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.

Reflect:

The genealogy presented in today’s gospel indicates that no event in the history of salvation
is a stand-alone event. Every event as is every birth, is linked to everything else, within the
grand design of God. Mary’s birth, thus, is integrally linked to everything that has gone before and
come after. The Liturgy of the day so highlights: “Let us celebrate with joy the birth of the Virgin
Mary, of who was born the Sun of Justice…. Her birth constitutes the hope and the light of salvation
for the whole world…. Her image is light for the whole Christian people.” St. Augustine underlines
the significance of her birth thus: “She is the flower of the field from whom bloomed the precious
lily of the valley. Through her birth the nature inherited from our first parents is changed.” Mary’s
birth is linked to our lives, through the Son whom she mediated and through whom she became
our Mother as well. It’s our Mother’s birthday today.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2022