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“silent night” Elizabeth “went into seclusion for five months.” —Luke 1:24 After conceiving St. John the Baptizer, Elizabeth went into seclusion. As her husband could not speak nor hear, it was undoubtedly a quiet period for her. When the Blessed Virgin Mary arrived in Elizabeth’s sixth month of pregnancy (Lk 1:36, 39), Elizabeth must have been overjoyed to have a companion with whom to share her holy joy, much less to have the mother of the Lord in her midst. Elizabeth’s husband Zechariah spent nine months in silence, reflecting in wonder at the gradual, visible growth of his s...

father’s day “Joseph...an upright man...” —Matthew 1:19 St. Joseph would have likely heard today’s first reading and psalm response at some point in his life. Perhaps he had even committed them to memory. Little did he suspect when he initially heard these passages proclaimed that he one day would be raising and rearing the King prophesied in these readings. Yet Joseph surely imitated and emulated the qualities attributed to this King, for the Gospel describes Joseph as a righteous man (Mt 1:19). In his home and in his personal life, Joseph lived this kingly righteousness and modele...

family matters “A family record of Jesus Christ...” —Matthew 1:1 Wait! Don’t skip the genealogy! Because we love the Lord, we can’t wait to learn more about Him. Here are a few things God reveals about Himself in St. Matthew’s genealogy: Jesus Christ is “truly God and truly man,” God made man (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, 467-468, 470). Jesus is God, the Messiah, born of a virgin (Mt 1:16, 18). Family comes first — these are the first verses of the New Testament, and God can’t wait to introduce His family. God works through people — lots of them. God loves fami...

the only one “I am God; there is no other!” —Isaiah 45:22 Does your life and Christmas depend on anyone or anything other than Jesus? The Lord says: “I am the Lord, there is no other” (Is 45:6, 18, 22). The Lord proclaims there is no other god besides Him (Is 45:21). He says: “There is no just and saving God but Me” (Is 45:21). The first of the Ten Commandments says: “You shall not have other gods besides Me” (Ex 20:3; Dt 5:7). Therefore, we should pray and live: “Only in God is my soul at rest; from Him comes my salvation. He only is my Rock and my Salvation, my Stronghol...

no-know “We do not know.” —Matthew 21:27 Balaam called himself the man who “knows what the Most High knows” (Nm 24:4, 16). He was so highly regarded for his ability as a fortune-teller that nations sent large delegations of dignitaries with large amounts of money to obtain his services (Nm 22:6-7, 15). Yet this man who “sees what the Almighty sees” (Nm 24:16) couldn’t even get the picture when his donkey began to talk to him! (Nm 22:28ff) He had to admit that he “did not know that” God opposed His greedy plot against Israel (Nm 22:34). The Jewish religious leaders were als...