Reflections from Scripture & the Church Fathers
Compiled by Fr. Eric Clark
Pastor, St. Peter Church, Lincoln
Imprimatur
+James D Conley
Bishop of Lincoln
30 November 2021
Introduction
Each year, the Christmas lights go up earlier, the shopping lists get longer and the parties become overwhelming. All for what? Or better yet, all for whom?
In the present secular age and the ‘advent’ of materialism, we must pause and reflect upon the mystery of God becoming man. The Incarnation of Jesus shows humanity the depths of God’s love for us. May we find Him in the fidelity of our vocations just as Mary and Joseph had. May we discover Him in the simplicity of life this Advent just like the shepherds in the field. May we search the mystery of God through wisdom like the Magi from the East. May we seek to find the infant Messiah in the manger through the reflections of this meditation. ‘O come let us adore Him!’
Catechism of the Catholic Church 522
“The coming of God’s Son to earth is an event of such immensity that God willed to prepare for it over centuries. He makes everything converge on Christ: all the rituals and sacrifices, figures and symbols of the “First Covenant.” He announces Him through the mouths of the prophets who succeeded one another in Israel. Moreover, He awakens in the hearts of the pagans a dim expectation of this coming.”
CCC 524
“When the Church celebrates the liturgy of Advent each year, she makes present this ancient expectancy of the Messiah, for by sharing in the long preparation for the Savior’s first coming, the faithful renew their ardent desire for His second coming.”
The Stations of the Nativity devotion is split into three main parts: Lector, Priest, and All. You will find the corresponding indications for the various components:
L: = Lector
P: = Priest
R: = Response by All
O come, O come, Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel, That mourns in lonely exile here, Until the Son of God appear.
(Refrain) Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel Shall come to thee,
O Israel.
O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free Thine own from Satan’s tyranny; From depths of hell Thy people save, And give them victory o’er the grave. (refrain)
O come, Thou Dayspring, from on high, And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh; Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, And death’s dark shadows put to flight. (refrain)
O come, Thou Key of David, come And open wide our heav’nly home; Make safe the way that leads on high, And close the path to misery. (refrain)
O come, Adonai, Lord of might, Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai’s height, In ancient times didst give the law In cloud and majesty and awe. (refrain)
O come, Thou Wisdom from on high, And order all things, far and nigh; To us the path of knowledge show, And cause us in her ways to go. (refrain)
O come, Desire of nations, bind All peoples in one heart and mind; Bid envy, strife and quarrels cease; Fill the whole world with heaven’s peace. (refrain)
Opening Prayer
Priest: “All the oracles of the prophets foretold the Advent of Christ, the Virgin Mother longed for Him with love beyond all telling, John the Baptist sang of His coming and proclaimed His presence when He came.
For He assumed at His first coming the lowliness of human flesh, and so fulfilled the design the Father formed long ago, and opened for us the way to eternal salvation, that, when He comes again in glory and majesty and all is at last made manifest, we who watch for that day may inherit the great promise in which now we dare to hope.
It is by His gift that already we rejoice at the mystery of His nativity, so that He may find us watchful in prayer and exultant in His praise.”
~Adapted from Preface I & II of Advent
I. Announcement of the Birth of John the Baptist
P: The WORD become flesh.
R: And dwelt among us.
L: Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the land with a curse.
Malachi 4:5-6
P: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth; for he will be great before the Lord. He will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
Luke 1:13-15, 17
R: Elijah divided the Jordan; John made it the font of salvation. John walks with the Lord on earth; Elijah appears with the Lord in glory. Elijah is a herald of the first coming of the Lord, and John of the second. Elijah after three years watered the earth with rain, John after three years sprinkled the arid soil of our body with the stream of faith.”
St. Ambrose
II. The Annunciation of Gabriel to Mary
P: The WORD become flesh.
R: And dwelt among us.
L: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the kingdom will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called ‘Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.’ Of the increase of his kingdom and of peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David, and over his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and for evermore.”
Isaiah 9:5-7
P: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His father David. And Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”
Luke 1:30-32, 38
R: “Wonder! God is come among humanity; he who cannot be contained is contained in a womb; the timeless enters time, and great mystery: his conception is without seed, his emptying past telling! So great is this mystery! For God empties himself, takes flesh and is fashioned as a creature, when the angel tells the pure Virgin of her conception: “Rejoice, you who are full of grace; the Lord who has great mercy is with you!”
St. John Damascus
III. The Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth
P: The WORD become flesh.
R: And dwelt among us.
L: “O daughter, you are blessed by the Most High God above all women on earth; and blessed be the Lord God, who created the heavens and the earth, who has guided you to strike the head of the leader of our enemies. Your hope will never depart from the hearts of men, as they remember the power of God. May God grant this to be a perpetual honor to you, and may he visit you with blessings, because you did not spare your own life when our nation was brought low, but have avenged our ruin, walking in the straight path before our God.”
Judith 8:20-21
P: “And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”
Luke 1:41-44
R: “When the voice of Mary’s salutation came to the ears of Elizabeth, the babe John leaped in the womb of his mother, who then received the Holy Spirit, as it were, from the ground. Similarly, John sees Jesus coming to him and says, ‘Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.’ For with regard to matters of great moment one is first instructed by hearing and afterwards one sees them with one’s own eyes.”
Origen
VI. The Birth of John the Baptist
P: The WORD become flesh.
R: And dwelt among us.
L: “Behold, I send my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?”
Malachi 3:1-2
P: “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people in the forgiveness of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God.”
Luke 1:76-78
R: “John is greater than the other prophets for this reason: the other prophets predicted to John that someone was to come, but John pointed out with his finger that He had indeed come, saying, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.’ And he reached not only the rank of a prophet but even to that of Baptist, by baptizing his Lord. This heightened his significance. He thereby fulfilled the prophecy of Malachi in which an angel is foretold. John belonged to the order of the angels not by nature but by the importance of his task. It means he was the messenger who would announce the coming of the Lord.”
St. Jerome
V. St. Joseph’s Dream
P: The WORD become flesh.
R: And dwelt among us.
L: “For as a young man marries a virgin, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.”
Isaiah 62:5
P: “An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
Matthew 1:20-21
R: “It was as if the angel were saying to Joseph, “Do not imagine that, because He is conceived of the Holy Spirit, that you have no part in the ministry of this new dispensation. In the conception you had no part. You never touched the virgin. Nevertheless I am giving you what pertains to a father. I give you the honor of giving a name to the One who is to be born. For you, Joseph, shall name Him. For though the offspring is not your own, yet you are called to exhibit a father’s care toward Him. So on this occasion, at this moment of giving Him a name, you stand in significant relation with the One who is born.”
St. John Chrysostom
VI. The Nativity of Jesus
P: The WORD become flesh.
R: And dwelt among us.
L: “He shall cry to me, ‘Thou art my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’ And I will make Him the first-born, the highest of the kings of the earth. My steadfast love I will keep for Him for ever, and my covenant will stand firm for Him.”
Psalm 89:26-28
P: “And while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered. And she gave birth to her first-born Son and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.”
Luke 2:6-7
R: “It should be noted that the sign given of the Savior’s birth is not a child enfolded in Tyrian purple, but one wrapped with rough pieces of cloth. He is not to be found in an ornate golden bed, but in a manger. The meaning of this is that he did not merely take upon Himself our lowly mortality, but for our sakes took upon Himself the clothing of the poor. Though He was rich, yet for our sake He became poor, so that by His poverty we might become rich. Though He was Lord of heaven, He became a poor man on earth, to teach those who lived on earth that by poverty of spirit they might win the kingdom of heaven.”
St. Bede
VII. The Shepherds at the Manger
P: The WORD become flesh.
R: And dwelt among us.
L: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings glad tidings, Announcing peace, bearing good news, announcing salvation, and saying to Zion, “Your God is King!”
Isaiah 52:7
P: “An angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
Luke 2:9-12
R: “For in a mystery, those shepherds, and their flocks, signify all teachers and guides of faithful souls. The night in which they were keeping watch over their flocks, indicates the dangerous temptations from which they never cease to keep themselves, and those placed under their care. Well also at the birth of our Lord do shepherds watch over their flocks; for He was born who says, ‘I am the good Shepherd’ but the time also was at hand in which the same Shepherd was to recall His scattered sheep to the pastures of life.”
St. Bede
VIII. The Circumcision & Naming of Jesus
P: The WORD become flesh.
R: And dwelt among us.
L: “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a young woman shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
Isaiah 7:13-14
P: “And at the end of eight days, when He was circumcised, He was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.”
Luke 2:21
R: “Christians are seen to draw their courage not from incantations but from the name of Jesus and from the commemoration of what He has done. For by His name it has happened very often that demons are put to flight from people, especially whenever they, who invoke them, pronounce them with the right disposition and with all trust. So great indeed is the power of the name of Jesus that sometimes it is efficacious even when spoken by the wicked. The name of Jesus heals the afflicted in mind, puts to flight the spirits of darkness, and to the sick is an ever present remedy.”
Origen
IX. The Visit of the Magi
P: The WORD become flesh.
R: And dwelt among us.
L: “Then you shall see and be radiant, your heart shall thrill and rejoice; because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you. A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.”
Isaiah 60:5-6
P: “When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; and going into the house they saw the child with Mary His mother, and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered Him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.”
Matthew 2:10-11
R: “They recognized Him at once. They opened their treasure chests. They displayed their offerings, gifts in themselves fit for nations to give. For, realizing that He was king, they offered Him their elegant and costly first fruits, fit for the Holy One. They offered Him gold they had stored up for themselves. Moreover, recognizing His divine and heavenly coming to them, they made an offering of frankincense, a beautiful gift like the soothing speech of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, understanding as they did that human life is but a sepulcher, they offered myrrh.”
Anonymous
X. The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple
P: The WORD become flesh.
R: And dwelt among us.
L: “Once Samuel was weaned, she brought him up with her.. and presented him at the temple of the LORD in Shiloh... Hannah, his mother, approached Eli and said: “Pardon, my lord! As you live my lord, I am the woman who stood near you here, praying to the LORD. I prayed for this child, and the LORD granted my request. Now I, in turn, give him to the LORD; as long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the LORD.”
1 Samuel 1:24-28
P: “And when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”
Luke 2:22-24
R: Mary, God’s blessed mother and a perpetual virgin, was, along with the Son she bore, most free from all subjection to the law...Our Lord and Savior, who in his divinity was the one who gave the law, when He appeared as a human being, willed to be under the law.… So too His blessed mother, who by a singular privilege was above the law, nevertheless did not shun being made subject to the principles of the law for the sake of showing us an example of humility.”
St. Bede
XI. The Meeting of Simeon and Anna in the Temple
P: The WORD become flesh.
R: And dwelt among us.
L: “Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her service is at an end, her guilt is expiated; Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all mankind shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
Isaiah 40:1-2, 5
P: “Simeon took Jesus into his arms and blessed God, saying: ‘Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.”
Luke 2:28-32
R: “Simeon and Anna, a man and a woman of advanced age, greeted the Lord with the devoted services of their professions of faith. As they saw Him, He was small in body, but they understood Him to be great in His divinity. Figuratively speaking, this denotes the synagogue, the Jewish people, who, wearied by the long awaiting of His incarnation, were ready with both their arms (their pious actions) and their voices (their unfeigned faith) to exalt and magnify Him as soon as he came. They were ready to acclaim Him and say, “Direct me in your truth and teach me, for you are my saving God, and for you I have waited all the day (Ps. 25:5).”
St. Bede
XII. The Flight into Egypt
P: The WORD become flesh.
R: And dwelt among us.
L: “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.”
Hosea 11:1
P:“Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and His mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there till I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” And he rose and took the child and His mother by night, and departed to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod.”
Matthew 2:13-15
R: “His flight then was not occasioned by fear but by what had come through the mystery of prophecy. Christ fled so that He might establish the truth of the law, faith in prophecy and the testimony of the Psalter. The Lord Himself says, ‘It was needful that what was written in the law and the prophets and the psalms be fulfilled by me.’ Christ fled for us, not for Himself. Christ fled so that at the right time He might serve as a steward of the sacraments [the divine mysteries]. Christ fled so that by granting absolution He might take away the source of abuses to come and that He might give proof of faith to those who would believe. And finally, Christ fled so that He might bestow on us faith even when we have to flee, because in the face of persecution it is better to flee than to deny the faith. For Peter, because he was unwilling to flee, denied the Lord. John, lest he deny the Lord, fled.”
St. Peter Chrysologus
XIII. The Massacre of the Innocent
P: The WORD become flesh.
R: And dwelt among us.
L: “Thus says the Lord: “A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are not.” Thus says the Lord: “Keep your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears; for your work shall be rewarded, says the Lord, and they shall come back from the land of the enemy.”
Jeremiah 31:15-16
P: “Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, was in a furious rage, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time which he had ascertained from the wise men.”
Matthew 2:16
R: “In Bethlehem therefore all the babies were slain. These innocents who died then on Christ’s behalf became the first martyrs of Christ. For in this persecution even tiny infants and nursing babies were killed on Christ’s behalf and attained to the consummate praise of martyrs. Meanwhile the wicked king Herod was destroyed, he who had usurped the realm to defend himself against the king of the heavens. Thus it is that those blessed babes have deservedly lasted beyond others. They were the first who were worthy to die on Christ’s behalf.”
St. Chromatius
XIV. The Return to Nazareth
P: The WORD become flesh.
R: And dwelt among us.
L: “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.” Isaiah 11:1-3
P: “When Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, “Rise, take the child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.” And he went and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”
Matthew 2:19-20, 23
R: “The term nazareus has the meaning of ‘flower’ or ‘clean.’ The Son of God made incarnate for us can properly be named by this term, both because He adopted the nature of a human being clean from all vices and because in Him the font and origin of spiritual fruits came forth for all believers, since to them He both pointed out examples and granted the fruits of living properly and blessedly.”
St. Bede
Concluding Prayer:
P: “O God, who wonderfully created the dignity of human nature and still more wonderfully restored it, grant, we pray, that we may share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled Himself to share in our humanity.
For on the feast of this awe-filled mystery, though invisible in His own divine nature, Jesus has appeared visibly in ours; and begotten before all ages, He has begun to exist in time; so that, rising up in Himself all that was cast down, He might restore unity to all creation and call straying humanity back to the heavenly Kingdom.”
~Adapted from Preface II of Christmas & Christmas Day Collect
O Come All Ye Faithful
Joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye
to Bethlehem.
Come and behold Him,
Born the King of Angels;
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.
O Sing, choirs of angels,
Sing in exultation, Sing all that hear in heaven God’s holy word. Give to our Father
glory in the Highest;
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.
All Hail! Lord, we greet Thee,
Born this happy morning,
O Jesus! for evermore
be Thy name adored.
Word of the Father,
now in flesh appearing;
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.
References
Luke in Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. (A. A. Just, Ed.) Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2005.
Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd Ed.). Washington, DC: United States Catholic Conference, 2000.
The New American Bible: Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, 1996.
Matthew 1–13 in Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. (M. Simotti, Ed.) Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press., 2001.
The Roman Missal (3rd Ed.). Washington, DC: Catholic Book Publishing, 2011.
Alma Redemptoris Mater
Holy mother of our Redeemer, thou gate leading to heaven and star of the sea; help the falling people who seek to rise, thou who, all nature wondering, didst give birth to thy holy Creator. Virgin always, hearing the greeting from Gabriel’s lips, take pity on sinners.
Father Anthony Bedient led the stations at St. Peter Church Dec. 3. SNR photos/Cathy Blankenau Bender
