Gospel: September 8, 2025
September 8, 2025 (Monday)
Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Psalter: Proper / (White)
Ps 13:6ab, 6c
With delight I rejoice in the Lord.
1st Reading: Micah 5:1-4a (or Romans 8:28-30)
But you, Bethlehem Ephrata, so small that you are hardly named among the clans of Judah; from you shall I raise the one who is to rule over Israel. For he comes forth from of old, from the ancient times. The Lord, therefore, will abandon Israel until such time as she, who is to give birth, has given birth. Then the rest of his deported brothers will return to the people of Israel. He will stand, and shepherd his flock with the strength of the Lord, in the glorious Name of the Lord,, his God. They will live safely, while he wins renown to the ends of the earth. He shall be peace.
Gospel: Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23
This is the account of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah (their mother was Tamar), Perez was the father of Hezron, and Hezron of Aram. Aram was the father of Aminadab, Aminadab of Nahshon, Nahshon of Salmon. Salmon was the father of Boaz. His mother was Rahab. Boaz was the father of Obed. His mother was Ruth. Obed was the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of David, the king. David was the father of Solomon. His mother had been Uriah’s wife. Solomon was the father of Rehoboam. Then came the kings: Abijah, Asaph, Jehoshaphat, Joram, Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah. Josiah was the father of Jechoniah and his brothers at the time of the deportation to Babylon. After the deportation to Babylon, Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel and Salathiel of Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud, Abiud of Eliakim, and Eliakim of Azor. Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, and Akim the father of Eliud. Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar of Matthan, and Matthan of Jacob. Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and from her came Jesus who is called the Christ the Messiah. This is how Jesus Christ was born: Mary his mother had been given to Joseph in marriage, but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph, her husband, made plans to divorce her in all secrecy. He was an upright man, and in no way did he want to disgrace her. While he was pondering over this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. She has conceived by the Holy Spirit, and now she will bear a son. You shall call him ‘Jesus’ for he will save his people from their sins.” All this happened in order to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: The virgin will conceive and bear a son, and he will be called Emmanuel, which means: God-with-us.
Reflection:
“God chooses a sinless mother.”
Today’s Gospel presents us with Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus. Although the format is a list of fathers and sons, every so often the pattern is interrupted by adding the name of the mother. Why so? It’s because in each case there is something unusual or scandalous about their history. For example, Tamar conceives after disguising her identity and David woos Bathsheba into being unfaithful to her husband Uriah. Similarly, it appears to Joseph that Mary might also be tainted by scandal, but this is no scandal; it’s a miracle, as Mary has “conceived by the Holy Spirit.” The genealogy shows that God’s plan of salvation continues to advance even through the seeming obstacles of human sin. But in the case of Mary, God chooses a sinless mother to carry his only-begotten Son. And so, God works through the extraordinary as well as in the ordinary, turning all things to the good (Rom 8:28). As we celebrate the Nativity of Our Lady, we rejoice at the birth of one blessed by God to be a worthy mother of his Son. We ask Mary’s intercession, that as God worked marvels in her life, so he might do marvels in ours.
