Here is the text of the homily I shared with the community for the celebration of the Mass on the Solemnity of the Mother of God.
Hidden truths
revealed
Did you know that from 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith? King Henry VIII forbade them from openly celebrating anything to do with their religion, so they were forced to move underground. In 1780, the words of the Christmas Carol known as The Twelve Days of Christmas were published as an aid to teach faith to children and adults alike. The twelve days of Christmas refer to the period of time which the Church designates as the liturgical Season of Christmas: beginning on Christmas Day and ending on January 6, the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord.
The Christmas Season is a time when we marvel at the gifts that the Lord has bestowed upon us, many of which are referred to in a hidden way by the words of the Christmas carol, but there is still one of these gifts that is not mentioned there, and that is the gift of our Blessed Mother. Today, January 1, the Church celebrates Mary, specifically in her role as the Mother of God, but what do we mean when we say that Mary is the Mother of God?
When Mary accepted the Angel’s invitation to bear the Son of God in her womb, even she herself didn’t quite understand all that such an invitation was to imply. How can it be that a human being can be referred to with such an exalted title? Yet, God chose her to be the gateway of mercy, so that when the fullness of time had come, He could send His son, born of a woman, born under the law … in order to redeem those who were under the law. In other words, God sent Jesus to earth, through the cooperation of Mary, so that he could bring humanity, which had been corrupted by the law, back to innocence, back to purity, back to himself. The Church teaches that Jesus was fully human and fully divine; therefore Mary is referred to as the mother of the one we call Jesus of Nazareth as well as the Mother of God.
The nine months of pregnancy are often characterized by a multitude of questions, especially for a first-time mother, but these questions must have been all the more perplexing for Mary. The gospel that we have just heard speaks of the first visitors to the maternity room where she gave birth. There were no doctors present, yet the first to come looking were total strangers who spoke of angels who had appeared to them and told them about the child. We are not told about the words that Mary might have spoken to the shepherds. All we know is that she treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.
Even today, God continues to speak to us. In the depth of our hearts, he reveals himself. He invites us to come close, and to discover the great gift of his love, but do we recognize him when he calls out to us? Do we take the time to ponder the happenings in our lives and to treasure them in a way that allows us to discover God’s presence, or do we fill up our prayer with spoken words? Do we even do our best at times to deny God, as though we could hide from him, or worse yet hide him from others and from ourselves? In sixteenth-century England, King Henry tried to suppress the worship of God by Catholics. Since that time, others too have tried to hide from God’s presence. I’m not sure that anyone has yet succeeded.
As we celebrate the beginning of another calendar year, let’s not hide from God. Instead, let’s all ask Mary, our Mother to teach us how to ponder the mysteries of our faith, how to treasure the words of guidance that God shares with us and how to use the wisdom that we learn at her knees in order to be more firmly committed to living our faith.
In the meanwhile, in the words of the Prophet Aaron, I pray that this new year will be one of great blessing for you all. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you his peace.
The Christmas Season is a time when we marvel at the gifts that the Lord has bestowed upon us, many of which are referred to in a hidden way by the words of the Christmas carol, but there is still one of these gifts that is not mentioned there, and that is the gift of our Blessed Mother. Today, January 1, the Church celebrates Mary, specifically in her role as the Mother of God, but what do we mean when we say that Mary is the Mother of God?
When Mary accepted the Angel’s invitation to bear the Son of God in her womb, even she herself didn’t quite understand all that such an invitation was to imply. How can it be that a human being can be referred to with such an exalted title? Yet, God chose her to be the gateway of mercy, so that when the fullness of time had come, He could send His son, born of a woman, born under the law … in order to redeem those who were under the law. In other words, God sent Jesus to earth, through the cooperation of Mary, so that he could bring humanity, which had been corrupted by the law, back to innocence, back to purity, back to himself. The Church teaches that Jesus was fully human and fully divine; therefore Mary is referred to as the mother of the one we call Jesus of Nazareth as well as the Mother of God.
The nine months of pregnancy are often characterized by a multitude of questions, especially for a first-time mother, but these questions must have been all the more perplexing for Mary. The gospel that we have just heard speaks of the first visitors to the maternity room where she gave birth. There were no doctors present, yet the first to come looking were total strangers who spoke of angels who had appeared to them and told them about the child. We are not told about the words that Mary might have spoken to the shepherds. All we know is that she treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.
Even today, God continues to speak to us. In the depth of our hearts, he reveals himself. He invites us to come close, and to discover the great gift of his love, but do we recognize him when he calls out to us? Do we take the time to ponder the happenings in our lives and to treasure them in a way that allows us to discover God’s presence, or do we fill up our prayer with spoken words? Do we even do our best at times to deny God, as though we could hide from him, or worse yet hide him from others and from ourselves? In sixteenth-century England, King Henry tried to suppress the worship of God by Catholics. Since that time, others too have tried to hide from God’s presence. I’m not sure that anyone has yet succeeded.
As we celebrate the beginning of another calendar year, let’s not hide from God. Instead, let’s all ask Mary, our Mother to teach us how to ponder the mysteries of our faith, how to treasure the words of guidance that God shares with us and how to use the wisdom that we learn at her knees in order to be more firmly committed to living our faith.
In the meanwhile, in the words of the Prophet Aaron, I pray that this new year will be one of great blessing for you all. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you his peace.
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