A moment of terror for some

Our Mother Mary tells us in the book The Imitation of Mary, “For many, death is a moment of terror; for the Christian, who is filled with love, it will be a time of consolation and sweetest peace”. Let love be your life.

The favor of the King

Mary, the Mother of God, is also our wonderful Mother, a gift from God Himself.  Like all mothers, Mary is there to help us, draw us closer to herself, which ultimately brings us to her Son.  She takes our precious prayers, purifies them and hands them to Jesus.

St. Louis Marie De Montfort puts it this way, “It is as if a poor peasant, wishing to win the friendship and favor of the king, were to go the queen and give her an apple - his only possession - for her to offer it to the king.

The queen, accepting the peasant's humble gift, puts it on a beautiful golden dish and presents it to the king on behalf of the peasant. The apple in itself would not be a gift worthy of a king, but presented by the queen in person on a dish of gold, it becomes fit for any king.” That’s what the saints and our Blessed Mother do for those who believe.

The surest and fastest way to Jesus is through Mary. Yes, it is through Mary we find true life, and that life is Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  Let Mary be your guide to the narrow path

The fear of the unknown

Today is a day dedicated to Our Blessed Mother, the model of perfection, because of her faultless humility. Today we honor her as the “The Mother of Sorrows”. A woman of generosity, a generosity that goes beyond charity because of selfless love. A woman that trusted in her God because of undaunted faith.

She is the definition of the word trust, as we know it is said of her in Scripture, “And Mary kept all these things reflecting on them in her heart” (Lk 2:19). She always said yes to her God!

And that same faith manifested by her cousin, “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled”

A beautiful woman who said “Yes” and then with that trust and humility and her loving heart placed the needs of her cousin ahead of her own almighty annunciation.  Mary had faith.

Saint Alphonsus Liguori says, that the most holy Virgin had more faith than all men and Angels. She saw her Son in the crib of Bethlehem, and believed Him the Creator of the world.

She saw Him born and believed Him eternal. She saw Him poor and in need of food, and believed Him the Lord of the universe. She heard Him weep, and believed Him the joy of Paradise.

 And yes, she saw Him in death, despised and crucified, and, although faith wavered in others, Mary remained firm in the belief that He was God.

On these words of the Gospel, their stood by the Cross of Jesus His Mother. "Mary stood, supported by her faith."

And her faith is the faith we all seek. Her faith is the pillar of strength that when we imitate her, becomes our strength as well. And that strength provides the stepping stones to receive all the other virtues of our Blessed Mother, that model of perfection.

 Our faith must be a faith that as St. Leo the Great tells is so great that it will remain unshaken even in exile and hunger, devastation, and the most refined tortures ever devised by brutal persecutors. That is true faith in God.

Helping her older cousin wasn’t the only thing on her mind while traveling by caravan to see Elizabeth. There was the danger. But there was also the possibility she would need to explain her own condition at some point, if not to Elizabeth, but to Joseph.

How would her family respond? But there was that “yes” she said to God, yes, to be the Mother of Jesus.

That yes allows her to place her entire life in God’s hands. A Trust we can all pray for.

Yes, Mary was strong and whatever fears she had were washed away when she finally met Elizabeth and they embraced, both filled with inexplicable joy. At this singular meeting, law gives way to promise, ancient prophecy meets divine fulfillment, and the old bows to the new.

Suddenly, Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit and recognizes Mary as the vessel of God’s salvation. Not with bitterness or envy, but with rejoicing, acknowledging and granting the higher place to Mary, and she shouts with joy, “The Mother of my Lord”.

And Mary, humbly accepted the honor to her by Elizabeth and turned it immediately to the Lord whom her soul magnified.

With faith, the quiet and youthful Mary entered the unknown. With that same faith and trust in God, Mary brought grace and abounding joy in coming to celebrate her cousin’s good fortune.

The love, and graciousness friendship between Mary and Elizabeth invites us to examine these virtues in our own lives. Do we reach out to others?   Is there a fear that prevents us from taking the next step, maybe even into the unknown? Is it the faith we desire, but the faith we sometimes lack.

So many times God asks each of us to "cast out into the deep", enter the unknown, just like He did with Mary. And when He challenges us we must imitate Mary’s trust, Mary’s unshakable faith, move forward knowing He is with us every step of our journey.

Mary carried Jesus within her body.  We too receive Christ into our body in Holy Communion. Today, let us praise the Lord for all He has done in our lives and for all that He has blessed us with, and for that he will wants to do if we allow him to live in our heart. He has mercy on those who fear Him.

Let us praise the Lord as Mary did and ask her for a faith fortified with love in her Son Jesus.  Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us

The Duty

 

O Jesus, You have accepted me as a member of Your Msystical Body, grant that I may not be in it as a stranger, but that I may work for the good of all my brethren.

St Theresa of the Child Jesus said, "How happy I would be if, at the hour of my death, I could have a single soul to offer You! There would be a soul snatched from the fire of hell to bless You for all eternity"

The Perfect Pinochle Hand

My grandfather’s favorite expression was “God does all things well”, and he would say that whether his life was in turmoil with suffering and pain or when life was good. And he was a holy man. I remember one Christmas Eve, when my wife and I, before we were married, visited my grandparents. At the time my grandmother was suffering from Alzheimer’s but when we visited we always managed to begin a game of pinochle before my grandmother forgot what game we were playing.

 On this one Christmas Eve, the four of us were seated around a card table, and my grandmother, being the thoughtful person she was, went into the kitchen to bring us some snacks.  Unfortunately, after three trips and no snacks, she asked us what she was doing in the kitchen. We politely told her and as she left again, I could see the deep love and concern my grandfather had for her.

 He said, let’s put a pinochle hand together for your grandmother, a Christmas gift she’ll never forget.  We did, a run, a hundred aces, eighty kings – a hand you could only hope for in your dreams. She came back with sodas, which we already had and sat down and slowly organized the cards in her hands – and with each card, her smile grew wider and ohs and ahs were whispered, her eyes lit up. She was so proud of herself, the happiest she had been in a long time.  We knew she’d forget how to play the hand she was dealt. And my grandfather smiling and holding back the tears he looked tenderly at my grandmother and said, “I love Christmas. God does all things well”.

And on this glorious night, we can say “Yes, God does all things well” .On this night, we are with Mary and Joseph, we are there in a cold and dreary stable, just waiting. This is a night of expectations, a night of miracles. A night of excitement both for children and for parents.  A child is to be born, the child, Jesus, that is the reason for this very night.

It is a night of many hopes and joy from heaven and from earth. In that scene in Bethlehem over two thousand years ago, Heaven and earth rejoiced, because something new has happened; the age of God’s fulfillment has arrived on this very morning we call Christmas.

No longer will people walk in darkness. Right there in a cold and dreary stable makes me believe God does all things well.

Heaven and earth rejoice. God the Father, who sent his only Son to be born to a Virgin is eagerly waiting His gift to us, his miracle. The Holy Spirit is waiting, who overshadowed the Virgin Mary and she conceived a Child to be born under the Star of Bethlehem.  

And, Mary, the expectant mother who said yes to be the Mother of Jesus, the Son of God, is now resting, waiting in a cold stable, soon to be holy ground. And the choirs of angels singing for joy as they anticipate this heavenly and glorious miracle.

We know the obedience of Joseph and we know this humble man is there with Mary.  Joseph, husband of Mary, anticipating the most wonderful miracle to ever take place on the face of the earth, and this cold and damp stable becomes a waiting room for an expectant father. 

Yes it is a silent night, a Holy night. At that very moment all was calm, all was bright for truly, God does all things well.

And, Joseph, the epitome of both husband and father was chosen by God to be the spouse of Mary. God chose Joseph, and in Joseph the New Covenant will be brought about by the working of the Holy Spirit. What a miracle, Joseph becomes the foster father of Him Who is Himself the New Covenant, a covenant which is immediately a fulfillment and a sweeping renewal of everything that was, is and will come to be.

Why Joseph? And why is Joseph the image that every father should hold close to his heart. The image of the person whose actions and love for the Holy Family are to be imitated in every man’s own marriage.

And why is Joseph the spiritual, loving and caring person that every wife and mother should hope for in a husband and father of her children.

Because in Joseph we see the strong and silent man, a man who shouldered the story of Mary, who dreamed and trusted in every word of God, whose very faith and devotion pleased God. God came first in all things for Joseph.  

And God chose him. And Joseph said yes. And Like Mary, Joseph chose freely to accept his role in Jesus’ salvation, placing all his trust in his God. 

And now they are alone, Joseph and Mary, alone in a place certainly not suitable for a birth of any child. But they are not in darkness.

A man full of love and compassion, Joseph respects Mary’s essential self-abandonment to the Father and he lives the same mystery as she does – a mystery of total surrender of one’s entire life into the hands of the Father.

Generously and with full humility, he weds himself to the working of God’s Spirit within Mary and he lives her secret, a secret which binds her so personally to the Father.  It is a true love of husband and wife, a God centered marriage, sharing the same intention that forms the foundation of their love of friendship, a love which is so divine, so strong and yet, so unique. And to this holy family, a child is born this night in a little town of Bethlehem.

And tonight, we can see it, touch it, we can even taste it, the mystery, the miracle of God’s favor that is upon us as we celebrate Jesus’s birth. And Joseph was there, silent and courageous, a man with a tender heart.

And tonight the holy family is born, Jesus, Mary and Joseph. The holiest of all families is born in a cold and dreary stable. Yes, Joseph knew that Mary belonged to God alone and God has every claim on her.  How can we not see the divine love that he has for Mary, for he loves her for herself. He loves her in order that the will of God be fulfilled in her. A marriage of pure unselfish and generous love.

The true and generous love of Joseph for Mary is the same unselfish love we should have for each other in our own marriage, in all of our relationships. Difficult yes, but God driven, for Joseph does not love Mary for himself; his love gives him no claim, no entitlement to Mary, but only love and respect.

 A man and a woman, a husband and a wife, a love for each other that has no bounds.

Yes, Joseph, chosen and tested by God to be the Father of Jesus, a model for all fathers, and he lives for Mary, a man who places God first in all things, a man who behaves like God himself. That is a man, that is a husband, that is a father.

Yes, over two thousand years age, they are alone in a stable, preparing the manger with a bed of straw, for a King to be born.  Like any expectant father, Joseph is nervous, it’s all new to him, a mystery and a heavy responsibility. He probably paced the stable floor, and undoubtedly tenderly asking Mary how she was doing.  And Mary, so young and frightened as well, but yet felt so secure. She knew she was chosen to be the Mother of God, but she also knew, Joseph was chosen to be her protector.

There’s the old saying “you play with the hand you are dealt with”. But, besides my grandmother, who was ever dealt a perfect hand? Who has the perfect marriage, the perfect children, the perfect spouse? Joseph and Mary begin married life in a stable. But, what they did pleased God, because he was always first in their lives.

 And when we follow the example of St. Joseph and live a God centered life, we can, with the help of God, see a great light and win the hand. Pray for the faith of Joseph, the trust of Joseph and the love and selflessness of Joseph.

 No, it’s not in the hand you’re dealt, it’s where you place God in that hand. And it’s in that very hand, God does all things well. Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday Jesus!