These are the generations of Sem: Sem was a hundred years old when he begot Arphaxad, two years after the flood. And Sem lived after he begot Arphaxad, five hundred years, and begot sons and daughters. And Arphaxad lived thirty-five years, and begot Sale. And Arphaxad lived after he begot Sale, three hundred and three years; and begot sons and daughters. Sale also lived thirty years, and begot Heber. And Sale lived after he begot Heber, four hundred and three years; and begot sons and daughters. And Heber lived thirty-four years, and begot Phaleg. And Heber lived after he begot Phaleg, four hundred and thirty years: and begot sons and daughters. Phaleg also lived thirty years, and begot Reu. And Phaleg lived after he begot Reu, two hundred and nine years, and begot sons and daughters. And Reu lived thirty-two years, and begot Sarug. And Reu lived after he begot Sarug, two hundred and seven years, and begot sons and daughters. And Sarug lived thirty years, and begot Nachor. And Sarug lived after he begot Nachor, two hundred years: and begot sons and daughters. And Nachor lived nine and twenty years, and begot Thare. And Nachor lived after he begot Thare, a hundred and nineteen years: and begot sons and daughters. And Thare lived seventy years, and begot Abram, and Nachor, and Aran. And these are the generations of Thare: Thare begot Abram, Nachor, and Aran. And Aran begot Lot. And Aran died before Thare his father, in the land of his nativity in Ur of the Chaldees. gAnd Abram and Nachor married wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarah: and the name of Nachor's wife, Melcha, the daughter of Aran, father of Melcha, and father of Jescha. And Sarah was barren, and had no children.Thanks be to God.
Dom Prosper Guéranger:
On the Saturday of the preceding week which was devoted to the consideration of the Fall of our First Parents, both in its own malice and in its sad consequences upon us, we turned our thoughts towards our Blessed Lady who, though a Daughter of Eve, was by the special mercy of God preserved from the stain of Original Sin. Let us end this week with a like act of veneration and love towards this Immaculate Queen of Heaven. We, even the most saintly among us, have not only been stained with Original Sin. We have our actual sins to grieve over and do penance for. This should give us a higher appreciation of Her, the one single member of the human family who never committed the slightest sin. Let us turn towards her and give expression to our feelings.
We, O Mary, have corrupted our way. We have disobeyed our Lord. We have broken His Law. We have preferred our own selfish gratifications to the service we owed Him. But you were ever filled with His holy love, and there passed not even a shadow of sin upon your soul, O spotless Mirror of Justice and holiness! Virgin most Faithful ! The grace of your Son ever triumphed in your Heart. Mystical Rose! The fragrance of your virtues unceasingly ascended to His throne, changing only in its daily increase of sweetness. Tower of Ivory! Fair beyond measure, without one spot to mar your purity! House of Gold! You ever reflected the precious Gifts of the Holy Ghost. Have pity, then, on us, for we are sinners. We have obliged our God to repent that He made us: but in you, dear Mother, He has ever been well pleased. You are the good land in which His Divine Seed yielded its thousand-fold of fruit: pray for us that He give fresh fertility to our hearts and root up from them the thorns which choke the heavenly plant. We are denied by sin. May He, through the merit of the tears you shed at the foot of the Cross mercifully cleanse us. If your Divine Son has already pardoned us, there are the consequences of our sins which still weaken and humble us like the sores of wounds that have been cured: take us, sweet Mother of our Jesus, under the mantle of your tender care. We have too little dread of sin. We are so often on the verge of offending our God. Oh get courage for these poor children of yours, and firmness of resolution and ambition for holiness of life. Your intercession must win for us that precious devotedness to God’s honour which kills the root of sin — love of our own selves. Oh accursed self-love which may lead us to Hell who are now perhaps in the grace of your Divine Son! The deluge, brought on by our sins, is hurrying its vengeance against mankind, and we, O Mary, are resolved to seek our refuge in the Ark of the Church, the safe shelter created for us by your Jesus. But we presume to pray to you for our brethren throughout the world. Our God has given you a power to stay His anger and to win for guilty mortals an extension of mercy: show this power now, for our world is provoking its Maker to destroy it. If the floodgate of His just indignation burst upon the face of our Earth, millions of souls that have been redeemed by the Blood of your Divine Son would be lost eternally. If the sweet Dove of Peace bring her olive-branch, only when that terrible Justice is appeased, it would be too late for your loving Heart. Come before the Deluge, beautiful Rainbow of our Father’s Reconciliation! A Mother’s love — a Mother who is the very Queen of Mercy — emboldens us to sue for universal mercy. Can the prayer of Her in whose purity and innocence the very God of Holiness finds no blemish be denied? Pray Him, then, to pardon us and all sinners.
