The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of
God – January 1, 2018
I
–They shall invoke my name upon the Israelites, and I will bless them.
R
–May God bless us in his mercy.
II
– God sent his Son, born of a woman.
A
– In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets; in these last
days, he has spoken to us through the Son.
G –They
found Mary and Joseph and the infant. When the eight days were completed, he
was name Jesus.
+ Today we celebrate both the august maternity of the Blessed
Virgin Mary, as Mother of God, and
the naming of her Child, eight days after his birth: the name given by the
Angel at his conception: Jesus, Savior.
The time of blessing had arrived: God has now entered our world, as one of us, born of a woman, in order to save us
from our disconnectedness from God that would have remained permanent and
unchangeable, unless God himself did not choose to intervene on our
behalf. The mediation of a human birth
by means of a humble virgin of Nazareth was sublime in its originality, its
simplicity and its faith.
And
so we celebrate today Mary’s cooperation with the Divine Plan of Salvation, we
celebrate the fact that she became the mother not only of one who had a human
nature (like her own), but also a Divine Nature (wholly other, of God himself)
combined without confusion in one Divine Person: Emmanuel, Christ the Lord.
Mary truly was then, Mother of God
(that is Mother of the God-Made-Man) who was wholly God, while being wholly man
at the same time.
O wondrous mystery! The
mystery of the exchange of divinity with humanity, and humanity with divinity!
Man was now capable not only of having his sins forgiven, but of living in God forever – in his heart, where the Divine Person in
his Divinity and later humanity always lives.
Mary often pondered on the
events of which she was a part; the birth of her Son in a manger, the
visitation by shepherds, the prophecies that were just beginning to be
externally fulfilled in her infant Son. Yes, on the eighth day, as prescribed
by Mosaic Law, Jesus was circumcised and named, as was prophesied, JESUS! And
he immediately took on the role of SAVIOR and never let it move from the center
of his focus until he breathed his last on the Cross, that he always knew lay
before Him.
Thank
you Jesus for all you have done and still do for our
salvation; and thank you Mary for being not only the Mother of the Savior, the
Mother of God; but also the Mother of all who belong to his Mystical Body, the
Church: Mother of us. We love you and honor you this day, and ask that you
always be our comfort and our joy as we try to live the best we can, the life
modeled not only by your Son, but also you, who are our Queen and our Friend.
Holy
Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
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