18 December 2025 (Thursday)
Advent Weekday / Thursday of the Third Week of Advent.
Readings from the Bible of the Roman Catholic Church:
First Reading: Jeremiah 23: 5-8
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 72: 1-2, 12-13, 18-19
Gospel: Matthew 1: 18-25
First Reading: Jeremiah 23: 5-8
5 Behold the days come, saith the Lord, and I will raise up to David a just branch: and a king shall reign, and shall be wise, and shall execute judgement and justice in the earth.
6 In those days shall Juda be saved, and Israel shall dwell confidently: and this is the name that they shall call him: the Lord our just one.
7 Therefore behold the days to come, saith the Lord, and they shall say no more: The Lord liveth, who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt:
8 But the Lord liveth, who hath brought out, and brought hither the seed of the house of Israel from the land of the north, and out of all the lands, to which I had cast them forth: and they shall dwell in their own land.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 72: 1-2, 12-13, 18-19
R. (7) Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
1, 2 Give to the king thy judgment, O God: and to the king’s son thy justice: To judge thy people with justice, and thy poor with judgment.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
12 For he shall deliver the poor from the mighty: and the needy that had no helper.
13 He shall spare the poor and needy: and he shall save the souls of the poor.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
18 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone doth wonderful things.
19 And blessed be the name of his majesty for ever: and the whole earth shall be filled with his majesty. So be it. So be it.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
O Leader of the House of Israel, giver of the Law to Moses on Sinai: come to rescue us with your mighty power!
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: Matthew 1: 18-25
18 Now the generation of Christ was in this wise. When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child, of the Holy Ghost.
19 Whereupon Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing publicly to expose her, was minded to put her away privately.
20 But while he thought on these things, behold the angel of the Lord appeared to him in his sleep, saying: Joseph, son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her, is of the Holy Ghost.
21 And she shall bring forth a son: and thou shalt call his name JESUS. For he shall save his people from their sins.
22 Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which the Lord spoke by the prophet, saying:
23 Behold a virgin shall be with child, and bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
24 And Joseph rising up from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him, and took unto him his wife.
25 And he knew her not till she brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.
For our reflection today:
The Holy Father said the day’s Gospel reading (Mt 1:18-25) presents Joseph as “a righteous man, who observed the Law, worked hard, was humble, and loved Mary.” When first faced with something he did not understand, “he preferred to step back” but “God revealed to him his mission.” So St. Joseph took up his new role wholeheartedly, and helped raise the Son of God, “in silence, without judging, without speaking poorly of others, and without gossiping.”
“He helped him grow and develop. So he looked for a place for the child to be born. He looked after him, helped him grow, and taught him to work: many things… in silence. He never took possession of the child for himself. He silently let him grow. He let him grow: This idea could help us immensely, we who by nature always want to stick our noses in everything, especially in the lives of others… And we start gossiping, talking… But he let him grow, silently watching over him and helping him.”
Pope Francis said many parents have the wise attitude of caring for their children without being overbearing. He said they have the capacity to wait, without immediately yelling if the child makes a mistake. It’s important to know how to wait, he said, before saying something to help them grow. God, the Pope said, has the same patient attitude with His children, since He waits in silence.
Man of dreams.
The Holy Father also explored St. Joseph’s capacity to dream, saying he was a practical man but kept his heart open like “a man of dreams” and not like “a dreamer”. “Dreams are a privileged place to seek after truth, because there we cannot defend ourselves against the truth. They come, and God speaks through dreams. Not always, because often it is our subconscious that comes forth, but many times God choses to speak through dreams. He often did so in the Bible. In dreams. But Joseph was a man of dreams, but not a dreamer, okay? He wasn’t abstract. A dreamer is something different. It’s someone who believes… goes off… has his head in the clouds, and doesn’t have his feet on the ground. Joseph had his feet on the ground. But he was open-minded.”
Don’t lose the ability to dream.
Finally, Pope Francis invited us not to lose the ability to dream and to open ourselves to tomorrow with trust, despite the difficulties that may come. “Don’t lose the ability to dream the future. Each of us needs to dream about our family, our children, and our parents: to imagine how I would like their lives to go. Priests, too, need to dream about what we want for the faithful. Dream as the young dream, who are ‘unabashed’ in their dreams and find their path there. Do not lose the ability to dream, because to dream is to open the door to the future. Be fruitful in the future.” (Pope at Mass: ‘St. Joseph raises Jesus in silence').
Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,
Most High Servant,
Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love (Blessed and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)
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