MARY, THE HOLY MOTHER OF GOD
1 JANUARY 2017
It seems to be a custom on this day to make New Year’s
Resolutions. In light of my complete
failure to keep any of the New Year’s Resolutions I have ever made, let me
suggest three words from today’s Gospel that will serve our spiritual lives
much more fully than any New Year’s Resolutions we might cook up.
The first
word is haste. Saint Luke tells us that the shepherds went
in haste to Bethlehem as soon as the angels had given them the news of the
birth of the Messiah. Mary had gone in
haste to visit her cousin Elizabeth after she had responded to the Angel and
agreed to be the Mother of God. Going in
haste is an important component to our lives of faith. God hardly ever communicates with us through
Angels. But God speaks to us in a number
of ways. In a special way at this Season,
God calls us to deepen our Baptismal Commitment. The Lord calls young people to priesthood,
religious life, or marriage. In a number
of ways, he is calling all of us to lives of more profound holiness. Too often, we put God off and think that we
will respond later, when our lives are more settled or we when we may have more
clarity. Like the shepherds, like Mary,
we need to make haste as we continue to search for ways that Christ is present
in our lives.
The second
word is amazed. Shepherds lived at the bottom of their society. Because they were continually on the move, leading
their sheep to greener pastures, no one trusted them. They smelled like sheep. They did not keep the Sabbath. Religious leaders considered them to be
sinners, because they did not follow the Law.
But God chose these shepherds to receive the good news of the Savior’s
birth. They probably came to the stable more
out of curiosity than out of faith. But,
once they encountered the child, they were amazed at what they saw. They were the first evangelists, amazing
those who heard their news. After the
Lord’s resurrection, it would be the simple fishermen, tax collectors, and
peasants who were amazed at the mystery of the resurrection, spreading the good
news to those who were amazed to hear it.
We could
use a little more amazement in our lives of faith. We can take our cue from children, who could
hardly contain themselves when Christmas finally came. Of course, we find God’s presence in a number
of ways in our ordinary lives. We find
God in nature, in the world around us, and in people we encounter. But the Lord has broken through the darkness
of the world and has taken on human flesh.
That is amazing! And this Christmas
Season can increase our sense of amazement.
Once we can identify the depth of our amazement, we can become evangelizers
ourselves, spreading the Good News of our salvation to those around us.
Finally,
Saint Luke tells us that Mary kept all
these things, reflecting on them in her heart.
Despite her initial fear, Mary responded to the Angel’s message that
she had been chosen to be the Mother of God.
But she did not understand, nor could she understand. In pondering everything in her heart, she sorted
out the mysterious ways God was involved in her live and in the life of her
Son.
Because
Mary is the Mother of the Church, she can teach us a great deal about living
our faith in this New Year. We live in
an age of instant communication. We are
bombarded with the 24-hour news cycle, which never tires of giving us “Breaking
News.” We respond immediately to texts,
twitters, and emails, sometimes communicating very hurtful and angry things to
people. If we can do anything to deepen
our faith, we can determine to spend more time in quiet prayer in 2017. In quiet prayer, we can reflect on what is
happening, giving ourselves time to recognize how the Incarnate Lord is present
in our lives. Then we can make haste and
express our amazement at the Mystery of the Incarnation to all we encounter.
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