LESSON 12: PREPARATIONS FOR THE COMING OF THE SAVIOR AND HIS BLESSED MOTHER

1.What happened after the sin of Adam and Eve?
After the sin of Adam and Eve, their descendants began to spread throughout the world. They formed into many different nations.
From among these nations God chose the People of Israel (the Jews) to be his people.

2. Where did people who died go before the coming of Jesus?
When people died no one could go to heaven. The gates of heaven were closed because of sin. The souls of those who were good and had been sorry for their sins had to wait in a place called “The Limbo of the Patriarchs.”
In order for them and us to get to heaven God had to send a Savior into the world.

3. Did God say that he was going to send a Savior into the world?
Yes, God told the People of Israel that He would send a Savior. There are about 300 prophecies throughout the Old Testament that speak of One who was to come. This Person was to be a “light” not only for Israel, but also for the entire world.

4. What are a few examples of these prophecies?

God through Daniel spoke of “One like a Son of Man, coming on the clouds of Heaven… He will receive dominion, glory, and kingship’ nations and people serve Him. His dominion will be an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, his kingship shall not be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:13-14)
God through the Psalmist prophesied that He would be scorned, despised, mocked, that for his clothing they would cast lots, and that his hands and feet would be pierced. (Psalm 22)
God announced through Isaiah that He would suffer and that through his wounds we would be forgiven of our sins. (Isaiah 52:13-53: 12)
Through Isaiah God also said that He would be a “light” not only for Israel, but also for all nations, so that God’s salvation would “reach to the ends of the earth.” (Isaiah 49:6)
God prophesied that He Himself would come down to be the Shepherd for his people: “I Myself will pasture my sheep’ I myself will give them rest, says the Lord God. The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back…” (Ezechiel 34:11-16) Jesus centuries later would say, “I am the Good Shepherd.” (Jn 10)

5. Do any prophecies speak about one of the parents of the Savior?
Three prophecies speak about the parent of the coming Savior. All three refer to the mother. This is unusual, since Jews always emphasized the father. Only the mother was spoken of, because the mother was to be a virgin, and the Father was to be God. These three prophecies are as follows:
-“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers. He (her offspring will strike your head, while you strike at his heel.” (Genesis 3:15)
-“The virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14), a name which means, “God is with us.”
-“But you, Bethleham – Ephrathah, too small to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel’ whose origin is from of old, from ancient times. Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time when she who is to give birth has borne…” (Micah 5:1-2)

6. Who did God prepare to be the other of the Messiah?
God prepared Mary to be the Mother of the Messiah.

7. Who were the parents of Mary?

Saints Joachim and Ann were the holy Jewish parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We do not know their names from the Bible, but from Tradition, and the Liturgy of the Church. We celebrate their Feast Day on July 26^th. They had to be holy, because they were to be the parents of the Mother of God.

8. How was Mary conceived?
Different from us, Mary was conceived without original sin. This gift of God’s mercy that Jesus merited is called the Immaculate Conception. Mary was always full of Grace. There inside her mother she began to know and love God.

9. What happened in Mary’s early life?
When Mary was very young, her parents took her to the Temple in Jerusalem. There she was presented to God. Mary never sinned her entire life. She constantly grew in love. The Holy Trinity always lived within her. Mary had to be so holy because she was to be the worthy Mother of God.

10. Who arranged the marriage of St Joseph and the Blessed Virgin?
God arranged the marriage between the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph.

St. Joseph was also very holy. After Jesus who is God, and Mary who is the Mother of God, he is the holiest person in heaven. God made him holy because he was to be the husband of the Mother of God and the foster father of the Son of God.

St. Joseph would not be the real father of Jesus. The real Father of Jesus is God.

11. Who are the “brothers and sisters” of Jesus mentioned in the Gospels?

The “brothers and sisters” (Matthew 13:55) of Jesus mentioned in the Gospels were cousins of Jesus, not the children of Mary. More specifically they were the sons and daughters of Mary, the wife of Cleopas, who was the sister (or cousin) of the Blessed Virgin. (Mark 15:40; John 19:25) The Gospels also refer to his sister or cousin of the Blessed Virgin Mary as “the other Mary.” (Matthew 27:61 and 28:1)

12. Was the Blessed Virgin always a virgin?
Yes, the Blessed Virgin was always a virgin. Joseph and Mary remained virgins even after they were married. Mary was thus always a virgin -before, during, and after the birth of Jesus.

Devotion to St. Joseph, patron of the universal church.

St. Joseph is Patron of the Universal Church. In calling him the “Patron of the Universal Church” the church is revealing to us the great power of his prayers and his profound holiness of life.

St Theresa of Avila (1515-1582) said that she never remembered a time that God id not answer her prays through St Joseph. Where other saints help us in some of our needs, she said, St. Joseph helps us in all of them. She did not know anyone who practiced devotion to him who did not notably advance in virtue.

A Staircase in Santa Fe, New Mexico

The Sisters of Loreto, of Santa Fe, New Mexico, were unable to build a staircase to their new chapel made between 1873 and 1878. There was not enough space to make a staircase. Thus their chapel had a choir loft, but no way of getting up to it. Each Wednesday the Sisters offered their Communion sin honor of St. Joseph, the foster father of Jesus. They asked him to help them make a staircase. One day an unknown carpenter came to the convent door, asking if he could help them with something. The Sisters told him about their problem. The kind stranger said this would be no problem of him. He worked on the staircase, while two of the sisters left the convent for an emergency. When the two sisters returned the job was done, and the kind and good carpenter was gone. The Superior tried to find him in order to pay him for his work, but he carpenter could not be found. The staircase was marvelously done. Architects from all over the country have inspected it. Not a single nail was used in making it. It is in the form of a spiral. The wood is spliced together at seven places on the inside of the spiral and nine places on the outside of the spiral. Each section is perfectly fitted into a groove in the section next to it. Moreover, those going up the steps felt an upward movement with each step, as if walking on a large coiled spring. Thus, it was very easy to climb the staircase. While the carpenter was working on the staircase, a sister and a deaf-mute girl, who was working for the sisters, were left in the convent. When the Superior aske who the carpenter was the deaf-mute girl responded, “Jose” (Joseph). That was the first worked the sisters had ever heard her speak. God had helped them through the prayers and presence of St. Joseph.

Bethleham is the village where Jesus was born.
Nazareth is the village where the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her that she was to become the Mother of God.
Nazareth is also the village where Jesus grew up.
He lived there until the age of 30.Jerusalem was the city of the Temple. Jesus was crucified there.