Every Catholic Man - Sunday Gospel Bible Study
Learn more about how a man can grow in happiness at EveryCatholicMan.com, including daily Gospel devotions from the Mass for every day of the year. The EveryCatholicMan.com podcast can help a man draw closer to Jesus Christ, learn the Catholic faith and grow in happiness by becoming a better Catholic Son and Catholic Father. In every episode, a man can hear the Gospel reading from the Holy Catholic Mass, hear what Jesus is accomplishing, discover what can lead a man to be more awed by Jesus Christ, grow in happiness, learn from the Catechism, and take action to practice what Jesus and the Catholic Church is teaching in the Gospel. Matthew James Christoff is a Catholic convert and evangelist of Catholic men. Matthew's extensive work to help Catholic men draw closer to Jesus Christ and grow in happiness can be found at EveryCathoilcMan.com. At EveryCatholicMan.com can find daily Gospel devotions from the Mass for every day of the year and a comprehensive set of tools that can help a man grow in holiness and happiness. Matthew is a co-founder of the Catholic Men's Leadership Alliance and HeroicMen.com, the founder of the New Evangelization Project and CatholicManNight.com, and is featured in the Knights of Columbus Into the Breach Video Series. Matthew's professional career includes being a strategy consultant for Fortune 50 companies and a brand manager in a major consumer products company. Matthew has a Masters in Theology from the Augustine Institute, a Masters in Business and a Civil Engineering degree from Purdue University. Matthew is married to his childhood sweetheart, has four married adult children and grandchildren.
Every Catholic Man - Sunday Gospel Bible Study
Episode 217 - The astounding human lineage of Jesus Christ reveals that He is the Son of Abraham, Son of David and Son of St. Joseph, a hidden king - The Nativity of Our Lord - Vigil Mass - December 24, 2024 - Mt 1:1-25
The astounding human lineage of Jesus Christ reveals that He is the Son of Abraham, Son of David and Son of St. Joseph, a hidden king. Every Catholic man can grow in happiness by seeking the Fruits of Chastity and Modesty and by building the Virtue of Duty so he can strive to fulfill his duty as a Catholic father.
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The astounding human lineage of Jesus Christ reveals that He is the Son of Abraham, Son of David and Son of St. Joseph, a hidden king. Every Catholic man can grow in happiness by seeking the Fruits of Chastity and Modesty and by building the Virtue of Duty so he can strive to fulfill his duty as a Catholic father.
Commentary
The genealogy of Jesus reveals that Jesus is the son of David, and the son of Abraham; this is a profound claim that Jesus is the Messiah. Abraham, the patriarch chosen by God to begin the redemption of mankind, was blessed with the miraculous birth of his son Isaac to the barren Sarah to fulfill God’s promise, “…through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed” (Gen 22:18). David, the descendant of Abraham and greatest King of Israel, will be the kingly ancestor into whose royal lineage Jesus is born; His kingdom will have no end (2 Sam 7).
The lineage of Jesus confirms the absolute importance of patriarchy (rule of men), but surprisingly includes four Gentile women (Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and the wife of Uriah), which prefigure Jesus’ mission to save both Jews and Gentiles alike. Confirming Jesus’ miraculous birth to the Blessed Virgin Mary, while all those in the genealogy are identified as, “father of”, St. Joseph is revealed to be “husband of” Mary, not “father of” Jesus, confirming St. Joseph’s legal, but not biological, fatherhood.
The Gospel of Matthew summarizes the more detailed Infancy Narrative of Luke (Lk 1-2). Prior to the miraculous conception of Jesus, the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph are betrothed; in ancient Judaism, couples were formally married but lived apart and did not consummate their marriage for up to a year. During this period of abstinence, with the Blessed Virgin Mary’s fiat, Jesus is conceived in her womb by the Holy Spirit. Mary, the Immaculate Conception, perfectly compelling and truthful, perhaps told St. Joseph; Jesus, present in the Blessed Virgin Mary’s womb, would also have convinced Joseph of His presence (as He does with Elizabeth and John the Baptist – Lk 1:41-45). St. Joseph, strengthened by an angel, overcomes his preliminary reluctance, perfectly fulfilling his duty as the head of the Holy family, becomes the husband of the Mother of God and the earthly father of God.
Be awed by Jesus Christ
Be awed by the mysterious ancestral lineage of Jesus: God creates man in His image and likeness, making the Incarnation possible (humanity is “God-shaped”); Jesus’ human lineage traces all the way back to the very first man, Adam (Lk 3:38); the greatest humans in history, including King David, are in the bloodline of Jesus; St. Joseph is of kingly lineage as a Son of David, a hidden king; Jesus, the Son of David, is a Divine Person who enters into human history as both God and the world’s greatest King.
Live with heroic Chastity and Modesty
Realize: A great and beautiful mystery and dogma of Christ’s Holy Catholic Church is the truth that the Blessed Virgin Mary was “ever virgin.”
Believe: Reflect upon Our Queen’s Perfect Virginity and Motherhood (CCC 487-507).
Pray: Holy Spirit, give me the Fruits of Chastity and Modesty so I always seek purity in my thoughts, words and deeds, and help me live a life which imitates the heroic and beautiful purity of Jesus, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and St. Joseph.
Strive to fulfill your duty as a Catholic father
Realize: Modern society denigrates men and the essential need for fathers.
Believe: Reflect upon the truth that God the Father insisted that His Only Son have an earthly father, St. Joseph (CCC 437, 532).
Pray: Jesus, Son of Joseph, help me build the Virtue of Duty/Responsibility (a part of Justice) so I continue to grow in confidence and competence as a spiritual father who fulfills my duty to draw my family and many others to You and Your Holy Catholic Church.