THE MYSTERY OF CHRISTMAS IS ENCLOSED IN A SILENCE THAT SPEAKS TO THE HISTORY OF HUMANITY

By entering the silence of Bethlehem and penetrating the Gospel with love and contemplation, we therefore see something beautiful and new about God and about us, so we know Him better, but also ourselves, who we are, what mystery dwells within us, what meaning and value our life and that of the entire universe has.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Fashion born in the United States of celebrating the sex of the unborn child in advance quickly spread to us too. But none baby shower O gender reveal party for the Holy Child Jesus.

More seriously and even more deeply in the Christmas of the Lord, especially in the three liturgies that distinguish this Solemnity, something of the mystery of God and man is revealed starting from the source one, source of all historical mysteries, which is the mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God. Let us therefore read the passage proclaimed in the Christmas Eve Mass, according to the Gospel of Luke:

"In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that a census should be of the whole earth. This first census was made when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone went to be enrolled, each in their own city. Joseph also, from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, went up to Judea to the city of David called Bethlehem: in fact, he belonged to the house and family of David. He had to be registered together with Maria, his bride, she was pregnant. While they were in that place, time came for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, She wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the accommodation. There were some shepherds in that region who, spending the night outdoors, they stayed up all night guarding their flock. An angel of the Lord presented himself to them and the glory of the Lord surrounded them with light. They were filled with great fear, But the angel said to them,: “Don't be afraid: there, you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people: today, the City of David, is born for you a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. This sign for you: You find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, placed in a manger”. And immediately a multitude of the heavenly army appeared with the angel, who praised God and said: “Glory to God in the highest heaven and on earth peace to men, that he loves”» (LC 2,1-14).

This well-known and exciting text proclaimed as the Gospel in the Christmas Eve Mass leaves one somewhat disappointed upon first reading. We would expect, at least from the main characters, a few words, an explanation or expression of their feelings. Instead they remain silent and the whole scene is surrounded by great silence. Joseph is silent as he ascends from the unknown Nazareth to the most famous and significant city of David called Bethlehem, due to the census. But it says nothing about itself, of what he feels or perceives. Maria remains silent, his bride, who accompanies her on the journey and silently gives birth to her first-born son. We are not told his feelings, what was moving in his heart. Except that she gives birth outside the hotel, forced to place the Child in a poor animal's crib. E, naturally, no cries of the newborn Baby are heard. The overall scene narrated presents a whole series of humble gestures punctuated by silence. While in the background are projected the actions of the power of Caesar Augustus who wants the census to reach the most distant provinces. Luke too, the evangelist writer, does not make any comments, as if to underline an extreme measure even in the poverty of expressive means. Out of the scene the shepherds emerge, frightened by the appearance of an angel, they too are struck dumb. Only the heavenly messenger breaks the silence by announcing the great joy: «A Savior is born for you, who is Christ the Lord". And then the multitude of the celestial army praises God, proclaiming his glory in the heavens and peace on the earth of men.

Silence is the key, as every mystery of God springs from it and takes us back to it. Because it's not easy, nor easy to say God, who He is or describe Him, silence is then there to signal that certain realities must first of all be contemplated and adored for a long time. This helps us understand the apparent and striking contrast between the silent poverty of the central scene of the Gospel passage and the magnificence of what is around it. It contains the mystery of God that must be contemplated and adored.

And it is in this context that it reveals itself, that is, the veil is lifted on the singular manifestation of God, whose first characteristic is undoubtedly the ability to surprise. Who would have expected a baby from God? What a superabundant message He brings, what light it propagates? The Gospel passage seems to invite us to go further, beyond modest appearances, to discover the divine riches that rest not in the noise, be it the announcement of the census of the time, or everything that today creates an audience or multiplies followers, but rather in the "subtle silent voice" that Elijah experienced (1Re 19, 12), in which God reveals himself to the soul capable of meditation and contemplation of the scriptures and the mystery contained therein.

Below, a second aspect reveals the evangelical scene about God. And that is that He is qualified by some paradoxes, from truths apparently beyond common sense and which the world carefully avoids. They could be expressed like this: before God the small often appears more important than the large, the poor more than the rich, the despised more than the important, the individual more than the multitude. Moreover, poverty is not the worst evil, since God permitted it for his Son; it's still, what on earth is loneliness and humiliation, may be great and glorious in heaven.

We notice, in tal modo, to gradually enter into a "Christian theology and anthropology", in a new way of understanding God and man. In that habit, first mentioned, of knowing how to go further we see that in the mystery of Bethlehem where everything is apparently secret and silence, God speaks to man in a new way and manifests himself as the One who ordinarily is on the side of the smallest and poorest; as someone whose omnipotence is shown first and foremost in the goodness of tenderness, in reliability and closeness to the simplest and most humble. We thus understand that we are dear to him, we are fragile, weak and poor children of Adam. Everything in the evangelical scene makes a single great announcement full of meaning emerge from the silence: God loves us freely, before we love him and for our good he comes to meet us.

We too enter the silence of Bethlehem and by penetrating the Gospel with love and contemplation we therefore see something beautiful and new about God and about us, so we know Him better, but also ourselves, who we are, what mystery dwells within us, what meaning and value our life and that of the entire universe has.

In the adorable mystery of Christmas let's realize that we are not alone, that the Lord came for us and remains with us. Even though we hear the roars of war all around, the message He brings is that of joy and peace. A divine and not ephemeral peace that comes from Him and passes through people's experiences, of nations and peoples.

Recently a new idea has been put forward in theological reflection that deals with the mystery of the incarnation. It is called "deep incarnation", a "radical". This is a recent theological sensitivity interested in rediscovering the inclusive and salvific scope of the incarnation for the entire creation. Without taking anything away from the new acquisitions, Let's remember that many have discussed this topic, especially the holy fathers since ancient times. And among these Saint Ambrose who commented on the writing of the evangelist Luke with these words:

«It is so that you could become a perfect man that Jesus wanted to be a little child. He was bound in swaddling clothes so that you would be freed from the bonds of death. He was in the stable to place you on the altars. He came to earth so that you could reach the stars, and he found no room in that inn so that you would have many homes in heaven. Even though he was rich, he became poor for us, so that we might become rich in his poverty. This indigence of God is therefore my wealth and the weakness of the Lord is my strength. He preferred privations for himself to give abundantly to everyone. The crying of his childhood in wails is a wash for me, those tears have washed away my sins".

Merry Christmas to all.

From the Hermitage, 25 December 2024

Christmas Day

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DOCTOR LUCA'S GYNECOLOGICAL DIAGNOSIS: «AND BEHOLD, YOU WILL CONCEPTURE IN THE WOMB"

An ancient tradition, which dates back to the Apostle Paul, reports that Luca was a doctor. a person, so, more suitable than others to tell the special conception; in fact Saint Luke makes use of all his wisdom here, maybe even the professional one, but above all the theological one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The passage from the Annunciation, which is also that of the Vocation of Mary, it is one of the most beautiful and profound in the Gospel of Luke. But also one of the most complex and difficult.

An ancient tradition, which dates back to the Apostle Paul (With the 4, 14), reports that Luca was a doctor. a person, so, more suitable than others to tell the special conception; in fact Saint Luke makes use of all his wisdom here, maybe even the professional one, but above all the theological one. Let's read the passage.

"During that time, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city in Galilee, called Nazareth, to a virgin, betrothed to a man of the house of David, named Joseph. The virgin's name was Maria. entering from the law, he said: “Rejoice, full of grace: the Lord is; with you”. At these words she was very upset and wondered what sense a greeting like this had. The angel told her: “Do not fear, Maria, because you have found favor with God. And here, you will conceive a son, you will give birth to him and you will call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High; the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father and he will reign forever over the house of Jacob and his kingdom will have no end”. Then Mary said to the angel: “How this will happen, for I know no man?”. The Angel answered her: “The Holy Spirit will descend upon you and the power of the Most High will cover you with his shadow. Therefore he who will be born will be holy and will be called the Son of God. And here, Elisabetta, your relative, in her old age she also conceived a son and this is the sixth month for her, which was said to be sterile: nothing is impossible for God”. Mary said: “Here is the servant of the Lord: let it happen to me according to your word”. And the Angel moved away from her" (LC 1,26-38).

The Archangel Gabriel is sent by God to communicate to the Virgin Mary the announcement of the imminent Incarnation. A Maria, Joseph's betrothed, it is announced that she will virginally become the mother of the Son of God. The text tells us that God had already prepared Mary for a long time for this mission of hers, as She had experienced having been "made welcome" (cute, Kexaritoméne) to God, through the influence of grace. This is the true meaning of that «full of grace», which we still recite today in the prayer ofAve Maria, but often without fully understanding its meaning. The perfect passive participle of the verb cartoon indicates that it is a past action of grace on Mary, an action therefore prior to the Annunciation, through which Maria felt she was internally oriented towards a still unknown future event. Saint Thomas Aquinas explains it by saying that he experienced within himself a profound "desire for virginity"; so too for Saint Bernard of Clairvaux the grace of Mary was "the grace of virginity". Oriented by that grace, Mary had been prepared for this day: become the mother of the incarnate Son of God, but in a virginal way.

Such a birth appears paradoxical and difficult to believe, maybe even just imagine. Yet Saint Luke, in the Gospel text, it offers us important clues so that we can accept this truth, as all Tradition teaches us. Let's take a closer look at the verse of LC 1,31 which reads in Greek: "And here, you will conceive in the womb". This addition, «in the womb», it is singular, little noticed and often untranslated, as we have seen in the text of the CEI which is proclaimed in church today. There isn't one as it seems like a pleonastic integration, for it is evident that a woman always conceives in the womb. Yet the beginning of the verse integrates well into the overall description of the three moments:

1. You will conceive in the womb;
2. you will give birth to a son;
3. you will call his name Jesus.

Only Mary, throughout Scripture, receives the announcement that his conception will take place entirely "in the womb", it will therefore be completely internal and therefore it will be a virginal conception. Let's see why.

The verse clearly refers to Isaiah's prophecy 7, 14 (LXX version), also taken up by Matteo (1,23) during the announcement to Joseph in a dream:

"There the virgin will have in her womb and give birth to a son and they will call his name Emmanuel".

In San Luca, as it is a dialogue between the Angel and Mary, the second person is used (conceive) and the subject is clearly Mary, no longer the virgin of Isaiah or of Saint Matthew. Also because at the beginning of the song, The Other Brother, it had already been clearly stated twice that She was “a virgin, betrothed"; and that "the virgin was called Mary". But the most surprising thing is Luke's use of the verb. No more "you will have in your womb" as in Isaiah and Matthew, but "you will conceive in the womb". A new expression that goes in the direction of excluding any male participation, therefore human, from this conception. In the Old Testament a woman "receives into the womb" (Is 8, 3) the male seed, or «she has in her womb» (GN 38, 25) after intercourse with a man. But here in Luke it is clearly excluded from Mary's words: "I don't know a man" (LC 1, 34) that is, "I'm a virgin". This is why Saint Luke prefers to use the verb "conceive" (sullambánein), also very frequent in the Old Testament, but always without the addition "in the womb". In fact, the Evangelist uses the verb "conceive" twice, with the apparently superfluous addition of "in the womb" and does so solely by referring to Mary. It doesn't, for instance, with Elizabeth (LC 1, 24.36); for Maria, however, yes, in this passage and in Luke 2,21:

«…as he was called [Jesus] from the Angel, before being conceived in the womb".

They just seem like words, yet here Luke is saying that Mary's conception will be true, PLANT, as the revival of the ancient verb suggests: conceive; yet it will be new, unique and different for Maria, that is, without human participation, male, totally virginal. That is, it required a different "power"., a fertilizing action of a spiritual nature. This is what the Angel will explain to Mary in the face of her real objection:

«The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will cover you with his shadow. Therefore he who is born will be holy and will be called the Son of God." (v. 35).

I apologize if, given today's Solemnity, I did not focus on the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception, on its historical and theological significance, on original sin for example, as is often done. It seemed more appropriate and compelling to me to focus on the scriptural foundations from which everything flows like a spring. If you notice, indeed, in today's passage from the Gospel of the Solemnity, a nice continuity. From the verse of LC 1, 28, where the Virgin is given the title of «full of grace», we know that Maria, long since, she was prepared by grace for her future mission. At the moment of the Incarnation, the Angel brings her the great and new message: his next conception will take place "in the womb", that is, without human participation. It will therefore be a virginal conception, carried out in Her by the Holy Spirit. Her Immaculate Conception is therefore admirably described by the long preparation of grace in Mary in view of the Incarnation, "in her womb", of the Son of God. There is therefore a perfect continuity well presented by the Evangelist Luke. Maria, full of Grace, after having "conceived" and given birth "holyly" (v. 35) his son under the action of the Holy Spirit, can present him to men as the Son of God, whose name is Jesus. This is the great mystery that is finally revealed to men. But at the center of the whole story is the Virgin Mary.

In this sense the words of Bishop Andrew of Crete are appropriate (+740) refer to Mary:

«The body of the Virgin is a land that God sowed, the firstfruits of Adamic matter divinized by Christ, the image that resembles primitive beauty, the clay shaped by the hands of the craftsman" (Homily 1 on the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary (PG 97,1068).

From the Hermitage, 8 December 2024

Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Immaculate

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