HOMILY V. ON THE VIGIL OF THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD.
MATT. I. At that time, when his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.
The birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, by which the eternal Son of God, who existed before all ages, appeared as the son of man in time, is described briefly yet with complete truth by the evangelist Matthew. After tracing the generations of the fathers from Abraham to Joseph, the husband of Mary, and showing all those begotten and begetting in the common order of human creation, he immediately speaks of him whose birth is distinct from the others in a revealing manner; because, indeed, others were born through the usual union of man and woman, but he was to be born through a virgin, fittingly since he is the Son of God entering the world. And indeed, it was wholly fitting that when God willed to become man for the sake of humanity, he would be born of no other than a virgin mother; just as it was fitting for the virgin to bear no other than the Son who is God.
He says, when his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. In what order or in what city this conception took place, the evangelist Luke sufficiently explains; since this is well known to your holiness, it is thus needful to speak briefly of what Matthew writes and to note first in that word which he says: Before they came together, the word "coming together" does not insinuate carnal union but the time usually preceding nuptials, when she who was first betrothed begins to be united in marriage. Therefore, "before they came together" signifies before they celebrated the nuptial solemnities in customary rite, she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, they later came together in the mentioned order, when Joseph, at the command of the angel, took his wife, but they did not consummate, because it follows, and he did not know her. But she was found with child by none other than Joseph, who, having marital rights of a future wife, knew almost everything, therefore, with a curious look he immediately detected her swelling womb.
But Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not willing to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Seeing that his betrothed had conceived, which he knew well had not been by any man, and being just and wishing to act justly in all things, he thought it best neither to disclose this to others nor to take her as his wife, but, with a secretly altered intention of marriage, to allow her to remain in the condition of a betrothed as she was. For he had read in Isaiah that a virgin would conceive and bring forth the Lord from the house of David, and he also knew that Mary was descended from that house, and therefore did not doubt that this prophecy was to be fulfilled in her. But if he were to quietly dismiss her and not take her as his wife and she, being betrothed, were to give birth, very few would believe that she was a virgin and not rather think that she was a harlot. Hence, Joseph’s plan suddenly changed into a better plan, namely that he would, to preserve Mary’s reputation, take her as his wife in a celebrated marriage feast, but he would keep her chaste perpetually. For the Lord preferred that some might be ignorant of the manner of His generation rather than dishonor the chastity of His mother.
While he was considering this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying: Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son, and you will call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. These words indeed teach the manner of conception and the dignity of birth; namely, because she conceived by the Holy Spirit and is going to give birth to Christ, whom the angel does not explicitly call Christ, but in explaining the etymology of the name Jesus, he shows Him to be the author of salvation and the Savior of the people, as he calls them His people. This clearly implies that He is Christ, to teach Joseph what he did not know, and to wholly remove any intention of contact with the Mother of God. However, he is ordered to take her as his wife for just reasons of necessity, so that she would not be stoned by the Jews as an adulteress, and that she would have a male companion while fleeing to Egypt, who, with domestic care, would be both protector of her female frailty and witness to her perpetual virginity. Catholic commentators also disclose other reasons why Joseph had to accept the Mother of God as his wife, which can be found in their proper places. Additionally, the evangelist attributes an example of prophetic speech to the virginal birth, so that the miracle of such majesty would be more confidently believed, since it was proclaimed not only by him but also predicted by the prophet. For it is Matthew's custom to affirm everything he narrates with prophetic testimonies, having written his Gospel mainly for the sake of those who believed from among the Jews, but who, though reborn in Christ, could not be detangled from the ceremonies of the law; and he therefore endeavored to uplift them from the carnal sense of the law and prophets to the spiritual sense concerning Christ, so that they would more securely receive the sacraments of the Christian faith, recognizing these as being what the prophets had foretold. Behold, a virgin will conceive, and will bear a Son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which is interpreted, God with us (Isa. VII). The name of the Savior, which the prophet calls God with us, signifies both natures in one person of Himself. For He who was born of the Father before time, God, is in the fullness of time Emmanuel, that is, God with us, made in the womb of the mother, because He deigned to take the frailty of our nature into the unity of His person, when the Word was made flesh and dwelled among us: marvelously beginning to be what we are, without ceasing to be what He was, thus assuming our nature without losing what He Himself was.
Rising from sleep, Joseph did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took his wife, but did not know her. He took her as his wife for the reasons we have previously stated, and did not know her in a conjugal act due to the mysteries he had learned. But if someone wishes to oppose this explanation and contend that the blessed mother of God was never taken as a wife by Joseph through a celebrated marriage, let him offer a better explanation of this passage of the holy Gospel, and equally show that it was lawful for Jews that anyone should cohabit carnally with his betrothed, and we will readily concede to his sound understanding: as long as we do not believe anything occurred towards the mother of the Lord that could be publicly defamatory. But what is added, "Until she gave birth to her firstborn son," should not be understood as if he knew her after she bore the son, as some perversely believe. Your fraternity should indeed know that there were heretics who believed Mary was known by Joseph after the birth of the Lord, interpreting this from the phrase "he did not know her until she gave birth to a son," and from there arose those whom the Scripture calls the brothers of the Lord, and they support their error with this, that the Lord is called the firstborn. May God avert this blasphemy from the faith of all of us, and grant us to understand with catholic piety that the parents of our Savior were always illustrious for their intact virginity, and that not sons, but cousins, of theirs are called the brothers of the Lord by customary Scriptural usage; but the evangelist did not care to say whether he knew her after she bore a son, because he thought it should be questioned by none. And indeed it should be questioned by no one that the just spouses, to whom, while remaining in the purity of virginity, it was granted by singular grace for the Son of God to be born, could in no way transgress the laws of chastity because of it, and defile the sacred temple of God with the corruption of their seed. It is also to be noted that according to Scripture authority, all who open the womb first are called first-born, regardless of whether they are followed by other brothers or none. Yet the Lord can be understood as called the firstborn for a special reason, according to what John says of him in Revelation: who is the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth (Rev. 1:5). And the apostle Paul: for those he foreknew and predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers (Rom. 8:29). He is called the firstborn of the dead indeed, because although he followed many brothers in the flesh, he was the first of all to rise from the dead and opened the way from death to heavenly life for believers. He is the firstborn among many brothers, because to those who received him, he gave the power to become children of God, and he is rightly called the firstborn of them all, for, though they are adopted children, he even takes precedence in dignity over those who were born before his incarnation. Indeed, they can most truthfully testify with John because he who comes after us has been made before us, that is, though born in the world after us, he is rightly called the firstborn of all of us due to the merit of virtue and kingdom. And in the divine nativity itself, he can not improperly be called the firstborn, for before he begot any creature by making, the eternal Father begot the Son coeternal with himself; before engendering some by redeeming them through the word of truth, the eternal Father begot for himself the Word coeternal with him: whence the Word, the Son of God, namely virtue and wisdom, speaks: I came forth from the mouth of the Most High, the firstborn before all creatures (Eccl. 24:5). Therefore Mary gave birth to her firstborn Son, that is, the son of her substance; she bore him who was born God from God before any creature, and in the nature in which he was created, he rightfully precedes all creation.
And you shall call, he says, his name Jesus. Jesus in Hebrew is called Savior or Soter in Latin; whose calling by this name is made most certain by the prophets, from which are those sung with great desire of his vision: But my soul shall exult in the Lord, and shall delight in his salvation (Psalm XXXV). My soul has fainted for your salvation. But I will glory in the Lord (Psalm CXVIII). I will rejoice in the God of my salvation (Habakkuk III). And especially that: Save me, O God, by your name (Psalm LIII), as if saying: Glorify the glory of your name which is called Savior by saving me. Therefore, Jesus is the name of the son who was born of the virgin, as the angel explained, meaning that he himself saves the people from their sins. And the one who saves from sins will indeed also save from the corruptions of mind and body, which happened because of sins. But Christ is the term of priestly or royal dignity. For even priests and kings in the law were called Christ, from the chrism, that is, the anointing of holy oil, signifying him who appearing in the world as the true king and high priest was anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows. From which anointing, that is chrism, Christ himself; and the partakers of the same anointing, that is, spiritual grace, are called Christians. Who by the fact that he is the Savior, saves us from sins; by the fact that he is the high priest, reconciles us to God the Father; by the fact that he is the king, he deigns to give us the eternal kingdom of his Father, Jesus Christ our Lord, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns God through all ages of ages. Amen.