Awaiting the Savior With Mary and Joseph

12-21-2025Weekly ReflectionFr. Albert

"The Virgin shall conceive and bear a son." Today, celebrating the Last Sunday of Advent, prior to the Feast of Christmas Day, to some extent, we can associate with the greatest joy of the Blessed Virgin Mary who awaited the coming of Baby Jesus into the World. in Four days, we will commemorate the birth of her beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus, God incarnated.

Today's Reading from the Gospel of Matthew provides us with the circumstances surrounding the virgin of Mary. when Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. When reference is made to Mary being engaged to Joseph, it means that the marriage contract had been drawn up between Joseph or his parents of Mary. According to the Jewish custom, the marriage did not take place until such time as the groom had taken the bride into the house. when doing so, this was referred to having " come together" or "live together".

When Joseph was preoccupied with the pregnancy of Mary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. As we all heard, the angel of the Lord told Joseph, the Son of David, not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife, for the child conceived in her was from the Holy Spirit. These words indirectly support that the birth of Jesus was a virgin birth. The angel of the Lord told Joseph that the Son of Mary should be called Jesus because He will save His people. Therefore, it is being revealed that while Jesus would be an agent of salvation for God's people, this would be salvation from their sins and not from worldly enemies or the dangers associated with nature.

Today's First Reading, the Lord God spoke through the great prophet Isaiah. The Lord said to Ahaz, "Ask for a sign of the Lord your God; let it be as far down as Hell or as far up as Heaven." Ahaz answered, " I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test." Then the Prophet Isaiah says Listen, O house of David! Is it not enough for you to weary people, must you also weary my God? Whether we ask for a sign or not, the Lord will give us the sign that what the Lord God planned to do, he will do it or accomplish it perfectly.

Today's Second Reading from the Letter to the Romans affirmed that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, descended from King David, as prophesied through Isaiah. This affirmation is also found in Matthew. Furthermore, Our Lord Jesus was declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of Holiness by resurrection from the dead. Now is the last chance to prepare ourselves for the great moment. Now is the last chance to repent of our sins with a sincerity of heart and to receive the Sacrament of Confession.