Cristy Li

“The virgin is with Child, shall bear a Son and shall call Him Immanuel.” –Isaiah 7:14 (NRSVCE)

Mary gave birth to her firstborn Son, wrapped Him in bands of cloth and laid Him in a manger
because there was no place for them in the inn. –Luke 2:7
Image Courtesy: Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word

The Birth of Jesus The Messiah

The birth of Jesus Christ The Messiah took place in this way. When His mother Mary had been

engaged to Joseph but before they lived together, she was found to be with Child from the Holy

Spirit. Her husband Joseph being a righteous man and unwilling to expose Mary to public

disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly but just when he had resolved to do this, an Angel of

the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take

Mary as your wife, for the Child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit, she will bear a Son

and you are to name Him Jesus for He will save His people from their sins.” All this took place

to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the Prophet Isaiah:

“Look. the Virgin is with Child and shall bear a Son
and shall name Him Immanuel,” (Isaiah 7:14)

which means, “God is with us.” When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the Angel of the Lord

commanded him; He took Mary as his wife but had no marital relations with her until she

borne a Son and He named Him Immanuel. –Matthew11825

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“Blessed are you among women and Blessed is the Fruit of your womb.” –Luke 1:42B (NRSVCE)

Mary Visits Elizabeth

Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country where she entered the

house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child

leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry,

“Blessed are you among women and blessed is the Fruit of your womb and why has this

happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of

your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who believed that there

would be fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”

Mary’s Song of Praise

Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God My Savior, for He has looked with favor on the lowliness of His servant. Surely from now on all generations will call me blessed; For the Mighty One has done great things for me and Holy is His Name. His mercy is for those who fear Him from generation-to-generation. He has shown strength with His arm, He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly; He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, according to the promise He made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.” (Psalm 132:11)

Mary remained with Elizabeth about three months and then returned home. –Luke 1:39-56

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“Look, the young woman is with Child, shall bear a Son
and shall name Him Immanuel.” –Isaiah 7:14 (NRSVCE) Image Courtesy: EWTN

The Birth of Jesus the Messiah

Now the Birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When His mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph but before they lived together, she was found to be with Child from the Holy Spirit.

Mary’s husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose Mary to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly but just when he had resolved to do this, an Angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the Child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit, she will bear a Son and you are to name him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the Prophet: (Isaiah)

“Look, the young woman is with Child, shall bear a Son and shall name Him Immanuel,”
(Isaiah 7:14) which means, “God is with us.”

When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the Angel of the Lord commanded him; Joseph took Mary as his wife but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a Son and he named Him Jesus. –Matthew 1:18-25

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“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because He has anointed me
to bring Good News to the poor.” –Luke 4:18A

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The Lord Will Come; Go Out to Meet Him!
He is the Prince of Peace.  Image Courtesy: EWTN

God The Creator and Redeemer

Hear this O House of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel and who came forth from the

loins of Judah, who swear by the name of the Lord and invoke the God of Israel but not in truth

or right (righteousness) For they call themselves after the Holy City and lean on the God of

Israel, the Lord of hosts is His name.

The former things I declared long ago, they went out from My mouth and I made them known;

then suddenly I did them and they came to pass. Because I know that you are obstinate, your

neck is an iron sinew and your forehead brass, I declared them to you from long ago before

they came to pass, I announced them to you, so you would not say, ‘My idol did them, my

carved image and my cast image commanded them.’

You have heard; Now see this and will you not declare it? From this time forward I make you

hear new things, hidden things that you have not known. They are created now, not long ago;

before today you have not heard them, so that you could not say, ‘I already know them.’ You

have never heard, you have never known, from of old your ear has not been opened. For I knew

that you would deal very treacherously and that from birth you were call a rebel.

For My Name’s sake I defer My anger, for the sake of praise I restrain it for you, so that I may

not cut you off. See I have refined you but not like silver; I have tested you in the furnace of

adversity. For My own sake, for My own sake, I do it, for why should My Name be profaned? My

glory I will not give to another.

Listen to Me, O Jacob and Israel, whom I called: I am He, I am the first and I am the last. My

hand laid the foundation of the earth and My right hand spread out the heavens; When I

summon them, they stand at attention.

Assemble, all of you and hear! Who among them has declared these things?

The Lord loves him; He shall perform His purpose on Babylon and His arm shall be against the

Chaldeans. I, even I have spoken and called Him, I have brought Him and he will prosper in his

way.

Draw near to me, hear this! From the beginning I have not spoken in secret, from the time it

came to be I have been there and now the Lord God has sent me and His Spirit.

Thus says the Lord, Your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, I am the Lord Your God, who

teaches you for your own good, who leads you in the way you should go.

O that you had paid attention to My Commandments! Then your prosperity would have been

like a river and your success like the waves of the sea; Your offspring would have been like the

sand and your descendants like its grains; their name would never be cut off or destroyed from

before Me.

Go out from Babylon, flee from the Chaldea, declare this with a shout of joy and proclaim it,

send it forth to the end of the earth; Say, ‘The Lord has redeemed His servant Jacob!’ They did

not thirst when He led them through the deserts; He made water flow for them from the rock;

He split open the rock and the water gushed out.

“There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.” –Isaiah 48:1-22

The Two Ways

Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked or take the path that sinners tread,

or sit in the seat of scoffers but their delight is in the Law of the Lord and on His Law they

meditate day and night. They are like trees, planted by streams of water, which yield fruit in its

season and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do they prosper.

The wicked are not so but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will

not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous but the way of the wicked will perish.

–Psalm 1:1-6

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