The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;
upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom, a light has shown.
You have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing...
At the Vigil Mass on Christmas Eve, we hear the long version of the genealogy of Jesus (Fr. Pat always reads the long versions, have you noticed?). According to the New American Bible, this genealogy "presents the coming of Jesus as the climax of Israel's history, and the events of his conception, birth, and early childhood as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy." The text does have its discontinuities and irregularities, the NAB tells us, perhaps none so shocking as the birth of the Messiah from a virgin mother. "The infancy narrative proclaims who Jesus is, the savior of his people from their sins, Emmanuel, in whom God is with us." (NAB)
This text has been illustrated throughout the centuries; one beautiful representation is the 14th-century fresco located on the wall of the Eglise Notre-Dame du Taur in Toulouse, France. Thirty-eight figures remain, men and women both, each holding what appears to be a continuous scroll noting their precise relation to the child in Latin. You can see a clearer version of the fresco by clicking on the image above. Here are two details taken from the same image:
This text has been illustrated throughout the centuries; one beautiful representation is the 14th-century fresco located on the wall of the Eglise Notre-Dame du Taur in Toulouse, France. Thirty-eight figures remain, men and women both, each holding what appears to be a continuous scroll noting their precise relation to the child in Latin. You can see a clearer version of the fresco by clicking on the image above. Here are two details taken from the same image:
Don't they look like they're rejoicing?
Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice!
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