A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew 2:1-12
1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, 2 “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it is written by the prophet: 6 `And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will govern my people Israel.'” 7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star appeared; 8 and he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” 9 When they had heard the king they went their way; and lo, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; 11 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. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
Latest Special Medjugorje Message, January 2, 2010
Our Lady’s apparitions to Mirjana
“Dear children, today I am calling you to set out with me, with complete trust and love, because I desire to acquaint you with my Son. Do not be afraid, my children; I am here with you, I am next to you. I am showing you the way to forgive yourselves, to forgive others, and, with sincere repentance of heart, to kneel before the Father. Make everything die in you that hinders you from loving and saving – that you may be with Him and in Him. Decide for a new beginning, a beginning of sincere love of God Himself. Thank you.”
The first Constitution on the Church clarifies that the Council does not consider the Church as a reality closed in on itself, but in reference to Christ. “Christ is the light of peoples, and this sacred Council, met together in the Holy Spirit, ardently desires that the light of Christ, reflected on the face of the Church, should illuminate all men and women…”
In the background we recognise an image from the theology of the Fathers, which sees the Church as the moon, not giving off its own light, but transmitting the light of Christ’s sun. Ecclesiology is shown to be dependent on Christology, and linked to it.
Seeing as no one can speak correctly about Christ, about the Son, without at the same time speaking of the Father, and seeing that we cannot speak correctly about the Father and the Son without listening to the Holy Spirit, the Christological vision of the Church is necessarily broadened into a Trinitarian ecclesiology (LG 2-4). The discourse on the Church is a discourse about God, and only in this way is it correct.
Card. Joseph Ratzinger
L’ecclesiologia della Costituzione Lumen gentium
Nuova Umanità 22 (2000/3-4) p. 396
(published by the Priestly Branch of the Focolare Movement)
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