04 - 4th Week of Advent

Sunday Summary

Micah 5:1-4 -  This prophesies the coming of Jesus , who is to be the Peace and Shepherd of God's people

(Letter/Epistle of St Paul to the) Hebrews 10:5-10 - This tells us that Jesus became man to do the will of the Father and to be the Offering and Sacrifice once and for all.

Luke 1:39-45 - This is the story of the visit of Mary to her cousin, Elizabeth (who was pregnant with St John the Baptist),

Who is...?

Micah (8th century BC)

• A prophet whose name means "Who is like Yahweh?"

• His prophecies were about the future of Judah/Israel after the Babylonian exile (when the Israelites were conquered by the Babylonians, taken out from Jerusalem, and brought/exiled to Babylon).

• More info about Micah

Hebrews

• The two main themes of the Book of Hebrews are The Supremacy of Christ, and Perseverance in Christ, especially in the face of persecution.

• From EWTN, St. Paul wrote this Epistle to the Christians in Palestine, the most part of whom being Jews before their conversion, they were called Hebrews.

• More information about this Epistle from the USCCB Online Bible and EWTN.

Judah

• He is the fourth son of Jacob and Leah.  Jacob's name changed to Israel (means "Wrestles with God") in Genesis 32:29.

• The Israelites (Israel's descendants) grew in great number when they were in Egypt. These were called the 12 Tribes of Israel.  One of the tribes is called Judah. The Israelites travelled from Egypt to the Canaan, the Promised Land (with Jerusalem as their main city, which remains until today in the country of Israel). The Israelites settled in Canaan and divided the land according to the 12 Tribes. One area was then named Judah.

• His descendants are called Jews.

Zechariah

• The husband of Elizabeth.

• The father of St John the Baptist

Elizabeth

• Cousin of Mary

• The mother of St John the Baptist

Luke

• He was a physician. He was a disciple of St Paul. 

• He wrote the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts (or Acts of the Apostles).

• Short video about St Luke (2 minutes 21 seconds)

John the Baptist

• He is the cousin of Jesus. 

• His mother is Elizabeth, whom Mary visited. Both were pregnant with their respective sons. (Luke 1:39-45)

• He encouraged the Jews to repent. This was marked by the baptism in the Jordan River.  He baptized many Jews including Jesus. (Matthew 3:13-17)

Basic Message

Mary -- Bearer of Good News.

Opening the Word Podcast from AmenApp.org (6:17)

Dig deeper into this Sunday's Readings and Gospel with teachings from Brant Pitre.

Saints