Isaiah 52:7-10; Psalm 98:1,2-3a,3b-4,5-6; Hebrews 1:1-6; John 1:1-18.
(Readings for Mass during the day)
Reflection:
“The Word was made flesh, and lived among us!” Each of the three gospels used on this solemnity, try to explain the unexplainable; the eternal uncreated God has put on a created, sinful, mortal, human nature! God is no longer totally distant from humanity, but is totally hidden in creation. The letter to the Hebrews explains that since the beginning God has always engaged in a relationship with humanity. God did this in many ways; creation is itself God’s self-revelation to humanity. In the Old Testament, God sent judges, prophets and leaders to guide the chosen people. Now, ‘… in our own time, the last days, …’ God delivered the message in all its fulness, speaking to us through his Son!
Joseph De Piro is totally enthralled by this mystery of God-among-us; he is totally captivated by the Son’s solidarity with humanity, becoming one like us ‘in all things but sin!’ His spirituality is nourished by his deep understanding of this mystery. In his homilies, the Servant of God often speaks about the Incarnation; the expressions he uses are very significant. On this solemnity of the birth of the Son of God, some of De Piro’s expressions describing the Incarnation are presented below. The original Italian version is being printed alongside the English translation as these expressions are often better understood in the original language.
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Further Readings:
| … discende fra noi … | … comes down amongst us… |
| … amore divino sceso dal cielo … | … divine love, come down from heaven … |
| … la presenza di Dio in mezzo a noi … | … God’s presence in our midst … |
| … scendere dal cielo Iddio onnipotente per divenire uomo come noi … | … God almighty descended from heaven to take on humanity, like us … |
| … Gesù Bambino … | … Baby Jesus … |
| … nacque bambino | … born as a baby … |
| … nato Messia … | … born, a Messiah … |
| … l’incarnazione del Verbo … | … the Incarnation of the Word … |
| … Verbo umanato … | … Word made human (humanified)… |
| … Dio fatto uomo … | … God made man … |
| … si fece uomo … | … became (made himself) man |
| … nell’incarnazione, la natura divina è unita alla natura umana … | … in the Incarnation, divine nature is united to humanity(Tr. Fr Maurice Caruana mssp) |