Continued 👇🏾
Jacob: The Chosen of God
Jacob, the third patriarch, followed in the footsteps of his fathers. Receiving the blessing of the firstborn, he fled to Syria. Along the way, he lay upon a stone and beheld a wondrous vision: a golden ladder reaching to heaven, with angels ascending and descending. This ladder is the mystery of the Virgin Mary, through whom the Son of God descended to earth.
Jacob proclaimed, “This is the house of God and the gate of heaven.”
He became the father of twelve sons, from whom came prophets, priests, kings, and judges—the holy nation of Israel. After serving his uncle Laban twenty-one years, he returned to Canaan, where he wrestled with God Himself. In that struggle of love, he was renamed Israel, “he who prevails with God.”
Saint Jacob suffered greatly in his old age. His sons sold their brother Joseph and deceived him, saying, ‘He has been devoured by wild beasts.’ Grieving without comfort, Jacob wept until he lost his sight. Later, when famine struck the land, he went down to Egypt with about seventy-five members of his household at the age of one hundred and thirty. There he lived for seventeen years, and at the age of one hundred and forty-seven he died, and his sons buried him with honor.
Their Eternal Feast
On Nehase 28, the Church celebrates the feast of our holy fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They are honored as pillars of faith, and heaven itself is called by their name. Their glory is greater than the stars, and in remembering them we glorify their Creator, saying: “Glory to God who is wondrous in His saints!”
May the name of the Holy God be praised forever and ever in every tongue that He has created, today and always.
May the blessings of God's mother, the virgin, and the cross be upon us.
Amen.
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