Merry Christmas Blessed Mother

 

In all my years, I have never welcomed the coming of winter with any joy.  Just don’t like it. Love three out of the four seasons, but never learned to appreciate winter. For a few years now, I’ve looked for signs that may shed some scientific light and truths on the approaching winter – will it be mild or will it be severe. 

 Finally, I’ve found the proven indicator, my scientific evidence. It’s the fuzzy wooly large caterpillar that you may see wiggling across the road in the late autumn. Crawling from one field to the other field with a road in between. Now, for years I’ve been mentally recording these findings and here are the results.

 The more of these orange and brown hairy caterpillars you see, the colder the winter will be.  Last year, there were millions crossing many of the back roads, especially Blue Bell Rd, you couldn’t avoid them with your car, and, my evidence, we had an extremely cold, windy and snowy winter. 

 I don’t understand the significance of why they are crossing the road, but I’m aware of when they cross in large numbers, winters are severe. But, I am very happy to report that this year I saw only two of the little buggers the entire autumn. Prediction, very mild winter.  Now, I’m not a meteorologist, but to me that’s a sure sign – I believe God put these fuzzy creatures on this earth to give us a sign of what is coming, an indicator and for us to prepare.

 Well, we don’t quite have the fuzzy caterpillars in our readings today but, we do have some signs of what is to come.  We are more than midway through the season of Advent, and the Third Sunday of Advent is referred to as “The Sunday of Joy”, or some refer to it as Pink Sunday. John the Baptist is laying the ground work, clearing the path for the joy that is to come in Jesus.

 He says, “There is one among you whom you do not recognize”. John, was telling the Jews, with full conviction, that Jesus had been living among them for thirty years. But, yet, they didn’t know Him, they didn’t recognize him. 

 We are fortunate, because we believe Jesus is really present in our midst; present in our tabernacle, soon to be present on our altar, present in our souls by grace.  But, aren’t there times we feel he sometimes conceals himself from us? Aren’t their times we feel like we’ve lost Jesus, and living in some kind of darkness and confusion? And with that confusion we lack trust and our faith begins to dwindle, and God becomes foreign to us. Sometimes we look for inspiration, a person of great faith to lift our spirits and to help us see Jesus more clearly.

 And we have that person, our Blessed Mother, whose faith was and is beyond our understanding; she believed in the words of the Angel, and when she agreed to become the Mother of God, and with that trust in her God, she accepted a mystery which she did not fully understand. She recognized God in her heart in our Responsorial Psalm, The Canticle of Mary, the prayer of Mary that we know as the Magnicat.

 And when the world seems to be collapsing on us, when the confusion in our faith and trust in God becomes an obstacle in our spiritual life, when the road to spiritual happiness is overshadowed by doubt, when we can’t recognize Jesus amid all this confusion, call on Mary, our spiritual Mother.

 It is said that when we reflect on the Blessed Mother in prayer with trust, and belief, confident that our prayers will be answered, we find life, and that life is Jesus Christ. Yes, Mary has power and takes our prayers to Jesus by presenting them unblemished as a gift fit for a King. The intersession of Mary, our Mother is beyond powerful, it is real and it is potent.

 The Blessed Mother wants nothing more than to rekindle, give life to the spark that unites us with her Son. Yes, to re-connect and help us find Him, to recognize His voice when he speaks to us.

 Today and especially on Christmas, we should be anticipating God not with distress and trembling but with rejoicing, because he has filled the hungry with good things, like our Blessed Mother did on that joyous day the very first Christmas

 Allow the Blessed Mother to bring you to the altar today, to receive Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

 You know, a single Communion should be enough to fill you with the fervor, the passion for Jesus like that of the Blessed Mother and the saints, yet for many of us it leaves us as cold as we were before. Because we did not come to Jesus prepared.

 Pray to Mary to bring you to her Son. Before and especially while approaching the altar, our concentration must be on the gift of Jesus that we about to receive.  St. Paul tells us “Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, who leads us in our faith and brings us to perfection.” That’s how we recognize Jesus with our eyes fixed on him.

 Pray to Mary, our Mother who is so much like we are, she has a heart just like our heart, is made for joy and laughter. A heart like ours for suffering and tears that like us has shed many times. She is our Mother who wants only the best for her children. A mother to console us.

 Over two thousand years ago, our Blessed Mother prepared for the birth her Son, the King, the Savior of the World, and we joyfully prepare every year to celebrate his birthday. Yes, Advent, the season of joy, with the infant Jesus cuddled in the manger.

 And what joy on Christmas morning when you feel and recognize the infant Jesus living in your heart. You prepared, you prayed, you got to know Jesus.

We pray to the Mother of God, our mother, to prepare for us the way that leads to her Son. Her wonderful and sweet heart knows the surest path for finding Christ."  With her help, she will make straight the way of the Lord.

 She will quicken our steps to Jesus, correct and eliminate the obstacles preventing us, because of our negligence and sinfulness to recognize Christ. With her help, we will know the happiness and joy of holding the child Jesus in our arms once more and telling him we will never lose him again."

 There are signs in your life, indicators that if you evaluate them closely, will let you know what road you are on this Advent.  Recognize them. Prepare! Pray to Mary!

 Make this Christmas a special one for Jesus, an exceptional birthday, give him a gift a gift that will bring tears of joy to his eyes. Give him you!