Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God(Click here for readings)
The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.
New Year's Day. I want to wish all my friends who read this blog a very happy and blessed NEW YEAR!!! We made it! We made it through another revolution; that is, another revolution around the sun! "Astrophysically" (actually, astronomically) speaking, its no big deal. Just another lap around the sun. But psychologically speaking, it's a big deal. We need these types of festivities to put things to rest, including time, maybe 2014?!
Yes, we need to feel like we can close the door and not look back and open up a new one. We need to feel like we can begin again, make a fresh new start, and have hope in the future.
But lets not forget that language and our universe speak highly of the mysteries of faith! There are so many delightful things outside of Scripture that we can reflect on to help strengthen our faith. For example, the English language offers us a wonderful homonym that we can employ to help us reflect on our relationship with God. I find it playfully delightful and highly useful that "sun" sounds very much like "Son."
So with this in mind, and with the New Year upon us, let's get started.
Christ is the light and life of the world. Christ is the light of the world. He is the Son who gives life to all things and sheds light on all things. We need Him. All people need Him! Our world needs Him!!! Hence, for our survival it's important we stay close to Him at all times. We need the Son in our life as much as the sun, for without the sun the world would cease to have life, and without the Son, we will surely annihilate ourselves and our world.
Stay close to the Son. Similar to the sun, Jesus brings warmth to the world. He doesn't just brighten our days; He brings warmth to our days! It's elementary: the closer we are to Him, the warmer we will get. The further away we get from him, the colder we get. It's not astrophysics! You don't need to have a PhD to figure this out. It's as obvious as the winter months and as sunny as the summer months. Stay close to me, sonny!
Mary, the Mother of God. In a very healthy and natural way, Mary's life revolved around her son. Everything she said and everything she did was for the glory of God. Her life was an echo of His life. And at times, His life was an echo of her life. After all, she taught him how to pray. She taught him how to appreciate nature, especially the lilies and the birds. But let's get one thing straight: Mary wasn't a helicopter mom! She was a prayerful mom. She new how to let go and let God. Learn to let go and let God.
Mary is a wonderful example of how faithful we can be; how loving we can be; and how beautiful we can get. She lived close to her son, even when separated by miles and death.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Take this year to fall in love with the person of Jesus Christ! He is amazing!
ReplyDelete"Mary is not a helicopter mom". Something that I need to learn from the blessed mother. She taught Jesus everything he needed to know as a good Jewish boy but then let God works for the rest of the way. The movie Mary of Nazareth tells it perfectly.
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