Commentary
Sunday, January 1, 2017, Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God
God Bless You
First Reading Commentary Numbers 6:22-27
What the LORD said to Moses in today’s reading from Numbers presents us with another great opportunity to consider Scripture’s influence on the Mass. Some Non-Catholic Christians will argue that Catholics do not know Scripture because they do not spend enough time with Scripture. That is totally—not true.
Everything that occurs during a Mass is based on Scripture. In fact, the first half of the Mass (that part of the Mass before the priest goes to the altar) is called the Liturgy of the Word because it is the Word.
There are twenty different Solemn Blessings in the St. Paul Daily Missal and the priest will select one of those Blessings if a Solemn Blessing is given at the end of Mass. If you study those blessings, you will see that each of them follows the instruction given by the LORD for Moses to pass on to Aaron and his sons on how to bless the people. Each of these blessings have a human author but all of them follow the same format.
When the priest delivers a blessing at the end of Mass whether it be a simple blessing or a Solemn Blessing, he is saying, “God Bless you” to the people. Saying “God Bless you” to someone has become so common that we usually fail to meditate on its full meaning. This is my interpretation of what “God bless you” means when it is said from the heart.
There are three parts to the blessing in God’s instructions. The first part is a blessing of life. “The LORD bless you and keep you!” When we say this to someone, we are asking God to grant that person a long and healthy life of happiness and joy. By asking God to keep them, we are also asking God to protect that person from the evils of sin.
The second part is a blessing of grace. “The LORD let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you!” Here, we are asking God to look with favor on all of that person’s intentions and to provide them with all of the things that they need physically and more importantly, spiritually. We are asking God to descend His Spirit upon that person bestowing on them the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit.
The third part is a blessing of salvation. “The LORD look upon you kindly and give you peace!” By asking God to look upon that person kindly, we are asking God to forgive them of their sins and by asking God to give them peace, we are asking God to grant them the reward of heaven.
God promised Moses that when Aaron and his sons blessed the Israelites in this way, that His name would be invoked upon the people and that He would bless them. In other words, when Aaron and his sons blessed the Israelites, God also blessed the Israelites. So when we say, “God bless you” to someone and we mean it from the heart, God will bless them.
When I first read this passage from Numbers, I asked myself, “What does this have to do with the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God?” But when I took the time to meditate on what we are really asking God when we say “God bless you” to someone, I found my answer.
All life comes from the Father through the Son. Likewise, all grace comes from the Father through the Spirit. I say that because, in order for one to receive grace, they must believe and being able to believe comes from the Spirit’s gift of faith. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit in Mary and was born into this life through Mary. As a result, all grace flows through her.
The Second person of the Trinity who is our guiding Light to the Kingdom is the Son of Mary. Everything that we ask for with the words “God bless you,” are possible because Mary said, “Yes” and became the mother of Jesus and our mother in heaven.
As our mother in heaven, Mary is the Mediatrix of all Grace. Not because God said so, although He did, but because Mary said, “Yes” and that is why this reading fits the day.
Our Mother of Ransom
Second Reading Commentary Galatians 4:4-7
In his letter to the Galatians, Paul tells us that those who believe in God are all God’s children because God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts crying out, “Abba, Father!” Therefore, we know that God is our Father in heaven.
Paul also tells us that if we are children of God, then we are heirs and therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven is our inheritance. Heaven is our birthright and we were created for the sole purpose of being in heaven with God. But in order, to claim our inheritance, we have, to do our part by living a life which is favorable to God.
God did His part by sending the Son for our salvation so that the Son could lead the way for us with His Light. Paul says, “God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to ransom those under the law.” Paul is telling us that in His humanity, Christ was born under the law and therefore subject to the law.
This means that like us, Christ had to obey the Commandments. Also like us, Christ in His humanity, had a free will and could have disobeyed the Commandments. But unlike us, Christ could not sin because of His divinity. Instead, He paid the ransom for our salvation from sin with His own life on the cross.
As we celebrate this day, we look at God sending the Son, born of a woman. That woman is Mary. As the mother of Christ and our mother in heaven, Mary is also our mother of ransom and salvation. In fact, there are many titles that we give to Mary many of which are listed in the Litany of Mary. As we celebrate the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, we celebrate her position in all, of those titles.
Yes, it is the Spirit within us that allows us to cry out, “Abba” or “Father” but that is because Mary agreed to become Our Mother of Ransom.
They Heard, Saw and Believed and Mary Was Humble
Gospel Commentary Luke 2:16-21
The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem after being told by the angel of the Lord that the Messiah had been born. They found Mary and Joseph and the infant lying in the manger just as the angel had told them.
God speaks to us in many ways and often times, through a messenger. Sometimes, we do not listen and sometimes we even “shoot the messenger.” But the shepherds did listen. Not only did they go to Bethlehem but they went in haste. They could only do this because of their faith which is a demonstration that from the moment of Jesus being born, there were those who believed in Him.
Keep in mind that the angel told the shepherds that they would find an infant lying in a manger so the shepherds were not looking for something spectacular which would be expected for the birth of a king. They were looking for a baby who came into the world in a most extreme humble setting. Nevertheless, this baby was the Messiah and the shepherds believed. They obviously knew that nothing is beyond God.
The shepherds shared the message given to them by the angel and all who heard it were amazed. Then the shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for what they had heard and seen.
The shepherds are an inspiration for us and provide a perfect example of faith. They heard, they believed what they heard, they saw and then they gave glory and praise. We hear through the gospel, we see through the Eucharist and we are called to be like the shepherds. We are called to believe knowing that all things are possible with God and we are called to show our faith by giving glory and praise and finally, we are called to share our faith.
Luke tells us that Mary kept all these things and reflected on them in her heart. She was unlike parents of today who have a way of bragging about their children. It’s a good thing to be proud of our children and I am sure that Mary was proud to be the mother of Jesus. But misguided pride is a deadly sin and Mary, though given every opportunity, did not fall into that trap.
Instead of running around shouting, “Guess who my Son is and guess what He can do,” she practiced humility by keeping everything in her heart. Something which we do not always think of, is that as Jesus grew up, Mary’s humility gave Him space to carry out His mission. Jesus did not have to compete with or live up to things that Mary bragged about because she did not brag. Jesus could have stood up to anything but Mary’s humility allowed Jesus to be Jesus.
Jesus taught humility through His Word and He practiced humility by being humble toward the Father and by serving us. In His humanity, Jesus acquired His humility from Mary. In His divinity, Jesus showed us God’s way with His humility. God’s way came through Mary to us.
Jesus, Emmanuel, God, is with us because Mary gave Him birth. And, as the humble mother of God, the Son, Mary is our humble mother in heaven.
