SOLEMNITY OF MARY, MOTHER OF GOD
(Numbers 6:22-27, Galatians. 4:4-7; Luke 2: 16-21)
Today we celebrate the Feast of Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God. We honor her because God honored her by choosing her from all eternity to become the mother of Jesus, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, when He took on our flesh and became Man. Mary became the real mother of Jesus Christ when she said YES, Fiat, Thy will be done. Mary became our Mother when Jesus, being on the cross, told John “This is your Mother.” We remember with joy and gratitude, how Mary and her Divine Son Jesus transformed a hopeless, joyless and sinful world into a place of joy and happiness; forgiveness and peace. This celebration reminds us that the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, is also our Heavenly Mother.
1) Let us strive to be pure and holy like our heavenly Mother. All mothers want their children to inherit or acquire their good qualities. Our heavenly Mother is no exception. Hence our best way of celebrating this feast and honoring our heavenly Mother would be to promise her that we will practice her virtues of faith, obedience, purity, and humble service. The world around us has a lot of sinfulness, a lot of cruelty, injustice, violence, war, abortion, euthanasia and so on. In the midst of all the sins, to be sinless is a great challenge.
2) We must always surrender ourselves to the great will of God and accept it with joy and happiness, and that is what Mary did. Like Mary, say “’Yes’ to God: “Fiat” The basis of all the glory of Mary was in her total surrender to the will of God. At the annunciation she said YES to the will of God, Fiat. I am the handmaid of the Lord. She said Yes “Fiat” at every moment of her life. Jesus himself told his disciples “Whoever does the will of God is my mother, brother and sister. Mary did submit herself to the Will of God totally. So too we must surrender ourselves joyfully to the will of God and say Yes to God’s will, especially when it becomes against our will. To pray always “Let your will be done.”
3) Like Mary we must carry Jesus in our hearts and introduce Him to our brothers and sisters, and that is what Mary did. Mary gave flesh to the Word of God. She carried Jesus in her womb and in her heart. So too, we must always give flesh to the Word of God in our hearts, give flesh to the great love of God in our words and in our actions. When we come close to Mary we are faithful to respect Mary.
4) Like Mary we must follow whatever Jesus tells us and that is what Mary has asked of us. At the time of the wedding feast at Cana we find that the people had no more wine. She, even without their asking, Mary understands their difficulty. Mary didn’t tell them what to do. She tells them to follow what Jesus tells them. “Do whatever he (Jesus) tells you” (John 2:5). When they did what Jesus asked of them there was an abundance of wine and joy all over. Maybe, what Jesus asks of us are little things like to fill the water jar with water, to do something ordinary, but the miracle will happen. There will always be great joy in our lives. Are we always attentive to what Jesus tells us?
5) Finally, it is always an inspiring thought in our moments of temptation and despair to remember that we have a powerful heavenly mother, constantly interceding for us before her son, Jesus, in heaven. Mary is in Heaven. However, she is also still among us, singing the praises of God with us… on this feast day of our heavenly mother, let us offer ourselves on the altar and pray for her special care and loving protection in helping us lead a purer and holier life.
Today as we are on the first day of the New Year 2020, let us remember the proverb: “Cherish your yesterdays, dream your tomorrows, but live your today.” We all must have: a) Something to dream, b) Something to do, and c) Someone to love. May I take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy and Peaceful New Year.
Therefore, on the first day of the year 2020, let us pray:
“Good loving God, we thank You for extending our life for one more year. Lord give you thanks for all the blessings you showered on us in the year 2019. Thank You for helping us to do your will. Thank You for everything. Lord, we are really sorry for all our sins by saying ‘No’ to your grace. Please pardon us. Forgive us Lord. Help us to do better in the new year 2020, and to say ‘Yes’ to Your love. Lord give us a Happy and Blessed New Year, overflowing with a Grace to say “Yes” to God our Father, Yes to the Lord Jesus, our Brother and Yes to the Holy Spirit, our Advocate and our Guide to every good deed. We pray that the Lord Jesus and his mother Mary may enrich our lives during the New Year with an abundance of blessings. Amen.