The List

Monday of the Third Week of Advent

The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham begot Isaac. And Isaac begot Jacob. And Jacob begot Judas and his brethren. And Judas begot Phares and Zara of Thamar. And Phares begot Esron. And Esron begot Aram. And Aram begot Aminadab. And Aminadab begot Naasson. And Naasson begot Salmon. And Salmon begot Booz of Rahab. And Booz begot Obed of Ruth. And Obed begot Jesse. And Jesse begot David the king. And David the king begot Solomon, of her that had been the wife of Urias. And Solomon begot Roboam. And Roboam begot Abia. And Abia begot Asa. And Asa begot Josaphat. And Josaphat begot Joram. And Joram begot Ozias. And Ozias begot Joatham. And Joatham begot Achaz. And Achaz begot Ezechias. And Ezechias begot Manasses. And Manesses begot Amon. And Amon begot Josias. And Josias begot Jechonias and his brethren in the transmigration of Babylon. And after the transmigration of Babylon, Jechonias begot Salathiel. And Salathiel begot Zorobabel. And Zorobabel begot Abiud. And Abiud begot Eliacim. And Eliacim begot Azor. And Azor begot Sadoc. And Sadoc begot Achim. And Achim begot Eliud. And Eliud begot Eleazar. And Eleazar begot Mathan. And Mathan begot Jacob. And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. So all the generations, from Abraham to David, are fourteen generations. And from David to the transmigration of Babylon, are fourteen generations: and from the transmigration of Babylon to Christ are fourteen generations.
Matthew 1:1-17 (Douay-Rheims Bible)

Prayer Reflection

Dear Father there is a long list of generations that have come long before you gave us Jesus. People who brought each generation up in faith. Faith that was passed down the line to continue in future generations. It has lasted how long now, since the beginning of time and here we are given a list that marks fourteen generations. That's impressive! But the most impressive part is the faith since Jesus birth and how it has grown. Now that is impressive! To think that we are a part of the whole picture with this faith. We have it and we too give it to our children to pass it along to more and more generations. But somehow there are the ones who don't believe and are trying to stop the growth of the tree and it's up to us to continue the line and to protect the tree from withering and dying. The roots are deep and long and old and they draw life from you dear Father. I pray that as we continue the growth of faith we will bear fruit that is everlasting. Amen