Gospel (Mt 1:18-23)

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

“Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and his name shall be called Emmanuel” (which means, God with us).

Commentary

The arrival of a new person into the world is always a sign of hope. Parents – and, in general, the entire family – often dream about how their child’s life will unfold, what talents God has bestowed. So it is easy to imagine how Mary’s birth would also have filled the hearts of Saint Joachim and Saint Anne with hope, and how they would have made many plans for their daughter’s future. However a new reality is present in the life of the Virgin Mary that goes far beyond what her parents could glimpse. A new reality that causes our Lady amazement at the moment of the Annunciation (cf. Lk 1:29) and that also amazes Saint Joseph, as we see in the Gospel for today’s Mass.

Our Lady was born to fulfill God’s promise to his people: “‘Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel’ (which means, God with us).” But this promise is fulfilled in an unexpected way, because Mary conceives while preserving the gift of her virginity. The Holy Spirit brings about something marvelous in Mary’s life. He makes her the Mother of God, and thus she becomes a sign of hope not only for the people of Israel but for all mankind.

The Virgin Mary’s life is a great gift for all humanity. We see how God responds to our deepest longings, while opening up a totally new horizon. Saint Joseph’s joy would have been great when the angel told him to receive Mary as his wife. This was something he surely desired with all his heart, but which he was willing to give up, because thus he thought he would be more faithful to God’s plan. Saint Joseph received something much greater than what he had dreamed of, because his marriage to Mary became part of God’s salvific plans. He embarked on a divine adventure, in which, along with many joys, there was no shortage of difficulties: the Child’s birth in a stable, Herod’s persecution, the flight to Egypt and the need to begin anew in his work….

Like Saint Joseph, we too are called to let our Lady enter our lives, and thus open our heart to a new hope, which far surpasses our dreams and will never disappoint us.