MARY MOTHER OF GOD

Num. 6:22-7; Gal. 4:4-7; Lk. 2:16-21

Welcome to today's celebration of the Feast of Mary. Today's Feast of "Mary, Mother of God" is very appropriate to start a new year. This celebration echoes that the Blessed Virgin Mary, who is the Mother of God, is also our Heavenly Mother.

Today, I would like to retrace the origin of this very special Feast. We base our faith in this dogma on the words of Elizabeth who was the cousin of Mary. When the Blessed Virgin Mary visited Elizabeth after the angel had appeared to her and told her that she would be the mother of Jesus, Elizabeth said, "And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?" [Lk. 1:43] Through Elizabeth who was full of the Holy Spirit, it was acclaimed that Mary had been chosen to be the Mother of God.

In the fourth century, a priest named Arius claimed that Jesus as the Son of God was created by God. This would mean that Jesus was an amazing creature, but not God, so it was a denial of his divinity. The idea took hold, and Arianism became popular in the Eastern and Western Roman empire. 

Opponents such as St. Athanasius, who was exiled multiple times for his belief, said that would be a return to polytheism, since Jesus in the Arianist view was not God, but was still worshipped alongside God the Father.

In 431 A.D. the Council of Ephesus affirmed that Mary was truly the Mother of God because "according to the flesh" she gave birth to Jesus, who was truly God from the first moment of His conception. Twenty years later, in 451 A.D. at the Council of Chalcedon, it was affirmed that the Motherhood of Mary was a truthful dogma and an official doctrine of the Holy Catholic Church. The Feast of the Mother of God affirms that Mary was the mother of Jesus who was both God and human. The Holy Scriptures teaches us through the Gospel of John that Jesus was both God and human. "The Word became flesh and lived among us." [Jn. 1:14]

Mary chose to be the mother of God, with her unconditional faith, submission and hope. When the Angel announced the   news that she had been chosen to be the mother of God, her response was: “Behold, I am the hand maid of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word."

She was well aware of the consequences of being found with a baby before marriage. She had witnessed the punishment given for infidelity. Still when the word of God made demands on her she did not think about the worries that "tomorrow" might bring. This is a great lesson for us. We, often, live in the worries of the future. Our life is engulfed by the regrets of the past and the unknown worries of the future. After all today is the tomorrow we worried about yesterday.  As we are setting foot to the New Year, our mother stands beside us, encouraging us to be optimistic in life.

In today's Gospel she teaches us one of the most important virtues of all: wisdom. St Luke tells us how Mary responded to the wonderful things that God was doing in and around her: "Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart."

Just as Mary's womb was open to receiving God's living Word at the moment of Christ's Incarnation, so her heart was constantly open to receiving God’s ongoing words and messages as he continued to speak through the events of her life. This capacity and habit of reflecting in our heart on God's action in our lives is both a sign and a source of wisdom. And we can never become mature, courageous, and joyful followers of Christ unless we develop it.

 

Mary was Jesus’ mother in the flesh, and she is our mother in grace. And just as we learn from our natural mothers how to be good human beings, so we learn from Mary how to become mature Christians. She is the living school where we learn every virtue that leads to happiness and holiness.

As a new year begins we remember this moment of salvation history as the beginning of a new phase of Mary’s relationship with God.  Inspired by her example let’s strive to begin this new year as a year of a more profound love for Christ; in that way, it will indeed be a happy new year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Holy Family

A:Sir 3:2-6, 12-14; Col 3:12-21;   Lk.2:22-40

God created us in his own image and likeness. To be created in the image of God is to be created for family life. Just as God is a Trinity, a communion of three Persons sharing the divine nature, we also are created to find fulfillment in community, in the intricate network of relationships that makes each one of us dependent on others, and others dependent on us. God could not have exalted the family more than he did by joining one.

Today’s Gospel (Lk 2:22-40) reminds us that the Holy Family, and every holy family, is centered on Christ. He’s the ultimate bedrock of our love. Simeon was promised by the Holy Spirit that he would see the Messiah before he died. He didn’t know when, he didn’t know how, but when the moment came the Holy Spirit led him to the baby Jesus in the Temple and revealed Jesus to be the Christ. Both Simeon and Anna in today’s reading remind us that the elderly have a great vocation to prayer and to sharing their wisdom. Who can deny the impact of grandparents and even great aunts and uncles in their lives?

Jesus became a member of a normal, humble, working class family, a family that had to worry about making ends meet. Joseph and Mary worked hard just to keep bread on the table. They didn't have a big bank account, an impressive investment portfolio, fancy vacations, or expensive hobbies. They had to keep track of every penny, and yet, they were the richest family in history. Their wealth wasn't in money, it was in faith.

 In today’s First Reading, Sirach reminds us that we should not take our family for granted. A family is a gift, and our family is our family no matter what they do or don’t do on our behalf. We count on our family, and that reliance reflects the reliance we should have on God. When we can’t count on our family, it’s hard for us to count on anything else, even God.

The first thing we can do to live a healthy Christian family life is to respect family roles. Just as the natural structure of a tree includes roots, trunk, and branches, so the natural structure of the family includes dad, mom, and children. They all go together and they all need each other in order to bear the fruit of maturity, wisdom, and happiness. Family members should not be afraid to say “I forgive,” and don’t be afraid to say “I’m sorry” either. It’s often the trigger for many people rediscovering that the bedrock of love on which their lives are built.

We all know of truly tragic and heart-breaking family situations – divorce, children lost to drugs, squabbles over inheritances, misunderstandings, even betrayals. But even in those situations we don’t lose sight of the ideal Sirach describes: a father and mother set in honor and authority over their children, children revering and praying for their parents, obeying them and caring for them when they grow old, and the blessings God showers on children who do so.

This model of mutual respect, help, and reliance is meant to be reflected in our society as well, so when it’s not lived in the family, it’s no surprise that society suffers as a result.

The family is one place where we are appreciated in and of ourselves. Our families are the rock center of our lives. They create our identity – by biology and by upbringing. Studies show that family life benefits everybody: husband and wife and the children they raise together are healthier, less likely to become addicted to drugs, less likely to be in trouble with the law, more likely to succeed financially.

 Pope St. Paul VI found silence the most inspiring quality in the Holy Family. They lived a hidden life, a quiet life, a life with lots of room for thinking. With TV, radio and the Internet clogging our minds and senses, we leave our families little room for thought or prayer. 

We need to make our home a place of prayer. Our day need not be dominated by devotions, but we should have some regular, routine family prayers, just as the Holy Family did. They prayed and studied the Scriptures, but still managed to get their work done. There are many ways we can pray as a family, and we should seek the ways that work best for our family. We can pray together at the beginning of the day, or at the end. We should, at least, be saying grace at every meal. We can pray the Rosary together, begin a weekly family Bible study, go to a weekday Mass. It might be advisable to begin with something small and manageable and then give ourselves time to grow into it before tackling something bigger.

Let's thank the Lord for the great gift of a healthy family life he has offered us, helping us to grow to maturity. Let's thank him for His personal love for each one of us and promise that we will imitate that love in the way we live out our family lives.

 

CHRISTMAS 2020.

 

We have four sets of readings for different Masses for Christmas, but I chose to preach on just one of them. This homily may sound a bit theological but it is important to know who Jesus is and how his nature is before we can understand Jesus and the Bible.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. (Christmas day mass reading). How did the Word become flesh and what are the implications involved?

Unlike in the Hindu incarnations where the supreme God incarnated as fish or tortoise, in the Christian revelation God incarnated only once and that too in human form because only humans can sin. The Word became flesh because he came to save us from our sins and not for any other purpose. Since God is immortal and cannot suffer or die, he became human.

Jesus is technically human but not a human being, that would be like saying he is a human person. He is a divine being with two complete and unconfused natures. In him they are two natures in a perfect inseparable union called in theological term, hypostatic union.

The Old testament prophecies represented the coming Saviour as sometimes divine and sometimes human.

(Messiah as God himself) He was the Branch “of the Lord” (Is 4:2). He was the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the “Prince of Peace” (Is. 9:6). The one who was to come forth out of Bethlehem and be the ruler in Israel, was one whose goings forth had been from the days of eternity (Mic 5:2). It was none other than Yahweh Himself who was to come suddenly to the temple (Mal 3:1). (The annunciation account says his kingdom shall never end… Is there any king whose kingdom never ends? Every king dies and so his kingdom also ends. But Jesus’ kingdom will never end? It means he will live forever).

Yet on the other hand, he was the woman’s offspring (Gen 3:15); a prophet like unto Moses (Dt. 18:18); a descendent of David (2 Sam 7:12-13); (the genealogy clearly shows his ancestry). He was Yahweh’s “servant” (Is 42:1); He was “the man of sorrows” (Is 53:3).

And in the New Testament we see these two different sets of prophecies harmonized. The One born at Bethlehem was the divine Word. The Incarnation does not mean that God was merely manifested Himself as a man (as in Vishnu’s incarnation). The word became flesh; he became what he was not before, though he never ceased to be all he was previously. “Though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance (Phil. 2:6-7). The babe of Bethlehem was Immanuel- God with us.

He was more than a manifestation of God; He was God manifest in the flesh. He was both Son of God and Son of Man; not two separate personalities, but one person possessing two natures, the divine and human.

If Jesus was two persons one totally different from the other Mary could not be called the Mother of God.

In His divinity, He is of the same nature of the Father. In His humanity, He’s of the same nature as us. It’s in this way that He is able to serve as a bridge between God and man.

The sacrifice of Jesus had infinite merits, because he was a divine person. He suffered in his human nature; (divine nature could not suffer or die) The merits of his suffering is of the divine person. He had human nature but he was not human person.

 

When we think about Jesus, we think of him primarily as God. From this perspective, we will not be able to understand anything that happened in the real life of Jesus. This prejudice distorts everything that the gospel narrates. Luke says that Jesus grew in stature, in knowledge, and in grace before God and men. (God cannot grow).

Jesus displayed his human life like any other human being. As a man, he had to learn and mature little by little, making use of all the resources he found in his path.  If we do not understand that Jesus was fully man, we do not accept the incarnation.

 Jesus has a true human soul. Christ’s human soul is created, but (like His Body) His soul is united to Him from the first moment of its existence, not pre-existing like his divine nature.

If Christ didn’t have a human soul, He wasn’t fully human.  If Christ didn’t assume a human soul, He didn’t redeem human souls. The whole point of the Incarnation is to unite humanity with divinity so that humanity can be saved. If Christ didn’t have a human soul, He couldn’t suffer or die.  It’s also due to His human soul that Christ weeps for the death of His friend Lazarus, etc.

 Jesus has two wills is clear from his prayer: Father take this cup away from me but not my will but your will be done. Again, he says: I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father who sent me." (John 5:30). So Jesus had his human will and also his divine will which he shared with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

God became man on Christmas Night 2000 years ago because he wanted to correct our mistaken ideas about what he's like. He wants us to have the right idea about him, so that we can live in a right relationship with him. If we have wrong idea about God we would not be able to relate with him in the right way. Jesus was the only one who told us God is our Father. The Jews hesitated to call God their Father.

Baby Jesus smiling helplessly at his mother Mary is the true God, a God who comes to meet us right where we're at. He wants to give forgiveness, hope and meaning to everyone around us who is suffering and searching, but he refuses to do it alone. He entrusts us with the task of bringing him into the world. Not because we're so great, but because he is so great that he lets us share his all-important, everlasting mission.

He is glad that we are here today to celebrate his birthday, and he is hoping that we will give him the only present he really wants: our renewed commitment to spread the Good News of salvation to everyone around us - a commitment that we fulfill in our everyday activities, through our way of life, words, and works. May the infant Jesus take birth in our hearts so that we can share him generously with others.

 

 

ADVENT IV (II Sm 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a,16; Rom 16:25-27; Lk 1:26-38)

The Old Testament gives many accounts of humanly impossible things that God had done for his people. In order to liberate the Israelites from the bondage in Egypt, God had performed many miracles.  Moses turned the water of the Nile river into blood (Ex 7:17). Moses sent darkness in all the land of Egypt for 3 days (Ex 10:22). The first born of the Egyptians were struck by God. Moses made the red sea divide into two and make a way for the Israelites to pass through. Even after they had settled in the Promised Land God continued his mighty deeds to protect his people. Every Israelite child grew up listening to the mighty works of God; and every Israelite child was taught that nothing is impossible for God.

 

When the Angel of God visited Mary, the Angel told her two humanly impossible things: that she would conceive and bear a son; and that Elizabeth had conceived in her old age. If God could create new life in an old woman, He could surely do the same in a young virgin.  “For nothing will be impossible with God” (v. 37). 

When the angel announced God's plan Mary replied: “I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let what you have said be done to me."  She had followed it till the last moment of her life. She had followed it in the joyful occasions and the dark moments of her life. She had followed it at every step that she had taken.

 

Mrs. Marie Norton of Elmira, New York, died in the fall of 1951, admired and praised by all who had known her. Before she had any children, she was afflicted with cancer, and physicians advised her against becoming pregnant. But Marie decided to ignore advice and leave matters in God’s hands. She went ahead and brought ten children into the world, and they were healthy children. When her brother-in-law lost his wife, she took his children in, too. It was no easy chore to keep house for such a brood, but she did it and was also her own cook and laundress. Had Marie’s malady vanished? By no means. For thirty-five years she was under treatment for malignancies and submitted to as much radium therapy as her body could tolerate. Forty-two times she went under the surgeon’s knife. After Marie’s death her son-in-law’s mother wrote a letter to the paper in praise of Mrs. Norton. “As I observed her giving, besides services, joy and sunshine … to us all, it has left me with a new reverence, a feeling that I have witnessed something this sick world needs today… an assurance that God does hear and answer those who love and trust Him.” Yes, He hears and He gives us of Himself: the supreme Christmas gift is His beloved Son. “… For nothing is impossible with God” (Lk, 1:37).

 

The First reading surprises us by telling of God’s promise to David that he would have a long line of royal descendants culminating in a final King, Jesus Christ. God’s response to David’s wish (to build Him a Temple), is that God will do more for David (build an everlasting dynasty) than David could ever do for God.

The Gospel narrative surprises us also by reminding us that God’s promise is best fulfilled not in buildings, or even in great kings like Solomon, but rather in humble souls like Mary, who trusted in God’s promise.

The birth of Jesus is a miracle, something that defies a natural explanation. In fact, one might say that the birth of Jesus is two miracles: the wondrous conception of a child in the womb of a virgin is miracle enough, but that the Word of God, eternally begotten of and consubstantial with the Father, should take flesh and begin to exist in time and space is by far the greater miracle, the miracle we celebrate at Christmas.

 

If we put our lives at God's disposal during these days, as Mary did in today's Gospel, he may put us in situations where our faith and experience of God can shine in a darkened heart, like spiritual Christmas lights. We mustn't be afraid to let our light shine, speaking about the true meaning of Christmas, and backing up our words with our behavior. If we pray for those who don't know Christ, and act as his messengers during all of the holiday activities, maybe some things that seemed impossible will come to pass.

Mary gives us also the perfect example of how we ought to treat the sacred scriptures. When God's messenger greeted her, St Luke tells us that she "pondered what sort of greeting this might be." Each chapter of the Bible is like a message from God for our souls, and we too must "ponder" what it might mean for us.

In this Mass, Jesus will prove once again that nothing is impossible for him. He will shatter the limits of time and space to become truly present in the Eucharist, nourishing us in Holy Communion with his holy body, blood, soul, and divinity. If he can do that, then he can do anything. And so, we should not hesitate to let him work through our words, prayers, and actions to bring Christ's light into some dark corner of the world where his light is not shining. May this Christmas season help us to bring light and miracles in the lives of those who live in darkness of faith.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

t is the time the Church reflects on God’s loving action in the world-viz. His becoming a human being to save us from sin and meaninglessness that sins brings. God didn't - and doesn't - work out that plan of salvation for us all by himself. Instead, he asks for our cooperation. In today's Gospel, God invites Mary to become the mother of the Savior. She knew God, and knew that his plans are always wise and wonderful. So she put her life at his service: "I am the handmaid of the Lord, may it be done unto me according to your word." Salvation is God's business, but it's a partnership; we have a role to play as well. God is asking us every day to work with him so that we could save ourselves as well as others through our cooperation with God. Whoever recognizes God’s goodness will sing the responsorial psalm of today: Forever I will sing the goodness of the Lord. Christmas is the season to sing God’s goodness as the angels sang at the birth of Christ. Let’s recognize God’s goodness in our lives so that we may have a heart full of gratitude to sing his glory.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ADVENT III (Is 61:1-2a, 10-11; I Thes 5:16-24; Jn 1:6-8, 19-28)

The third Sunday of Advent has been "Gaudete (rejoice) Sunday" ever since the time of Pope St. Gregory the Great, in the sixth century. It's the reason for the rose-colored vestments and Advent candle. One thing that can inhibit our experience of Christian joy is wrong expectations. The joy that comes from Christ goes deeper than passing emotions. It is a joy that comes from knowing that Christ is always with us, guiding us, and loving us, even amidst life's trials.

When John the Baptist began his ministry, a deputation came to interview him. The deputation was composed of two kinds of people - priests and the Levites. Their interest was natural. The priests wanted to know that John was the son of a priest, therefore, why he was behaving in such an unusual manner. Second, there were emissaries of the Sanhedrin. John was a preacher to whom the people were flocking in hordes. The Sanhedrin may well have felt it their duty to check up on this man in case he was a false prophet.

They asked him three questions: Firstly, they asked him if he was the Messiah. Then they asked him if he was Elijah. Then they asked him if he was the expected and promised prophet. When they found that John’s answer was ”no”, they asked him the most difficult question: “Who are you?”

We seldom know what gifts we are endowed with. We will have to learn where we belong, what we have to learn to get the full benefit from our strengths, where our weaknesses lie, what our values are. So, it is fundamental to know oneself. Where do we come from? Where are we going? What is the objective of existence? Why do we live? What do we live for?

 The replies that John gave to the deputation that came to interview him shows that he was a man who knew himself. Therefore, he was profoundly humble. He pointed to Jesus and declared: “I am not fit to undo his sandal strap.”  Undoing the straps of someone’s sandal was the work of slaves towards their masters.  At the sight of Jesus John realized not just his littleness, but his nothingness.

John was different from us all who try at all times to appear more than what we are. So, the season of Advent invites us to reflect on the following three questions:

 ·         What do I think of myself…?

·         What do people think that I am…?

·         What does God think about me…..?

Only when we know who we are can we, like St.John, point others to Christ. Otherwise we will point others to ourselves and our achievements.  The Jewish leaders’ own preconceived notions impeded their acceptance of God's word spoken through John. They heard the prophecy, but it didn't help them at all. They tried to fit God inside the box of their own preferences and prejudices, and God was not their highest priority.

Having the right expectations in our relationship with God means always keeping the door of our hearts open to his grace, always being ready to do whatever he asks, even when it's difficult or uncomfortable. Here at the midpoint of Advent, we can examine our expectations for this coming celebration of Christmas. On a simple, human level, we are expecting to receive some Christmas presents. But all of those gifts are just symbols of God's great, everlasting gift of grace, of friendship with Jesus Christ. God wants to give us a new outpouring of that grace this Christmas. But unless we have the right expectations, we will not be ready to receive it. That means three things.

First, it means we have to avoid the trap of the Pharisees. We must not think that we know it all already; that we already understand how God works; or that we are beyond a true, transforming encounter with the living God.

Second, it means that we have to spend quality time in prayer during the next ten days. We have to "fix our thoughts on Jesus" (Hb 3:1). This will tune our souls to God's wavelength, so that we can hear his voice when Christmas comes.

Third, having the right expectations means spending time before Christmas reaching out to others in need. Whether the need is material, spiritual, or emotional, the best to way to "make straight the way of the Lord," as St. John the Baptist did in preparation for the first Christmas, is to give others an experience of God's goodness. By reaching out to others, we clear the runway of our hearts for the arrival of God's grace to us.

In a few moments, Jesus will renew his commitment to us through the sacrifice of this Mass. When he does, let's stir up our desire to know him better, and to receive whatever grace he wants to give us this Christmas.

 

 

ADVENT II [B]: (Is 40:1-5, 9-11; 2 Pt 3:8-14; Mk 1:1-8)

 

All three readings focus on the absolute necessity of our readying ourselves by repentance and reparation for Christ’s coming.  John the Baptist always plays a big role in Advent. He was the last and greatest of a long line of Old Testament prophets. God sent those prophets to prepare Israel for the arrival of the Messiah, the anointed Savior and Redeemer of the world. Isaiah's prophecy in today's First Reading was made more than 700 years before John the Baptist's prophecy, but their substance is very much the same: God has not forgotten his people, and in spite of their sufferings, sins, and failings, he will come and save them, shepherding them to happiness beyond what they can imagine.

As the first New Testament prophet, John the Baptist has three valuable lessons to teach us about how to be a prophet. First, John invited the people of his time to repent from their sins, so that they would be ready to welcome Jesus, the Savior. We too are called to invite others to leave behind the sinful patterns of life that our society encourages, so that God's grace can come into their lives. If we really care about other people, we will do our best to warn them against sin.

 

Second, He called for repentance, for people to turn away from their sins, but he also turned people's  attention towards something - the greatness, the beauty, and the transforming power of Christ: "One mightier than I is coming after me... He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." We too are called to turn people's attention to Christ, so that they can discover his love, goodness, and transforming power.

 

Third, Perhaps the most remarkable thing about St John the Baptist was that so many people actually listened to him. Why was that? Because how he lived was consistent with what he said. John’s ministry was effective primarily because his life was his message:  he lived what he preached. He was a man from the desert. In its solitude, he had heard the voice of God, and, hence, he had the courage of his convictions. His camel’s hair garment and leather belt resembled those of Elijah and other great prophets of Israel. His food, too, was very simple:  wild locusts and honey. The Israelites had not had a prophet for four hundred years, and the people were waiting expectantly for one. John’s message was effective also because he was completely humble.   His role was to serve Jesus and to serve the people. “He must increase, I must decrease,” he says elsewhere (Jn 3:30). He frankly admitted that he was the Messiah’s humble and obedient messenger, preparing a straight way for the Messiah in the hearts and lives of the Jews.

 

Everyone who knew John and heard him speak could see immediately that he was not living a self-centered life, and that opened their hearts. We too, as New Testament prophets, are called to live in such a way that the best argument supporting our words about Christ will be that we are living like Christ. This is the real power behind all the saints. As New Testament prophets, we must use words to invite repentance and to tell about God's goodness and Christ's truth, but our best argument will always be Christ-like lives.

According to the prophet Isaiah, there are two things we can do to get ready to receive those blessings: to fill in every valley and to make low every mountain.

The valleys stand for our sins of omission, the things we should be doing but aren't. For example, if we aren't spending quality time with our family, we need to fill in that valley. If we aren't spending at least a few minutes each day in prayer with God, we need to fill in that valley.

John’s message demands from us too, to level the mountains of ego and the selfish and sinful habits that we have built up; the sins of commission. If we like to gossip and spread criticism, we need to tear that mountain down. If we are leading a double life, indulging in hidden sins or lies that are poisoning our souls, we need to lay low that mountain.

If we are arrogantly treating our colleagues, teammates, or family members like lower class people, we need to get rid of that mountain. The mountains and valleys inhibit God's grace from traveling into our hearts; they are roadblocks that keep out God’s mercy, peace, and wisdom. Advent is the season to smooth out and clear up the roads to our hearts.

 

It was their stubborn pride and self-centeredness, which blinded the eyes of the Jews and kept them from recognizing Jesus as their long-awaited Messiah. The same stubborn pride, the same exaggerated sense of our own dignity, blinds the intellects of many of us today who not only fail to accept Christ and his good tidings, but also prevent others from accepting him.

Every Christian is called to be another John the Baptist, and that's why the Church always holds his example up for our consideration during Advent. Today Jesus will come onto the altar here in this church as truly as he came into the manger at Bethlehem. When he does, let's thank him for not forgetting about us, and let's promise him that this Advent we will do our best to fulfill our Advent mission, by striving to follow the example of St John the Baptist.