This struck me in today's Scripture...

Readings: Is 7:10-14; Rom 1:1-7; Mt 1:18-24.

This week we hear the word of "Emmanuel" ("God with us") foretold in Isaiah and echoed in the Matthew's Gospel, that was geared for a Jewish audience that was familiar with the prophecies of Isaiah.

This truth of God-with-us is something we Catholics really understand, especially through the grace of the sacraments... most poignantly through Baptism, where we are baptized in the Name of the Father, Son, and Spirit, as well as in the Eucharist.

To my mind, our lives are to be lived as a holy echo of that presence of God in our lives. I pray that we may truly reflect the light of God-with-us. What a privilege! And what a responsibility. Therefore, we understand the need we have for the ongoing grace that we receive from the sacraments.

From Benedict XVI:

Through him we have received the grace of apostleship, to

bring about the obedience of faith, for the sake of his name,

among all the Gentiles, among whom are you also, who are

called to belong to Jesus Christ; to all the beloved of God in

Rome, called to be holy.

Rm 1:6-7a

The world needs God— 

not just any god 

but the God of Jesus Christ, 

the God who made himself flesh and blood,

who loved us to the point of dying for us, 

who rose and created

within himself room for man.

~Homily at Chrism Mass, Holy Thursday

April 13, 2006