“Merciful Father, as you have sent the Holy Spirit on Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, to write all that You wished and wanted, we pray You, send the same Holy Spirit on us, so that we may understand, appreciate Your Word, and make it our plan of life. This we ask for the merits of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.”
39 …. The Biblical Witness for the Virginal Conception of Jesus.
St.Matthew presents the ‘witness’….St. Joseph, the privileged witness to this Divine Conception. Joseph, a ‘just’ man (Mt.1, 19) was extremely disturbed when he realized that his beloved spouse was pregnant. After much thought…and praying… I would add … he decided that he should not expose her and send her away in secret (Mt.1,19).
This is how St.Jerome explains this mental turmoil of Joseph, quoting the Law: ‘he who would be conscious of the breaking of the Law, without reporting it, to the authority, would be considered as an accomplice in the guilt.’ Have we ever stopped to think what Joseph went through? How he must have wrecked his brain thinking about the how, the why, the who, was the cause of his beloved young bride’s pregnancy? He was sure of himself. So who could it be?
That is why Joseph is the real, true, genuine witness of Mary, and her pregnancy. Notwithstanding all the signs and indications of Mary’s maternity, he never doubted Mary’s holiness and chastity. In front of this dilemma of Maternity and Virginity, Joseph would never go about proclaiming, making headlines of this news. He preferred to remain ‘silent’ in face of this ‘mystery’ which, he could not understand. That is the reason for his decision not to expose her and send her away without anybody’s knowledge.
It was in the thick of this mental battle, mental darkness, that the Lord sent His messenger, the Angel, to inform and comfort Joseph about the Mystery of Mary. “Joseph, son of David, fear not to take Mary as your wife, for that which is in her, is the fruit of the Holy Spirit.” (Mt. 1,20) This message was a strong beacon of light to shed a powerful light on the mystery of Mary.
Matthew concludes this chapter by declaring that the Virginal Conception was the fulfillment of all the prophecies of old…spanning almost six hundred years, in the words: “See, the maiden will conceive, give birth to a son, and He will be called Emmanu-el”. (Mt.1, 22-23)
‘Emmanu’ means ‘with us’, ‘el’ means ‘God’, very similar to the Maltese: ‘Magħna Hu Alla’, meaning ‘Emmanu el’, that is ‘God is with us’.
Certain Information taken, with kind permission, from the book “Who is Mary” by H.G.Mons. Sylvester Magro ofm, Bishop of Benghazi. A very dear friend.
No comments:
Post a Comment