Sunday Sermon - 12.24.23
LATIN MASS: VIGIL OF THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD
EPISTLE: Romans 1:1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, 2 Which He had promised before, by His prophets, in the Holy Scriptures, 3 Concerning His Son, who was made to Him of the seed of David, according to the flesh, 4 Who was predestinated the Son of God in power, according to the Spirit of sanctification, by the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead; 5 By whom we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith, in all nations, for His name; 6 Among whom are you also the called of Jesus Christ:
God planned the entirety of salvation history down to the smallest detail through all of history. He planned for every single thing to bring His New Covenant to mankind. He set mankind on a long journey to prepare us for His greatest plan. He Himself would enter into history and the Word would BECOME Flesh. God Himself would step down from His throne to join in His creation to become one of us. We have known the Jesus is God and we have known about the Incarnation all our lives, yet when we take time to REALLY ponder on this, the enormity of this becomes very apparent. God who is above all creation lowers Himself to our level to save us from our sins. God loves us so much that He wants to be with us now and through all eternity. He wants to unite with us in the Eucharist and to do so, He became man. The Father Almighty called us to become one with His Son, to become His Body through Baptism and to unite ourselves with Him in the Eucharist.
GOSPEL: Matthew 1:18 Now the generation of Christ was in this wise. When as His mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with Child, of the Holy Ghost. 19 Whereupon Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing publicly to expose her, was minded to put her away privately. 20 But while he thought on these things, behold the angel of the Lord appeared to him in his sleep, saying: Joseph, son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her, is of the Holy Ghost. 21 And she shall bring forth a Son: and thou shalt call His name JESUS. For He shall save His people from their sins.
St. Joseph, who was a holy and just man, had married Our Lady and committed to have a celibate marriage with her. She was a consecrated virgin of Our Lord (one of His handmaids) and this is also why she is confused when the angel tells her that she will conceive. Young, healthy, married women are not confused about how they will conceive a baby. Yet Our Lady is confused, and that’s because they were going to have a celibate marriage. She would care for St. Joseph while he protected her and provided for her. Our Lady informs St. Joseph that she has conceived and he is not angry or upset. He’s a humble & holy man and he doesn’t believe he is worthy to raise the Messiah of God. This is why he was considering divorcing Our Lady because he didn’t consider himself worthy of being the father of the Messiah. God intervenes by sending His angel to console St. Joseph and tell him that God has selected St. Joseph to be the earthly father of Jesus. The humble are raised to glory by God.
NOVUS ORDO: FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT
OLD TESTAMENT: 2 Samuel 7:1 Now when the king was settled in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, 2 the king said to the prophet Nathan, “See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the Ark of God stays in a tent.” 3 Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that you have in mind; for the Lord is with you.” 4 But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan: 5 Go and tell My servant David: Thus says the Lord: Are you the one to build Me a house to live in?
8 Now therefore thus you shall say to My servant David: Thus says the Lord of Hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over My people Israel; 9 and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 10 And I will appoint a place for My people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly, 11 from the time that I appointed judges over My people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. 12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to Me. When he commits iniquity, I will punish him with a rod such as mortals use, with blows inflicted by human beings. 15 But I will not take My steadfast love from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. 16 Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before Me; your throne shall be established forever. 17 In accordance with all these words and with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.
This prophesy from the prophet Nathan is like many prophesies in Scripture. There is a fulfillment of the prophesy at the time it was made, but also a greater fulfillment in the New Covenant as well. God fulfills this prophesy by raising up King David’s son Solomon to the throne, and Solomon is the one who constructs the Temple in Jerusalem. This Temple houses the Ark of the Covenant for many centuries and Solomon’s kingdom is established as well.
But the greater fulfillment of this prophesy happens in the New Covenant. Jesus is the Son of Man, Son of David, and He is Son of God. His Kingdom and throne are established for eternity. His temple and Ark of the New Covenant is Our Lady, the Immaculate Virgin Mary. She is without sin or stain of sin and is a fitting Ark for God to reside in. The Word BECAME Flesh in Our Lady through the power and overshadowing of the Holy Ghost.
NEW TESTAMENT: Romans 16:25 Now to God Who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages 26 but is now disclosed, and through the prophetic writings is made known to all the Gentiles, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— 27 to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to Whom be the glory forever! Amen.
The plan of salvation of God spanned several millennium and God revealed some parts of it throughout the centuries to prepare mankind for what He would do. He prepared mankind to be ready for when God Himself, the Son, would enter into history and BECOME a Son of Man. Now the full plan of salvation has been revealed to us through the New Covenant and Gospel of Christ. You are offered a choice to join with Christ and be reconciled with God. Choose wisely.
GOSPEL: Luke 1:26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a Son, and you will name Him Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His ancestor David. 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His Kingdom there will be no end.” 34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; He will be called Son of God. 36 And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 Then Mary said, “Here am I, the handmaid of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.
An angel of God, far above mankind in glory and majesty, comes down to earth to Our Lady. Yet he does not address her as you would assume. He actually addresses her as his superior. He addresses her as royalty. That’s why Our Lady is perplexed and confused about how he greets her. The greeting of “Hail” is one that is used to greet royalty. He also greets her with the title “Kecharitomene”. This title is best translated as “she who has been and continues to be fully graced”. The angel of God declares that Our Lady is already full of God’s grace before he arrived. This title is not used for anyone else in Scripture.
Next the angel Gabriel tells Our Lady that she will conceive a Child. Mary is a young, healthy, married woman about to enter her husband’s home. If you were to tell any young wife that they would soon conceive a child, they would not be confused. Young wives understand how they can conceive a child. It’s not a secret. Yet Our Lady is confused here, and the reason is not because she is currently a virgin, but because she is a consecrated perpetual virgin and is not going to consummate her marriage. That is why she is confused.
Gabriel at this point tells Our Lady that the Holy Ghost will overshadow her. This word, “overshadow” is the same word that is used for when the Spirit of God came down and “overshadowed” the Ark of the Covenant in the Temple under the Old Covenant. In the New Covenant, the Ark of this covenant is Our Lady. She is the immaculate Ark which holds the Bread of Life and Manna from Heaven.
The Word BECAME Flesh is the womb of Our Lady, the Ark of the New Covenant.