Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,
the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Abraham became the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. 
Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah,
whose mother was Tamar. 
Perez became the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
Ram the father of Amminadab. 
Amminadab became the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
Salmon the father of Boaz,
whose mother was Rahab. 
Boaz became the father of Obed,
whose mother was Ruth. 
Obed became the father of Jesse,
Jesse the father of David the king.

David became the father of Solomon,
whose mother had been the wife of Uriah. 
Solomon became the father of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
Abijah the father of Asaph. 
Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of Joram,
Joram the father of Uzziah. 
Uzziah became the father of Jotham,
Jotham the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. 
Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of Amos,
Amos the father of Josiah.
Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers
at the time of the Babylonian exile.

After the Babylonian exile,
Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
Zerubbabel the father of Abiud. 
Abiud became the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of Azor,
Azor the father of Zadok. 
Zadok became the father of Achim,
Achim the father of Eliud,
Eliud the father of Eleazar. 
Eleazar became the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. 
Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.

Thus the total number of generations
from Abraham to David
is fourteen generations;
from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations;
from the Babylonian exile to the Christ,
fourteen generations. MT 1:1-17

At first glance, we see a bunch of names that are hard to pronounce. We have heard this Gospel many times, it opens the New Testament and has almost all Old Testament names. Those names are people that had stories just like all of us do. The interesting thing is Abraham was the father of faith. Mary and Joseph received very special graces from God, Mary immaculately conceived. The more interesting thing is that families are not perfect. In the genealogy of Jesus there are some black sheep as well. Bishop Barron says, “Let me highlight just two figures from Jesus’ family. First, Ruth, who was not an Israelite but rather a Moabite, a foreigner. Some of you reading this feel like outsiders, not part of the “in” crowd, looked at askance by others. Well, the Messiah came forth from Ruth the foreigner and was pleased to be her relative. Then there is Rahab, a prostitute living and working in Jericho. Are there people reading these words who feel like Rahab? Who think that their whole lives have been sunk in sin? Well, the Messiah came forth from Rahab the prostitute, and he was pleased to be her relative.

God created us for relationships, to be part of family. No family is perfect and it takes a lifetime to learn from our mistakes we make in our families. I tend to hurt the ones closest to me. The Devil wants to destroy families and in some places I see where he is being successful in today’s culture. Today, look deep inside of yourself and find that brokenness that you are hiding. Jesus wants to uproot it but first we must face it. Then, look for ways we can improve as mother, father, husband, wife, son or daughter. Who do we need to forgive? Do we need to forgive ourselves, are we carrying great burdens? Jesus’s family carried them too. It was a mixed bag, much like our family and how we came to be. Take comfort, God doesn’t want us to come to him perfect, but broken, so His life, His grace can do the work He wants to do in us, make us holy which makes us happy.

Today’s challenge: Accept those who are not perfect in your family and have made some bad decisions.

Be a servant, become a saint! #Christian YOLO