The Sacred Liturgy Nos. 7 & 8

7. The Act of Penitence…
At the beginning of the Mass, after making the Sign of the Cross, and greeting the people, the priest invites the people to call to mind their sins in preparation for the celebration of the Mass. Silence is then observed, so that everyone present may recollect themselves and call to mind the times when they have not fulfilled the commandments of the Lord. We humbly acknowledge that we are imperfect, and that we have sinned, before we approach the altar to celebrate the Mass. The priest prays that the Lord will have mercy on us and forgive us our sins. The Act of Penitence always ends in the Kyrie Eleison, Greek for “Lord, have mercy.” By this prayer, we implore the Lord to have mercy on us.
It is important to remember that the Act of Penitence is a prayer for mercy and forgiveness. It does not absolve sins in the same way as the Sacrament of Reconciliation. If a person is conscious of grave sin, he must go to Confession before receiving Communion.
GIRM 51-52

8. The Structure of the Act of Penitence…
The rubrics of the Mass [rubric means “liturgical directive” and is derived from the Latin rubrico, which means “red,” because the rubrics are printed in red in the liturgical books] offer the Celebrant three options for the Act of Penitence.
A. The recitation of the Confiteor is the normative option. It is a prayer said by the whole assembly, in which we confess our sinfulness and beg God’s mercy.
B. The second option is a series of invocations, and responses by the people, which express our contrition and prayer for mercy.
C. The third option is the “Kyrie” with invocations preceding each verse. (“Lord, have mercy,” is from the Greek Kyrie, eleison.) For example: “You were sent to heal the contrite: Lord, have mercy.”
All three of these are preceded by the priest’s invitation and followed by the absolution prayer (“May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.”) Options A and B do not include the “Kyrie,” so it is recited after the absolution prayer when these options are used.
GIRM 51-52

Homily Third Sunday of the Year 21 January 2007

In 1970, a woman named Norma McCorvey started down a path
no one had ever taken in life…
and found herself in the midst of a journey she never expected…
with an ending she never could have predicted.

Norma McCorvey was the lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit,
which challenged the laws making abortion illegal in the State of Texas.

The case was appealed to the United States Supreme Court,
which handed down its controversial decision on January 22, 1973,
making abortion legal in all 50 of the United States.

This is the famous Roe vs. Wade case…
and Norma McCorvey is “Jane Roe,”
the pseudonym she assumed to remain anonymous.
As a result of this case…
abortion on demand is now available throughout the United States.

But the story does not end there.

When her involvement in the Supreme Court case went public,
she did some public speaking, becoming a bit if a celebrity.

In 1995, she was working in a so-called “women’s clinic” in Dallas…
and had a reputation as a “hard-core abortion rights advocate.”
Along the way, in chats on their smoke breaks…
she became friends with the director of Operation Rescue,
a pro-life organization,
which had opened an office next door to the “clinic.”

The man was also a minister, and he began to discuss Christianity with Norma.

After some time, she accepted an invitation to attend church with her new friends.
After experiencing the warm welcome of the community,
and hearing the teachings of Christ…
she was converted to Christianity.

Norma later renounced her ties to abortion rights activism.
She is now a national speaker in support of the pro-life cause,
and a sign of hope for all who work in defense of human life.

The grace of the Holy Spirit
transformed Norma from a persecutor of the unborn…
into a spirited defender of the sacredness of human life.

Her conversion is a sign to us all of what God can accomplish
through the life of one person.

God, in His goodness, works through the lives of men and women…
through the life of the Church…
to bring about the conversion of the world to Himself.

Through the Church…
and through the witness of people like Norma McCorvey…
God is continually calling people back to the truth
about the dignity and sacredness of each and every human life.

Every life is sacred in the eyes of God…without exception…
and this includes the poor…the soldiers at war…those in prison…
and especially the innocent unborn.

Since the earliest days of the Church…
in an ancient document from the second century called the Didache…
and until this very day…
the Church has continually taught that abortion…
because of the very action itself…
and regardless of the circumstances…
is always evil.

The forgotten truth about abortion…
is that the evil it causes is not limited to the death of a child.

Abortion affects us all.
Our Epistle today comes from the Letter of Paul to the Corinthians.
Paul himself was a vicious persecutor of Christians…
until the Lord touched his heart,
and transformed him into an instrument of His will.
He writes that if one member of the Church suffers, all the members suffer.

The loss of any member of the Church causes the whole body to suffer.
Indeed, the loss of any human life causes suffering throughout the world.

Abortion affects all those who come in contact with it.

The suffering and trauma which women experience after having an abortion…
the guilt and sorrow that the men in their lives feel…
the pain which tears apart families…
is immeasurable.
I once saw a t-shirt worn by a pro-life supporter…
black shirt that simply read in white letters:
“Abortion hurts women.”
That is the painful truth of abortion.

The good news is that vast networks of counselors and ministers are springing up…
whose charisms are to offer support to traumatized men and women…
to offer retreats and counseling…
to heal the wounds caused by abortion…
and to show women that there are other, much healthier and safer options.

Since abortion is sadly so common these days…
there is a good chance that some of you have experienced its effects…
in your families or among your friends.
If this is so…
know with absolute certainty…
that God loves you…and the Church loves you…
and that the Church cares for those who suffer.
Someone famous once said…
“All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.”
Abortion is evil…and it is slowly triumphing…
so what are we going to do about it?

We can start by praying.
Pray the Rosary, and ask Mary to convert the hearts of all men and women…
to see and embrace the truth about the sanctity of human life…
just as the heart of Norma McCorvey was converted.
When you come to Mass…
come a little early and pray to Jesus present in the Tabernacle…
asking Him to comfort those who suffer.
Pray constantly that the world will once again respect the dignity of all human life.

Second, we can witness to the truth of our faith.
Each year on the anniversary Roe vs. Wade…
hundreds of thousands of people from across America…
travel to Washington, DC, for an even called the “March for Life.”
Perhaps some of you have participated.
If not, I strongly encourage you to consider doing so.
I will be leaving Sunday afternoon for Washington…
to participate in the evening Mass at the BNSIC…
and the March on Monday afternoon.
I ask you to join we me in spirit in these days,
as we together as God to protect the innocent unborn…
and inspire a love for life in the hearts of all people.

In our own Diocese, and in nearby cities…
there are opportunities to join with others for peaceful witness and prayer
outside abortion clinics.

Yesterday, people gathered, as they do every Saturday,
near the clinic on Market Street in Youngstown,
for prayer and witness.
Monsignor Siffrin celebrated the diocesan Mass for Life at Saint Dominic’s,
which was attended by people from throughout the diocese.

Thirdly, we can allow our faith in the sanctity of human life
to inform our consciences as we participate in our political process.

These are all ways in which each of us
can take a real stance in defense of human life.

Estimates suggest that…
in the 34 years since the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe vs. Wade…
over 40 million abortions have occurred in the United States.
In this country…
where the right to life…and liberty…and the pursuit of happiness…
are allegedly our foundation…
roughly 3,700 abortions now occur every day.

Imagine if the cure for cancer was meant to be found in the 1980s…
but the doctor was aborted.

Imagine if great symphonies were mean to be composed…
to rival the work of Beethoven and Mozart…
and great works of art comparable only to Michaelangelo’s Sistine Chapel…
but the artists and composers were taken through abortion.
Imagine how many priests and religious…perhaps even bishops…
we will never see ordained…
because abortion claimed their tiny lives.
We will never know the answers…

Difficult as this may be to hear…these are the facts.
This is part of the reality of our world that we have to face.

Last week we celebrated the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King.
His famous “I have a dream” speech included this line…
“I have a dream that one day…little black boys and little black girls
will be able to join hands with little white boys and little white girls
as sisters and brothers.”
Dr. King is celebrated as a man who recognized the dignity of the human person…
despite what they looked like.
I have confidence that if he were alive today…
he would tell us to respect the unborn little boys and girls too…
for they surely cannot hold hands as brothers and sisters…
if they cannot even have a chance to live.

Interestingly, Dr. King’s niece…Dr. Alveda King…
is a pastoral associate for the organization Priests for Life.

Dr. King loved life…
and he would want us to do all we can to witness to its sanctity.

With love in our hearts…
may we go forth strengthened by this Eucharist…
to pray constantly that the whole world may come to cherish life…
and to give witness to the dignity of each and every human person.

Saint Gianna Molla,
Pray for us!
Holy Mary, mother of the unborn…
Pray for us!

The Sacred Liturgy Nos. 5 & 6

5. Silence is Golden!
The Roman statesman Cato wrote: “He is nearest to the gods who knows how to be silent.”
The Second Vatican Council undertook its renewal of the Liturgy in order to foster “full, conscious, and active participation.” At times, this means active listening and sacred silence, rather than physical activity. Silence is important in the Liturgy because it allows us to more easily hear the voice of the Lord.
Within the Mass, there are designated times of sacred silence. During the Act of Penitence at the beginning of Mass, we recollect ourselves and recall our sins. After the Readings, and the Homily, we pause to reflect on God’s Word to us. After Communion, we take time for personal prayer in thanksgiving for the gift of the Eucharist.
In and around the church, especially immediately before liturgies, we should maintain a spirit of reverence and silence, so that we may direct our attention to God and to holy things.
GIRM 45

6. The Regulation of the Liturgy…
The Liturgy is the work of the Lord through which He bestows grace on His people. Jesus Christ entrusted the sacraments and the celebration of the mysteries of the faith to His Church. Throughout history, the prayers of the Church have come to take on specific formulas and rituals, which have been renewed and adapted at times to better express God’s saving mysteries in a particular age.
The task of regulating the rituals of the Liturgy and of publishing liturgical books belongs to the authority of the Church, that is, the Apostolic See (the Pope) and, in some instances, the Diocesan Bishops. Priests and deacons are co-workers with the bishops in their task of celebrating the Liturgy according to the norms of the Church. Because the faithful have a right to experience the Liturgy as regulated by the Church, no one, not even a priest, may change the Liturgy on his own authority.
RS 14-35

Living Bread Radio...

The following seven reflections originally aired on Living Bread Radio AM 1060 during the week of January 7th.

Enjoy!

Sunday, 7 January 2007

Epiphany

Matthew 2: 1-12

Today, as we celebrate the coming of the Magi to adore the infant Jesus, I have chosen to share with you a beautiful story. This is the story of a poor, young couple, in a humble apartment, on the day before Christmas. Della is sobbing on the couch, distraught that she only has one dollar and eighty-seven cents to buy her beloved husband Jim a Christmas present. After a while, she bundles up in her old coat and hat, and rushes down the street to a local hair goods shop, where she sells her greatest treasure, her beautiful hair, for twenty dollars. Searching for hours, she finally finds a gift worthy of her Jim: a platinum fob chain for the watch that belonged to Jim’s father and grandfather, his prized possession.
Returning home, she quickly fixed her remaining hair into curls, afraid that Jim would no longer find her pretty without her hair. When he came home, he was stunned as he looked at her, and listened to her explain how she had sold her hair to buy his present. Jim embraced her and allayed her fears, saying that neither short hair nor anything else could make him love her any less.
Then he tossed a package on the table: his Christmas gift for Della. She screamed, for the package contained the jeweled tortoise shell combs that she had so desired every time she had passed the store window. The combs would have looked so lovely in her hair. She reassured Jim: “My hair grows so fast!”
She now turned to give Jim his present, the watch chain. As he unwrapped it, he sank to the couch with his head in his hands. He said to her with sadness: “I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs.”
This is the famous story by O. Henry titled “The Gift of the Magi.” He ends with these few lines of commentary. “The magi, as you know, were wise men…who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones… And here I have…related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days, let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi.”
This Epiphany let us give the greatest treasures of our homes and hearts, for one another, and for the Lord Jesus.

Monday, 8 January 2007

Baptism of the Lord

Luke 3: 15-16, 21-22

Today, as we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, we are given an opportunity by the Church’s liturgical observance to reflect on the meaning of our own Baptism. The Catechism of the Church tells us that, in Baptism, we experience an outpouring of the grace of the Holy Spirit. Grace is a participation in the life of God. By Baptism, we participate in the grace of God and become “adopted sons and daughters of God.”
This sharing in the life and love of God as baptized persons and members of the Church is at once a great gift and an awesome responsibility. Since Baptism is the means of initiation into the Church, it is called the “Gateway to the Sacraments.” To baptized person is given the great joy of sharing in the life and love of God through the outward signs of the Sacraments, which Christ Himself has instituted. As Catholic Christians, the baptized are drawn ever closer to God through their participation in the life of the Church. The saving teachings of Christ are for the baptized the very rule of life.
With these tremendous gifts from the Lord comes the duty to live lives of constant gratitude. When we receive a gift, it is customary to send a thank you card, and to neglect this is socially unacceptable. So it is entirely unacceptable to take the gifts the Lord has given us without any sign of gratitude. We express our gratitude by immersing ourselves in the life of the Church, by taking every opportunity to celebrate the Sacraments…especially Reconciliation and Communion…to study the faith and delve deeply into the teaching of Christ, and to make the Church community a priority in our daily living.
We also show our gratitude by sharing what we have received with those around us, so that the world may know that we have been touched by God and changed for the better because of His presence in our lives. We are called to courageously stand up for what is good, true, and holy, no matter the cost. Baptism is not just a ceremony. It is a way of life.
As often as we take Holy Water in church and sign ourselves with the Cross of Christ, we are reminded of our Baptism, and our high calling as Christians to be witnesses of grace, calling others to the waters of Baptism, that they too may have life.

Tuesday, 9 January 2007

Tuesday of the First Week of the Year

Mark 1: 14-28

The Scriptures today illustrate a central truth of our holy Catholic faith. Jesus Christ was indeed both God and man. Jesus was a man like us in all things except sin. He was subject to the laws of human existence. He had to endure the pain and sorrow we endure in this life, and He endured it perfectly. He tasted death so that we might have life. At the same time, Jesus was the Son of God, and so, even in his human life, possessed authority over the world. He is at once our brother, and the King of kings.
In today’s Gospel, we see Jesus exercising authority over sickness and death. He drives an unclean spirit out of a man who is possessed. When the people hear Jesus teaching, and see Him performing spectacular deeds of healing, they are amazed at Him. They are astonished because of something unique: Jesus teaches with authority, and commands even the demons. The people tell of Him throughout all of Galilee because they so impressed by Him. They are impressed that His teaching is different from anything they have heard: “he teaches as one having authority, and not like the scribes.”
Jesus’ teaching is not like any other. He is not simply a holy prophet, a good teacher, or the founder of a religious sect. He is the only begotten Son of God, Who became man for our salvation. It is through Jesus Christ that the world is saved and re-created. So, the Church is like not any other religious institution. In the Church, which Christ founded on the rock of the Apostle Peter, is found the fullness of the truth, and the means to salvation for all mankind.
Jesus teaches with authority, and so does His holy Church. We rejoice and are amazed in God’s love for us, revealed in the person of Christ, and in the life of the Church. In our joy and amazement, we, too, are called to spread the name of Jesus throughout the whole world. The Church depends on every baptized person to spread the love and truth of Jesus Christ to others. We can do so with confidence, for we are brothers and sisters of Christ, the very Son of God.

Wednesday, 10 January 2006

Wednesday of the First Week of the Year

Mark 1: 29-39

Time and again the Scriptures tell of Jesus’ healing power, and His miraculous cures. In today’s Gospel, Jesus cures Simon’s mother-in-law, who was sick with a fever. Jesus’ ministry brought healing, peace and relief to many people. Through the ministry of the Church, the presence of Jesus is continually made present to us. Jesus forgives our sins and brings healing and consolation through the sacramental and pastoral work of the Church’s priests. In the ministry of the priest, Jesus is present. His saving work continues even now, in our midst, in the daily work of all the Church’s ministers. The scene presented to us in today’s Gospel – Jesus travelling with the Apostles throughout Galilee, healing, preaching, and teaching – is re-created in hospitals, confessionals, and schools throughout the world, where Jesus is present in the ministry of the Church.
In today’s Gospel, we find the source of Jesus’ strength for His ministry of preaching, teaching, and healing. We hear that Jesus rose early before dawn and went off to a deserted place to pray. In this moment of solitude and communion with His Heavenly Father, Jesus gained the strength to minister. After He prayed, He was energized to continue the journey to even more villages, and to continue preaching and healing.
So it is for the Church. The Church is strengthened and refreshed for her ministry by the daily celebration of the Mass, the constant praying of the Liturgy of the Hours, and the personal prayer of every priest, religious sister and brother, and lay Catholic. Prayer – both liturgical and personal– is the fountain of life for the Church.
For each of us personally, prayer can be the source of our inner strength. The holiest, happiest, and most successful people I have met, are those who make the celebration of the Mass and prayer a priority in their lives. Of that I am sure. One of my dearest friends spends an hour each day praying before the Tabernacle, and the grace she receives in prayer shines forth in her life.
Jesus left us an example to follow: take time often, away from the crowds and noise of the world, to rest quietly with the Lord. In prayer with Jesus you will find the strength to go on living your own vocation with renewed intensity.

Thursday, 11 January 2006

Thursday of the First Week of the Year

Mark 1: 40-45

Today’s First Reading and Responsorial Psalm offer a strong word of encouragement for us. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews encourages us to take care that our hearts do not become hardened toward God and unfaithful to Him. We live in a world of many temptations, and popular opinion tries to lure us away from the Lord. It is easy to find pleasure in abusing the things of this world. Sin is often fun and exciting, for a while at least. Yet, it is important to remember that all of creation is good and sacred because it is the work of a loving and infinitely good God. Thus, as sons and daughters of God, human persons are called to use the treasures of the world, the gift of human sexuality, our relationships, possessions, and talents, for God’s glory and one another’s good, not for selfish interests. Our Heavenly Father indeed knows what is best for us. We are called to praise God and help each other along to path to happiness in this life and eternal life in heaven.
Sin causes us to stray from the healthy and holy purpose God has designed for us and for all of creation. It might all begin with something that seems small: we think it’s fine to miss Mass on Sunday, to tell a “white lie,” to cheat in school or slack off at work. After a while, our hearts become hardened, so that we are no longer ashamed of our sins. We become complacent, and comfortable in our selfish way of life. We begin to make excuses for our behavior. Our hearts harden against the Lord, until we can no longer hear His voice in our lives, and He becomes more and more distant from us.
Today we are awoken from our complacency by the power of God’s Word, which calls us out of our hardness of heart and into the light of truth. If we wish to experience the loving presence of Jesus Christ, we have to hold up our end of the bargain. Missing Mass on Sunday without a grave reason is a mortal sin, which separates us far from God. Lying and cheating only lead to more deceit. Sin left unchecked leads to a heart of stone.
Today, hearken to the voice of the Lord, who calls to you: “harden not your heart…turn back to me…let sin not separate you from my love.”

Friday, 12 January 2007

Friday of the First Week of the Year

Mark 2: 1-12

Today we are struck by the great faith of the men who carry the paralytic to Jesus on a mat. The crowds listening to Jesus had gathered in such great numbers that people could no longer get close to Him. Four men appear, carrying a paralytic. They will stop at nothing to bring the man to Jesus. They climb up onto the top of the house and open the tiles in the roof. They lower the man down to Jesus in the midst of the crowd. These men have such faith, and such trust in Jesus.
Upon seeing their faith, Jesus forgives the man’s sins, and heals him. Notice that it is not the faith of the paralyzed man himself that moves Jesus to forgive his sins. Rather, it is the faith of the men who carried him that inspires Jesus to heal the man in soul and body.
Faith and trust are values and virtues that are severely lacking in our world today. Statistics about Mass attendance and participation in the life of the Church are cause for alarm. For so many people, weddings, funerals, and baptisms are the only times they are seen in church, and are no longer signs of a life of faith. The general lack of authentic participation in the life of the Church, and the failure of so many to accept and live out of her teachings in their lives, betrays a lack of faith in our world today. The world is loosing its faith in Jesus.
Trust is missing in our relationship with God and our relationships with one another. Authentic love of God means surrendering ourselves to Him, so that His will for us becomes the rock on which our lives are founded. God is infinitely good, and forever loving. We can place our trust in Him, and He will never fail us.
What is more, God calls each human person to be a person of integrity, a person in whom others can place their trust. Our world needs the example of trustworthy people. Today’s readings from Sacred Scripture are a call to every Christian man and woman to really live the faith they claim to profess. By a living example of faith, we have the means to bring others close to Jesus.
In the world there is a different kind of “crowd” than the one we see in the Gospel. The media and popular opinion want to keep us from Jesus because they have lost faith in him. Don’t let them. Like the men in today’s Gospel, let nothing stop you from entering deeply into a relationship with Jesus and from bringing others close to Him.

Saturday, 13 January 2007

Saint Hilary of Poitiers

Mark 2: 13-17

In the Holy Gospel today, Jesus encounters a challenge from the scribes and Pharisees, who criticize Him for eating with people they consider to be less desirable: tax collectors and sinners. Jesus tells them that He did not come to call the righteous but sinners. Of course, no one except Jesus and Mary are without sin. What He means here is that He has not come to call the self-righteous. Those who believe themselves to be perfect, and so look down on others whom they call “sinners,” are far from the kingdom of God. Jesus came in the flesh to love each and every person, even the sinner. He also came to lead them from sin and into a new way of life. Similarly, He comes to us, to free us from sin and lead us to a new way of life in His kingdom.
An essential prerequisite for living in the kingdom Jesus has come to proclaim is authentic humility. Each of us has to recognize that we stand before God as humble, broken, imperfect human persons. None of us is without faults, and so none of us has the right to mock or dismiss others for their faults. Rather, our place is to follow the example of Jesus and lead them lovingly out of sin and into the kingdom of truth.
Hand-in-hand with humility before God goes humble submission to the will of the Church, which Jesus Christ has established on the foundation of Peter and the Apostles. For more than 2,000 years, the Church has passed down the teachings of Christ. She has continually taught people of every land and tongue how to worship in a beautiful and sacred way. She has cared for billions of souls, even in time of war, suffering, and distress. The Church teaches, prays, and ministers with great wisdom and love. She deserves the respect and obedience of her sons and daughters, and of all humanity.
Today we celebrate the memory of Saint Hilary, who defended Christian faith in the divinity of Christ against the Arian heresy. He was a prolific writer, and dedicated his life to passing on the Christian faith. He stands among numerous teachers and pastors, who have submitted in humility to the will of God and the teaching of the Church, and so have become living images of Christ and beacons pointing the way to the truth. May we, too, dedicate ourselves to all that God and the Church ask of us, and so become bearers of the standard of Christ.

Article on the Spirituality of Celibacy

There recently appeared in the Pittsburgh Catholic, the newspaper of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, an excellent article on the spirituality of celibacy. This is the first in a two-part series.

For the complete text of the article, please click on the link below...

http://www.pittsburghcatholic.org

...click on "Columnists" on the sidebar...
...then click on the first article.

Homily Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God 1 January 2007

O. L. Mercy Church, Lowell &
Saint Henry Church, Harrietsville

My dear friends in Christ,
it is my pleasure to wish each of you a very Happy New Year,
and a blessed Feast Day of Mary, the Mother of God!

It is good to be with you all…
as we celebrate this holy feast of our Blessed Mother Mary.

Today we call Mary "The Mother of God"…and rightly so…
for in Mary’s womb, the Son of God took on human nature…
and by the power of the Holy Spirit was born as a man.


The Son of God became Mary’s son…and our brother…
like us in all things except sin…
and in a marvelous exchange of grace…
opened the path for us to become children of God.

[PAUSE]
One of the lessons I have learned since my ordination as a Deacon…
is that much of life cannot be understood unless it is lived.
All of my seminary classes over the past seven years
could not have prepared me for what it really means
to be a minister in the Church.
For the first time in my seminary journey, I have been assigned to a parish
for more than a few weeks in the summer…
and for the first time the people are really becoming a part of my life.
I have experienced what it means to walk together in faith…
as a parish family…
through the joys and sorrows of people’s lives.
In particular, I have experienced sharing in the life of a young family…
as they journeyed through a most precious time in their lives…
the birth of a child.
We supported the mother, and prayed with her, in her time of expectation…
and we rejoiced with her when she first brought her baby girl to Mass.
We welcomed her little one into our parish family…
as together we celebrated her motherhood.

[PAUSE]
As a Church, through the Liturgy, we journey with Mary
as she carries the Lord within her womb…
and brings forth the infant savior.
We celebrate her motherhood.

On March 25th each year…we celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation…
the moment of Jesus’ conception…
when the Angel Gabriel announced to Mary
that she would conceive and bear a son…
by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Angel tells Mary that her cousin Elizabeth is also with child.
Mary’s immediate response is to go in haste to visit Elizabeth,
bearing Christ…her son…and the Son of God…within her.
It was Elizabeth who first recognized Mary as the Mother of God…
for when Mary arrived to visit her…
she cried out…
"How is it that the Mother of my Lord should come to me?"
She called Mary "The Mother of my Lord."
John the Baptist leapt for joy in Elizabeth’s womb…
for even then he rejoiced at the coming of the Messiah…
the unborn baby Jesus whom Mary carried in her womb.
The Savior was in their midst already.
The unfolding of God’s plan for our salvation
begins with the stirring of John in his mother’s womb.

During the Season of Advent,
we wait with Mary…
as she…along with all of Israel…longs for the promised Messiah…
and as she waits with joyful anticipation for her son to be born.
Her son is our Savior.
Her love and obedience to God…
her motherhood…
make the plan of God to redeem the world a reality.
Eight days ago we celebrated with great joy the birth of Jesus.

And today, we celebrate the holiest of all mothers.
The Scriptures tell us that Joseph and Mary…like dutiful parents…
took Jesus to the Temple for his circumcision…
according to Jewish custom and ritual.
The Scriptures also tell us that…
as Jesus was born…
as the shepherds came and went…
as angels appeared…
as wise men came to adore Jesus…
through all this Mary pondered all these things,
reflecting on them in her heart.
How her heart must have burst forth with amazement at the wonders of God’s love!
How she must have truly been filled with love for her son and her God!

[PAUSE]
So, it is our great joy as a Church…
in the celebrations of the liturgical cycle…
to walk along with Mary in her journey of faith as the Mother of God!

[PAUSE]
Mary is our Mother, too.
And so her journey is our journey as well.
In Greek, Mary is called the Theotokos…literally… "the God-bearer."
As disciples of Mary’s son…and as sons of so noble a mother…
we, too, are called by God to be "God-bearers"…
to carry Christ within us always in our own lives…
and to bring Him forth in our thoughts, words, and deeds…
so that the world may come to know the love and truth of God
that is revealed to us in Jesus Christ.

By His birth as a man…
the Son of God has opened for us the path to become adopted sons of God…
to that we may call God "Our Father."

Our high calling as Christians…and as adopted sons…
is to allow the Savior to be made manifest to others…
in everything we say and do.
We, too, must make Jesus incarnate in our own lives.

How blessed we are to have been called to such a grace-filled vocation!

And even more blessed are we…
that we have Mary for our mother…
and so we are not alone in our journey of faith.
Mary is always at our side…
a loyal companion in triumph
and a ready help in distress.

As we begin this New Year, may we resolve to cling to Mary…
may her loving care lead us ever closer to Christ…
and give us the courage to carry Him with us in tender love…
each moment of our lives!