Gospel according to Saint 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 be with child 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.
The Lord is near
Luis CASASUS President of the Idente Missionaries
Rome, December 21, 2025 | Fourth Sunday of Advent
Is 7: 10-14; Rom 1: 1-7; Mt 1: 18-24
It is striking how God’s plans are often fulfilled in the most unexpected moments. This is the case in the lives of many prophets, or even some of Jesus’ followers, who were in a particularly unfortunate situation in their lives when they were called to follow him to the end. This happened to the disciples of Emmaus, or even to St. Joseph, who was as confused as today’s Gospel suggests.
This is also true of religious communities, for example, the Society of Jesus, in the person of St. Joseph Pignatelli (1737-1811), who managed to restore it when it had been expelled from almost all countries and officially dissolved by Clement XIV in 1773.
Of course, the most striking case is recounted in today’s Gospel. At the time of Jesus, the region where he was born, Judea, was part of the Roman Empire and was marked by political tensions, cultural diversity, excessive taxes, and corruption. King Herod the Great ruled as a “client king” of Rome; he was an ambitious leader, famous for his great constructions and his cruelty, according to ancient sources. In these conditions, God the Father decided to send his Son.
But this is not just history; it is something that happens to each of us, and sooner or later we must recognize, with shame, that in those moments we failed to embrace the faith to bear witness to the fact that we need to be faithful in the midst of powerlessness, adversity, or the absence of visible results.
The kingdom of Judah was threatened by enemy coalitions (Israel and Syria). In that situation, as the First Reading recounts, God, through Isaiah, offers the young king Ahaz a sign to confirm His protection. But Ahaz is so incredulous that he refuses even to ask for a sign. Despite everything, God himself promises one: the birth of a child, symbolizing the continuity of the Davidic dynasty and the certainty that God accompanies his people in the midst of crisis. To make matters worse, Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz, was not exactly a victorious and invincible king… So, Isaiah’s prophecy has a much greater scope than what happened to the mediocre Ahaz and is indeed fulfilled with the coming of Christ into the world.
To understand the text, it is helpful to remember what “the virgin is with child” means. The meaning of the word “virgin” in the Old Testament is somewhat more varied than we understand today. Of course, a young woman’s virginity was something valuable and esteemed before her marriage. But it also meant dishonor for an adult woman who had not been able to unite with a husband and start a family. For example, when the prophet Isaiah says, Go down and sit in the dust, virgin, Babylon(Isaiah 47:1), he is not saying something beautiful to that aggressive city, but rather announcing its future sterility, a personal misfortune that also meant public shame, as happened to the poor Samaritan woman who spoke to Jesus at the well and was despised for not having managed to start a family.
This gives even more value to Mary’s response to the angel, as it shows her surprise at being considered comparable to one of those “virgins” who were considered of little value, regarded as unworthy by a society that was so harsh and cruel to women.
For us, our attitude toward Mary should not only be one of admiration, but rather of “imitation,” for, like her, we must recognize our smallness and, at the same time, Providence’s determination to choose ordinary people (in our case, perhaps sick, sinful, ignorant, too young or too old) to collaborate in the kingdom of heaven.
—ooOoo—
In today’s Gospel, we are reminded that the name Emmanuel means “God with us.” Christ also said goodbye to his disciples, assuring them that he would be with them until the end of time. Presence is something powerful among human beings and in our relationship with God.
We have all seen a child learning to walk at home. Their steps are uncertain, their hands searching for support in the air. Meanwhile, the father or mother watches from the other corner of the room, offering no advice, just a smile, and waiting with open arms. The child glances sideways and sees the calm figure, steady as a rock. It is not a hug or a speech that sustains him, but the certainty that his father is present. Each stumble becomes less frightening, each step forward more confident. When the child finally reaches his father or mother, he discovers that the help has been the invisible force of a presence that accompanied him.
Also, in 2 Samuel 6:10-11, we read how David no longer wanted to take the ark of the Lord to the city, so he ordered it to be moved to the house of Obed-Edom, a native of Gath. Thus, the ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-Edom for three months, and the Lord blessed Obed-Edom and his entire family. Simply because of the presence of the ark, Obed-Edom’s family is blessed.
When we recite the Hail Mary, we repeat, perhaps without fully savoring what we are saying, the angel’s greeting to Mary: “the Lord is with you.” That was the only thing the young woman from Nazareth had to understand. And St. John the Baptist, pointing to Jesus, insists: Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. The first and most essential thing is to realize that he is already before us.
It is necessary to understand that Christ’s presence is not only generic, “in the Church,” but in every human being. That presence is NOT there to solve our problems. Like a father and mother watching their child take his first steps, his presence confirms or blesses what we are doing, as happened with the Ark in the family of Obed-Edom. How does that presence confirm us? By filling us with joy and asking us to take one more step, as happens with the child.
This happens especially when we serve our neighbor. That explains why St. Paul recommends to the Philippians: Rejoice in the Lord always. I insist: Rejoice! Let your kindness be evident to all. The Lord is near (Phil 4:4-5). This is not a commandment from Paul, but an invitation to live an experience: a kind gesture, a favor done with generosity, generates a special, different kind of joy, which also assures us of the Lord’s closeness.
This closeness is especially relevant when it comes from someone similar to us, someone familiar. In the case of Christ, to ensure our trust, he became human and experienced our same emotions, temptations, joys, and sufferings, including death. He is someone who knows our existence and its difficulties “from within.”
It is similar to what happened in Mary’s Visitation to her relative Elizabeth; a man could help her in her pregnancy, but he would not be able to understand and accept her feelings and her fatigue as Mary did, who was in the same situation and had received the same grace of motherhood.
In fact, Mary’s life is the best example of how this continuous confirmation is manifested, which the Holy Spirit verifies in our lives and to which he always gave his consent: to be a Mother in an unexpected way and at an unexpected time, to leave her city and her country for the sake of her Son, and finally, to see him die in order to receive from him the final mission of caring for us.
We cannot doubt the clarity of this confirmation, even if it sometimes leaves us surprised, perplexed, or frightened. The characteristic seal is that something in our lives must be passed on to others. This can happen in the midst of apathy, hesitation, and disappointment, but Jesus, when he washes the feet of his disciples, setting aside his rights as “Teacher and Lord,” serving humbly and joyfully, feels a joy that invites the disciples to share: Blessed are you if you do this (Jn 13:17).
Some of us see service as an obligation or even a burden, because we are overwhelmed by work and sometimes do not see the fruit we would like to see. But in the life of Jesus, we clearly see that his actions are a seed that cannot die, that will bear fruit in its own time.
This is why St. John Paul II recalled in a General Audience (June 19, 1991):
The Gospel is an invitation to joy and an experience of true and profound joy. Thus, at the Annunciation, Mary is invited to rejoice: “Rejoice, full of grace” (Lk 1:28). This is the culmination of a whole series of invitations made by the prophets in the Old Testament (cf. Zechariah 9:9; Joel 3:14-17; Joel 2:21-27; Isaiah 54:1). Mary’s joy will be fulfilled with the coming of the Holy Spirit, which was announced to her as the reason for her “rejoice.”
—ooOoo—
I would like to conclude by recalling that today we celebrate the feast of the prophet Micah, because he is an example of joy in service.
He was faithful to his prophetic mission: he denounced injustice, defended the poor, and announced the hope of the Messiah. His happiness did not come from external comforts, but from the certainty of serving, fulfilling God’s will, even though his life was not easy.
His sensitivity towards the poor and marginalized marked his message.
He lived in the 8th century BC and was a contemporary of Isaiah and Hosea. He was a farmer from Moresheth, a rural village in Judah. His rural origins allowed him to understand the suffering of the people and to convey the voice of God from the perspective of the humble, for the rich oppressed the poor, there was scandalous corruption in Jerusalem, and there was fear of military threats from Assyria.
He raised his voice against the elites of Jerusalem, criticizing exploitation and idolatry, and announced that the future king, the Messiah who would bring peace, would come from Bethlehem: But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times (Micah 5:1).
His announcement was a source of comfort and joy, for it showed that history did not end in injustice, but in the promise of peace.
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In the Sacred Hearts of Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
Luis CASASUS
President
