During the general audience on Wednesday morning, December 18, 2024, the Holy Father began a new series of catechesis for the Jubilee Year, with the theme “Jesus Christ is our hope”, because he is the goal of our earthly journey. He invited the faithful to renew their commitment to manifest the gifts of reconciliation, peace and hope that the Lord brought to this world through his incarnation.

In the first catechesis in the reflection on the childhood of Jesus, the Holy Father explained the meaning of the genealogy of Jesus, as presented at the beginning of the Gospel according to Matthew.

The genealogy of Jesus reminds us that his life and identity belong to a larger history that includes the ancestry, family, and faith of the entire people of Israel, the Holy Father said. The presence of four Gentile women in Matthew’s genealogy reminds us that Jesus was sent to be the Savior of all peoples. Jesus’ birth from the Virgin Mary is a sign of a new beginning for our human family.

The Holy Father invites the faithful, as Christmas approaches, to think of our ancestors, our grandparents and the legacy of all the elderly. They are a gift from God; let us be grateful to our parents and grandparents, who gave us life and who also transmitted the faith to us. He also invites the faithful to renew their commitment to manifest the gifts of reconciliation, peace and hope that the Lord brought to this world through his incarnation.

After the Holy Father made the Sign of the Cross and wished peace to the community, everyone listened to the Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 1:1-3.5.15-16):

This is the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham begat Isaac; Isaac begat Jacob; Jacob begat Judah and his brothers; Judah begat Perez and Zerah by Tamar; […]. Salmon begat Boaz by Rahab; Boaz by Ruth begat Obed; Obed begat Jesse; Jesse begat David. David begat Solomon by the wife of Uriah […]. Matthan begat Jacob; Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Christ.

And then the Holy Father began his catechesis as follows:

Dear brothers and sisters, hello!

Today we begin a series of catecheses that will be reflected upon throughout the Holy Year. The theme of this series of catecheses is “ Jesus Christ our hope ”: in fact, he is the goal of our pilgrimage, and he himself is the way, the path on which we must walk.

The Gospels of Jesus’ Childhood

The first part will deal with  the childhood of Jesus , as recounted to us by the Evangelists Matthew and Luke (see Mt 1–2; Lk 1–2). The  Infancy Gospels  tell of Jesus’ virginal conception and birth from Mary; they recall the messianic prophecies fulfilled in him and speak of the legal fatherhood of Joseph, who incorporated the Son of God into the “roots” of the Davidic dynasty. We see Jesus as an infant, a child, and an adolescent, obedient to his parents, conscious of his total dedication to the Father and to his Kingdom. The difference between the two evangelists is that while Luke recounts the events through Mary’s perspective, Matthew recounts them through Joseph’s perspective, emphasizing the father-son relationship as never before.

Genealogy of Jesus

Saint Matthew opens his Gospel and the entire New Testament with the “genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham” (Mt 1:1) that we have just heard. This is a list of names that already exists in the Hebrew Bible, to indicate the truth about history and the truth about human life. In fact, “the genealogy of the Lord is made up of a true story, including some characters who are at least problematic, the sin of King David is also emphasized (cf. Mt 1:6). However, everything reaches its climax with Mary and Christ (cf. Mt 1:16) ( Letter on the Renewal of the Study of Church History , 21/11/2024). Then the truth about human life appears, passed down from generation to generation, bringing three things: a name that contains a unique identity and mission; belonging to a family and a people; and finally, fidelity to the faith in the God of Israel.

No one gives himself life

The genealogy is a literary genre, that is, a suitable form to convey a very important message: no one gives himself life, but receives it as a gift from others. In this case, it is the chosen people, and the people who inherit the heritage of faith from their ancestors, when they transmit life to their children, also transmit to them faith in God.

Women mentioned in Jesus’ genealogy

However, unlike the genealogies in the Old Testament, where only the names of the men are given because in Israel the father named his children, in the Gospel of Matthew women also appear in the list of Jesus’ ancestors. We find five of them: Tamar, Judah’s daughter-in-law, who, having been a widow, pretended to be a prostitute to ensure that she would have an heir for her husband (see Gen 38); Rahab, the prostitute of Jericho, who allowed the Jewish explorers to enter the promised land and conquer it (see Jos 2); Ruth, the Moabite who, in the book of the same name, remained faithful to her mother-in-law, took care of her and would become the great-grandmother of King David; Bathsheba, with whom King David committed adultery and who, after her husband was murdered, gave birth to Solomon (see 2 Sam 11); and finally Mary of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph, of the house of David: of her was born Jesus, the Messiah.

Four Gentile Women: Gentiles Enter Jesus’ Genealogy

The first four women are linked together not because they were sinners, as is often said, but because they were  pagans : for Israel, they were pagan women. What Matthew highlights is that, as Benedict XVI wrote, “through them, the world of the Gentiles enters… the genealogy of Jesus – his mission to the Jews and the Gentiles becomes visible” ( The Infancy of Jesus , Milano-Città del Vaticano 2012, 15).

Mary is a new beginning: God plays a central role in the birth of Jesus

While the four previous women are mentioned together with the son they bore or with the man who gave birth to the son, Mary, on the contrary, stands out in a special way: she marks a new beginning. She herself is a new beginning, because in her story it is no longer man who plays the main role in giving birth, but God himself. This is evident from the verb “to be born”: “Jacob begot Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus, who is called Christ, was born” (Mt 1:16). Jesus was the son of King David, incorporated into that dynasty by Saint Joseph and destined to be the Messiah of the people of Israel, but he was also the son of the patriarch Abraham and of foreign women, and was therefore destined by God to become “ the light of the Gentiles ” (see Lk 2:32) and “ the Savior ” (Jn 4:42).

True God and True Man

The Son of God, consecrated to the Father with the mission of revealing his face (cf. Jn 1:18; Jn 14:9), entered the world like all the children of men, so that in Nazareth he would be called “the son of Joseph” (Jn 6:42) or “the carpenter’s son” (Mt 13:55). True God and true man.

Thanks be to God for Christ our hope.

Dear brothers and sisters, let us awaken in our hearts the grateful memory of our ancestors. And above all let us thank God, who, through Mother Church, has given us birth to eternal life, the life of Jesus, our hope. Thank you!

The audience ended with the Our Father and the Holy Father’s blessing to all.

Source: Vatican News