Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother
of God January
1, 2015
Numbers 6:22-27 Gal 4:4-7 Luke 2:16-21
Merry
Christmas everybody! Today we celebrate the 8th day of Christmas.
And that means that we are entering into the new year. Traditionally, we ring in the new year by
celebrating a title given to Mary – as the holy Mother of God.
When we
celebrate Mary’s role, remember that it is always and inseparably connected
with God’s plan for us through Christ. Through her title, “Mother of God,” the
Church reminds us that Jesus is fully human and also fully divine. That is to say, Jesus has two natures and yet
is one person. Jesus is both human and
divine. But there are not two Jesus’. He is one person. The significance of this is absolutely
amazing.
God has
become one of us. Jesus, the Word made
flesh, is our brother. Therefore we call
Jesus "Emmanuel, God with us." Jesus our
brother is perfect, without sin. Therefore
we call Jesus the “new Adam.” Jesus has
become the perfect sacrifice for us.
Therefore we call Jesus the "Lamb of God."
Through Jesus, who is fully human and fully divine, we are given the
gift of eternal life. This is why we
have been singing Christmas glorias lately.
These amazing gifts from God are truly glorious.
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Because God
has become one of us, we can call Jesus our brother, and we become part of the
divine family through our baptism. When
we are baptized we become beloved sons and daughters of God and brothers and
sisters of Jesus. Therefore since Mary
is the mother of Jesus, she is also our own mother. We are incorporated into the blessings that
she has been given. She is the mother of
the church and our mother. As she reigns
with Christ in heaven, so we also have a divine and royal inheritance to reign
with Christ. All of the heavenly
treasures Jesus spoke of are shared with us.
So it is
that we celebrate the true identity of Jesus today – fully human and fully
divine, two natures and one person. God
made flesh - our brother. Because of
this divine mystery of Jesus we also celebrate
the identity of Mary – the holy mother of God.
Hopefully we are catching the amazing implication of this, for it also
defines our identity in Christ.
In
celebrating Mary and Jesus we are also celebrating some amazing blessings that
God gives to us. And what can our
response be to those blessings?
Easy. Receive the blessing and
then live the blessing. Of course, a
good question is – how do we live the blessing?
Answering that question is a great way to start this new year year.
The reading
from the book of Numbers shares with us the blessing God gave to the
Israelites. These words are
amazing. Listen to them again. “The
Lord bless and keep you. The Lord let
his face shine upon you and be gracious to you.
The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace.” This blessing is spoken in prayer. The blessing imparts the reality of the
Lord’s presence, graciousness, kindness, and peace. So think about this. Who wants to walk more and more in the
presence, grace, kindness, and peace of the Lord?
How about
this for a great start to 2015? Strengthen
the practice of household prayer. During
family prayer invoke this blessing from from the Book of Numbers. God really wants to give us this
blessing. God asks us to ask him for
it. Let 2015 be the year where we as a
parish family walk more securely in this blessing from the Lord. For this is an important part of what it
means to be a member of God’s family, with Jesus as our brother, Mary as our
mother, and God the heavenly Father as our Father.
And there
is more! The gospel reading tells the
story of the shepherds visiting Joseph and Mary to see the newborn messiah that
was announced to them by angels. The
shepherds were obedient to the invitation from the angels, and they got the
blessing of seeing Jesus.
At the end
of the reading there is a little line of significance. It says:
When eight days were completed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus,
the name given him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. Here, we see evidence of the obedience of
Joseph and Mary to the divine directions given to them – both through the law
which they knew by virtue of being raised in the faith, as well as through
revelation which they received personally.
Through the
example of their obedience we get to ask ourselves a question. In what way do we need to grow in obedience
to God’s holy Word? In what way do we
need to grow in obedience to what God has shown each of us personally? Here is
one good suggestion. Call a household
meeting at the beginning of this new year.
And in that household meeting make three commitments together.
1. Re-commit
to prayer. Talk about practical ways
of praying together as a household. Make
commitments and support one another in prayer.
Prayer brings us closer to God and to one another. And we walk more securely in the blessings of
God. Re-commit to prayer in 2015.
2. Re-commit
to learning. Talk with each other
about a plan to grow in knowledge and understanding of the faith. I speak especially to our youth and adults
here. Continued growth in knowledge of
the faith teaches us how to walk in the blessing. Our lighthouse Catholic media is one good
way. Our parish study groups are
excellent. Whatever is decided,
re-commit to learning in 2015.
3. Re-commit
to the sacramental life. Talk with
each other about how to walk more securely in the sacramental life. The sacramental life always opens up the
gifts of the Spirit – knowledge, understanding, wisdom, council, courage, piety,
and wonder and awe. We all need more of
this. So re-commit to the sacramental
life in 2015.
My dear
brothers and sisters in Jesus. Let us
together prepare our spiritual plan for 2015 so that we can live in the
blessing of God. And on this most special
day of Christmas, let us ask for the prayers of Mary, our mother in Christ.
Mary,
mother of God, pray for us.
Mary, queen
of heaven, pray for us.
Mary,
mother of the Church, pray for us.
Mary, queen
of peace, pray for us.
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