Good morning, and happy New Year! It is good for us to come together and worship on this New Year’s day, to give thanks to God for the year that was 2022, “that even the dark and arduous stretches of this [past year] were for [our] salvation and that [God] guided [us] well in those very stretches” (adapted from Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s spiritual testament, 2006). We also pray for God’s mercy in 2023. Moreover, we come together this morning to celebrate the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. Let us dedicate this feast to all mothers whose life-giving, sacrificial love, like Mary, changes the world (end credits, “Mary of Nazareth”). As a background, Mary, the Mother of God, the Theotokos (Greek for “The God-bearer”), became a Catholic doctrine at the Council of Ephesus in 431. This doctrine is based on the Incarnation, which we celebrated on Christmas day when we heard the Gospel of John proclaimed: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. . .” (John 1:1, 14). And again in today’s second reading, from Saint Paul’s letter to the Galatians, we heard proclaim that “when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law” (4:4).
We gather today to celebrate this first Marian dogma but, more than that, we give honor and praise to Mary for her pivotal role in the economy of salvation. Our redemption hinged on her “fiat”, her “yes” to God and becoming the Mother of the Redeemer, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We know and believe this to be the Truth, that Mary is the Mother of God, because Scripture tells us that at the Annunciation, . . .the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. . . Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God“ (Luke 1:30-32, 35). Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” (1:38). Then, at the Visitation, [when] “Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb. . . [and Elizabeth] said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my LORD [and my God] should come to me?” (1:42-43).
It is true that Mary is the Mother of God. It is also true that she is the Mother of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, making her the Mother of his one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. What is also true is that Mary is our Mother. Scripture tells us that when Jesus was on the Cross, he saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home (John 19:26-27). Moreover, the Vatican II document, Lumen gentium, states so beautifully that Mary “occupies a place in the Church which is the highest after Christ and yet very close to us” (54). In her closeness to us, Mother Mary comes to us in our time of need just as she came to Elizabeth in her time of need after the angel told her that Elizabeth was in the sixth month of her pregnancy with John the Baptist. And always with Mary is her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
However, as with any mother-child relationship, sometimes a mother does not know if her children need her unless they tell her. Or she does not step in to help unless her children ask for her help, hard as that may be for any mother. But when we do go to her, as a child goes to his or her mother, we will find that Mary is always there for us. We pray this in the Memorare: “Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who FLED to thy protection, IMPLORED thy help, or SOUGHT thine intercession was left unaided.” We also read this in Scripture, that when the wine ran short [at the wedding in Cana], Mary interceded for the newlyweds and said to Jesus, “They have no wine.” She also gave the best motherly advice ever when she said to the servers [and to us], “Do whatever [Jesus] tells you.” (John 2:3). Mother Mary is there waiting and ready to lift us up after we have fallen; to wipe away our tears of sorrow and pain and share tears of joy with us; to embrace us in her loving arms and hold us close to her Immaculate Heart. Therefore, let us “[never] be afraid of loving the Blessed [Mother] too much. [We] can never love her more than Jesus did” (Saint Maximilian Kolbe).
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI (may God grant him eternal rest) had this to say of the Blessed Mother: “Mary of Nazareth is the woman of a full and total ‘Here I am’ to the divine will. In her ‘Yes’, repeated even when faced with the sorrow of the loss of her child, we find complete and profound beatitude.” In this way, Mother Mary knows us, she gets us, she understands our struggles because her Immaculate Heart is pierced with a sword many times out of love for her Son - Jesus, for her husband - Joseph, and for each and everyone of us (Luke 2:19; 35). The Gospel tells us that "Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart." Thus, when we know Mary, we know Jesus. When we know Jesus, we cannot help but love his Mother, Mary. So how do we come to know both Jesus through Mary and Mary in Jesus’ love for his Mother? Well, we can start by following Fr. Charlie’s example and recommit ourselves to praying the Holy Rosary regularly. When we pray the Holy Rosary, we meditate on the life of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ through the eyes of his beloved Mother, Mary. When we pray the Holy Rosary, Mary opens our hearts to love her Son as much as she loves him, so much so that her “soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; [her] spirit rejoices in God [her] savior” (Luke 1:46-47). I believe we can all agree that we are not there yet in our relationship with Christ but we can be, and Mary can help us if we are willing to let her.
For me personally, although I came home to the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil, in 2008, I did not have a relationship with the Blessed Virgin Mary until I entered Diaconal Formation a few years later. Since then, I have felt Mary’s love and received her help countless times in my own life and faith journey. I remember the time when Mother Mary answered my prayers and kept me warm and safe on that cold December night as I slept in the courtyard of Saint Austin during a Street Retreat. More recently, I felt Mary’s love and received her help just a couple of weeks ago when I had to discern something very important. As I always do when I need help discerning God’s will for my life, I picked up my Rosary and I prayed. With each Hail Mary bead, I asked Mother Mary for her intercession so that I may have clarity of mind and peace of heart to make the right decision for myself, for our family, and for my diaconal ministry. After a few days of prayerful discernment, Jesus - through the intercession of his Mother - presented me with an option that I had not even thought of and, as soon as I committed myself to follow God’s will, I immediately felt the peace of Christ in my heart and received clarity of mind. I share this because I want to encourage all of us to remember to turn to Mother Mary with confidence that she will always come to our aid, and with her is her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
I want to end my homily with this prayer of blessing for all of us here, especially for all mothers and fathers, for peace in our families, and for peace in the world in the new year 2023. This is the prayer of blessing that I encourage all couples who take our CALLED TO BE ONE Marriage Class to use when they pray for each other. I encourage all parents to pray this prayer of blessing over each other and your children. We find this prayer of blessing in today’s first reading from the Book of Numbers: “May the LORD bless you + and keep you! May the LORD let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! May the LORD look upon you kindly and give you peace!”. . . “for we rejoice to proclaim the blessed ever-Virgin Mary Mother of your Son and Mother of the Church.” Amen.
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