LIFE CHANGING MOMENTS

Readings for December 18, 2022

Fourth Sunday of Advent
Lectionary: 10

Ir-Raba’ Ħadd tal-Avvent



Reading 1               ISAIAH 7:10-14

The LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying: Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God; let it be deep as the netherworld, or high as the sky! But Ahaz answered, "I will not ask!  I will not tempt the LORD!" Then Isaiah said: Listen, O house of David! Is it not enough for you to weary people, must you also weary my God? Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel.

Qari 1                 mill-Ktieb tal-Profeta Iżaija 7:10-14

F’dak iż-żmien, il-Mulej issokta jkellem lil Aħaż u jgħidlu: “Itlob sinjal għalik mingħand il-Mulej, Alla tiegħek, f’qiegħ l-art jew fl-għoli tas-smewwiet”. U Aħaż wieġeb: “Ma nitlobx: ma rridx nittanta lill-Mulej”. U l-profeta wieġeb: “Isimgħu, mela, dar David! Mhux biżżejjed għalikom li tkiddu lill-bnedmin, biex issa se tkiddu lil Alla tiegħi? Għalhekk is-sinjal jagħtihulkom Sidi stess: Araw, ix-xebba titqal u tiled iben, u ssemmih Għimmanu-El”. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.

Responsorial Psalm               PSALM 24:1-2, 3-4, 5-6.

The LORD's are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.
For he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
R. Let the Lord enter; he is king of glory.   

Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy place?
One whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.
R. Let the Lord enter; he is king of glory.

He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks for him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.
R. Let the Lord enter; he is king of glory. 

Salm Responsorjali               Salm 23(24):1-2,3-4ab,5-6

R/.(7c,10b): Ħa jidħol il-Mulej, hu s-Sultan tal-glorja.

Tal-Mulej hi l-art u kulma fiha,
id-dinja u kulma jgħix fiha.
Għax hu fuq l-ibħra waqqafha
u fuq ix-xmajjar fis-sod qegħedha. R/.

Min jista’ jitla’ fuq l-għolja tal-Mulej,
min joqgħod fil-post imqaddes tiegħu?
Min għandu jdejh indaf u qalbu safja,
min ma jagħtix ruħu għall-frugħa. R/.

Dan ikollu barka mingħand il-Mulej,
u l-ħlas li ħaqqu minn Alla, is-Salvatur tiegħu.
Dan hu n-nisel ta’ dawk li jfittxuh;
li jfittxu ’l wiċċek, Alla ta’ Ġakobb. R/.

Reading 2               ROMANS 1:1-7

Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God,
which he promised previously through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, the gospel about his Son, descended from David according to the flesh, but established as Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness through resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. Through him we have received the grace of apostleship, to bring about the obedience of faith, for the sake of his name, among all the Gentiles, among whom are you also, who are called to belong to Jesus Christ; to all the beloved of God in Rome, called to be holy. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Qari 2               Bidu tal-Ittra ta’ San Pawl Appostlu lir-Rumani 1:1-7

Pawlu, qaddej ta’ Kristu Ġesù, imsejjaħ biex ikun appostlu, maħtur għall-Evanġelju ta’ Alla. Dan hu l-Evanġelju li Alla kien wiegħed permezz tal-profeti fil-Kotba Mqaddsa dwar Ibnu Ġesù Kristu Sidna li, skond it-tnissil tal-ġisem, twieled min-nisel ta’ David, u, skond l-Ispirtu s-Santu, ġie rivelat bħala l-Iben ta’ Alla b’kull qawwa permezz tal-qawmien mill-imwiet. Bih aħna rċevejna l-grazzja tal-appostolat biex inwasslu għall-ubbidjenza tal-fidi l-bnedmin fost il-ġnus kollha għall-ġieħ ta’ ismu. Fosthom tinsabu intom ukoll, imsejħin biex tkunu ta’ Ġesù Kristu; lill-maħbubin kollha ta’ Alla li jinsabu Ruma msejħin biex ikunu qaddisin: grazzja lilkom u sliem mingħand Alla Missierna u Sidna Ġesù Kristu. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.

Gospel                MATTHEW 1:18-24

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 conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means "God is with us." When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.

Evanġelju               Qari skond San Mattew 1:18-24

It-tnissil ta’ Ġesù l-Messija sar hekk: ommu Marija, wara li tgħarrset ma’ Ġużeppi, qabel ma marru joqogħdu flimkien, saret omm bil-ħidma tal-Ispirtu s-Santu. Żewġha Ġużeppi, li kien raġel ġust u ma riedx ixandarha quddiem kulħadd, għamel il-ħsieb li jibgħatha bil-moħbi tan-nies. Meta kien għadu qiegħed jaħsibha, deherlu anġlu tal-Mulej fil-ħolm u qallu: “Ġużeppi, bin David, xejn la tibża’ tieħu għandek lil martek Marija għax dak li tnissel fiha ġej mill-Ispirtu s-Santu. Hi se jkollha iben, u inti ssemmih Ġesù, għax hu jsalva l-poplu tiegħu minn dnubiethom”. Dan kollu ġara biex iseħħ dak li kien qal il-Mulej permezz tal-profeta, meta qal: “Ara, ix-xebba tnissel u jkollha iben, u jsemmuh Għimmanu-El”, li bi lsienna jfisser “Alla magħna”. Ġużeppi, meta qam, għamel kif ordnalu l-anġlu tal-Mulej, u ħa lil martu għandu. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.
 
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Spirituality of the Readings  //  by Fr John Foley, SJ 

 Fourth Sunday of Advent / Year A

An Inner Assurance

A dream changed Joseph’s life and ours. A mere dream, like what you and I have at night.

How trustworthy could this be?

And yet the safety of Mary and the child Jesus depended on it. In his dream (Gospel), an angel told him that Mary’s pregnancy was from the Holy Spirit of God. Mary had accepted readily but without really understanding. This angel of the Lord told him in the dream that he should not be afraid of the pregnancy, even though he was not yet married to this woman.

There can be a time when grace is so quietly strong that the person praying has an inner assurance that the experience did not come from imagination but from God.

Not be afraid? Already everyone could see that Joseph’s fiancé was “in a family way.” USA culture might applaud this fact, as it does when movie stars have children with whomever they please, whenever they please. In Biblical culture marriage was a sacred act [and not too long ago in our own], a participation in God’s own fidelity. It seemed that Mary had broken with that fidelity, at least as far as the townspeople could see. The Blessed Mother - a public sinner! No wonder Joseph was making arrangements for a “quiet divorce.”

So why in the world would he trust a dream? A friend of mine said he dreamed one night about a kangaroo sitting on his roof in a rocking chair, smoking a pipe! Should my friend keep a rocking chair on the roof from now on, just in case? No. We take dreams for what they probably are, a mechanism of our psyche that somehow helps us but does not give us literal truth. We do not trust dreams for life-changing messages.

Why did Joseph?

I think the answer has to do with something St. Ignatius of Loyola calls "discernment." In general, discernment is an examination of one's internal reactions to God (“movements”) in prayer.

There are many different kinds of interior movements to discern, but Ignatius notes a more rare one first. There can be a time when grace is so quietly strong that the person praying has an inner assurance that the experience did not come from imagination but from God. In this case, no doubts are possible.

You and I have to be careful not to get carried away by this notion. Probably many of us could convince ourselves that God or an angel spoke to us this morning. We need to discern which experiences are from God and which are not. Are they quiet? Do they lead toward God or away? What is the long-term result? A spiritual director could help us sort through such questions.

Joseph's dream must have been a movement of this kind. It contained a quiet certainty of the presence of God. No doubts followed it, in a situation when doubts would surely seem called for. It was like the face of a mother to an infant. Like the voice of a close friend.

Another way to put it is that Joseph already had much trust in God's love. This trust was in no way broken into, shattered or pulled to pieces by the dream. Instead the message fit right into the design of Joseph's life with God. And so he followed it.

What is your internal sense of the Christmas story? Is the birth of God an impossible tale reserved for children? Or do you find the roots of trust within yourself as Joseph did?

Pray for the open faith Joseph and Mary had.

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