in this weekend's Gospel, as a "righteous man." We have lost the full technical meaning of this word. This really means that he was a man who always strove to do what was right. Not just the dead-letter of the law, but the Spirit and meaning of the law, so that whatever he did would be the right thing to do, in God's eyes and for the good of others... So…. He was a man open to the Spirit….
When he heard that Mary was with child, and not from him, he obviously did not initially understand what was happening. This was completely out of the ordinary. He clearly did not respond with outrage or immediately demand that the letter of the law be followed in this situation, because he must have known and loved Mary very much, and must have known intuitively that there must be some kind of explanation for this situation, no matter how bewildering. And, so he did not act rashly or imprudently. We are told that he carefully considered what he should do that would be best for Mary and for him and for everyone in all circumstances. He is an inspiration of how we Christians ought to respond to the many surprises, confusions and misunderstandings in life – that is, not rushing to judgement, not overreacting but rather, lovingly, prayerfully considering, with a thoughtful, reflective mind, what is truly in the best interests of all parties concerned, especially those most vulnerable. What had occurred was so enormous he could not really comprehend. And of course, when he got more information when the Angel appeared in a dream and explained that this was all happening because of God's actions. He realised that God wanted to include his humble, lowly self into God's plan. God wanted Joseph to be the step-father of the Lord…. Joseph immediately, faithfully (and righteously) did all that was necessary. He obeyed God and did God's will, even when it was all very confusing. Joseph and Mary are an enormous inspiration to us.
Inspired by Joseph and the Blessed Virgin Mary,
we, too, wait for the Lord.
May our hearts be ever alert, ready to respond immediately to what God asks of us.\
O Emmanuel,
king and lawgiver,
Desire of the nations,
Saviour of all people.
Come and set us free.
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References:
References:
Fr Paul W. Kelly
SHARING THE WORD THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR. GUSTAVO GUTIERREZ.
#(Adapted by me, from the Commentary on the Fourth Week of Advent, Year A. >From "Liturgia," Subscription Electronic Resource. © Copyright Liturgy Brisbane 2019).
"The righteous person's dilemma," by Alice Camille. Reflection: From: 19 Dec 2010 - Fourth Sunday of Advent, Cycle A. From Prepare the Word resource: TrueQuest Communications, LLC. All rights reserved.
MONASTERY OF CHRIST IN THE DESERT. ABBOT'S HOMILY.
Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed.
4th Sunday of Advent - A (Sunday, December 18, 2022) EPISODE-396
The Lord be with you.
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{{I pray this week brings you an ever deeper expereience of his compassion and love.}}
Our God's love and mercy knows no bounds, and so let us recall our sins so as to worthily celebrate this Holy Sacrifice.
I confess to almighty God and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have greatly sinned, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do, through my fault, through my fault,* through my most grievous fault; therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin, all the Angels and Saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God.
May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
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Ps 24:1-2, 3-4, 5-6. "Let the Lord enter, he is king of glory"
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (Matt 1:23). Alleluia, alleluia! The virgin will give birth to a son; his name will be Emmanuel: God-is-with-us. Alleluia!
Memorial Acclamation
1. We proclaim your Death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection until you come again.
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PREFACE: Advent II
Eucharistic Prayer I
(theme variation: 4)
(welcome cycle- (welcome 7) Good evening/morning. It is wonderful to gather together as members of God's family. Parishioners and visitors alike. We are all united as Our lord's family. We hope you feel very welcome. Please check to see that your mobile devices are switched off or turned to silent. Our Presider tonight / today is Fr………………………… Please stand as we sing our entrance hymn: "__________" *)
(pre+post variation: v2-long)
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{I pray this week brings you an ever deeper expereience of his compassion and love.}
Go forth, the Mass is ended.
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Archive of homilies and reflections: http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email: paulwkelly68@gmail.com
To listen to my weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks
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Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:
"Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection" - Led by Rev Paul Kelly
"O Come. Lord. (Advent) HYMN" - In Memory of Paolo Mario (Paul) Giacomantonio (1968-2020).
By Paul W. Kelly. Based on the Ancient church "O Antiphons" of Advent.
Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics, By Stefan Kelk, 2020.
Quiet reflection music and hymn - Original musical composition by William John kelly (1942-2017)
Lyrics based on the Song of Praise by the Three Young Men, The Book of Daniel 3:24-9. By Paul kelly.
Arranged and sung, and with adapted lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2021
[ Production - KER - 2022]
May God bless and keep you.
Extra Text : unspoken for Advent: -
Roman Missal, 3rd edition, 2010, (ICEL)
Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989, and 2009 by the NCC-USA.
"The Psalms" by The Grail - 1963, 2009.
Prayers of the Faithful - Robert Borg "Together we pray" - (1993) .+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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