We begin this new Year by celebrating the Feast of Mary the Mother of God.

The entire life of Jesus is surrounded in deep significance of having his mother close by. She was there, everywhere:

Born in a manger, she was there; Shepherds and magi sneaking a peak, she was there; flight into Egypt, she was there;

lost in the temple, she was there; wedding of Cana and water into wine, she was there; working of miracles, she was there; teaching of the crowds, she was there;

choosing of the apostles, she was there; crowd seeking to kill him, she was there; agony in the garden, she was there; arrested and condemned, she was there; scourged and crowned, she was there;

the way of the cross, falling and tripping, she was there; stationed at the foot of the cross, she was there; piercing of his side, she was there; burial in the tomb, she was there;

resurrection, she was there; ascension into heaven, she was there; out pouring of the Holy Spirit, she was there; beginning of the Church, she was there.

Mary, the mother of God, gives Jesus his humanity so that in the flesh He could make the Father known, "he who sees me sees the Father." In his flesh, we are caught in love of the God made visible. Mary's yes, her role as mother, makes God visible. Because she was willing to be there, Jesus is here.

If we eliminate Mary, we eliminate the humanity of Jesus, his very ability to relate to us, for he is like us in every way but sin.

We pause this day, as we start the new year, to allow this reality of God's revelation to break through into our lives.

We take Mary with us into our homes as Jesus invited the beloved disciple to do from the cross, "Then he said to his disciple, 'Behold, your mother.' And from this hour the disciple took her into his home." John 19:27

May she lead us in the footsteps of Jesus, for every where that Jesus was, she was there.

Poem for a mother

"She always leaned to watch,
anxious if we were late;

In winter by the window,
In summer by the gate.

And though we mocked her tenderly, who had such foolish care,
The long way home would seem more safe
because she waited there."

Mary, Mother of God, our mother, pray for us!

New Year Poem

God Knows
by Minnie Louise Haskins

"And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: “Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.”
And he replied:
“Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”
So I went forth, and finding the Hand of God, trod gladly into the night.
And He led me towards the hills and the breaking of day in the lone East.

So heart bestill:
What need our little life
Our human life to know,
If God hath comprehension?

In all the dizzy strife
Of things both high and low,
God hideth His intention.
God knows.

His will
Is best. The stretch of years
Which wind ahead, so dim
To our imperfect vision,
Are clear to God.

Our fears
Are premature; In Him,
All time hath full provision.
Then rest: until
God moves to lift the veil
From our impatient eyes,
When, as the sweeter features
Of Life’s stern face we hail,
Fair beyond all surmise
God’s thought around His creatures
Our mind shall fill."

Holy family pray for us

Second reading
From an address by Pope Paul VI
Nazareth, a model

Nazareth is a kind of school where we may begin to discover what Christ’s life was like and even to understand his Gospel. Here we can observe and ponder the simple appeal of the way God’s Son came to be known, profound yet full of hidden meaning. And gradually we may even learn to imitate him.

Here we can learn to realize who Christ really is. And here we can sense and take account of the conditions and circumstances that surrounded and affected his life on earth: the places, the tenor of the times, the culture, the language, religious customs, in brief everything which Jesus used to make himself known to the world. Here everything speaks to us, everything has meaning. Here we can learn the importance of spiritual discipline for all who wish to follow Christ and to live by the teachings of his Gospel.

How I would like to return to my childhood and attend the simple yet profound school that is Nazareth! How wonderful to be close to Mary, learning again the lesson of the true meaning of life, learning again God’s truths. But here we are only on pilgrimage. Time presses and I must set aside my desire to stay and carry on my education in the Gospel, for that education is never finished. But I cannot leave without recalling, briefly and in passing, some thoughts I take with me from Nazareth.

First, we learn from its silence. If only we could once again appreciate its great value. We need this wonderful state of mind, beset as we are by the cacophony of strident protests and conflicting claims so characteristic of these turbulent times. The silence of Nazareth should teach us how to meditate in peace and quiet, to reflect on the deeply spiritual, and to be open to the voice of God’s inner wisdom and the counsel of his true teachers. Nazareth can teach us the value of study and preparation, of meditation, of a well-ordered personal spiritual life, and of silent prayer that is known only to God.

Second, we learn about family life. May Nazareth serve as a model of what the family should be. May it show us the family’s holy and enduring character and exemplifying its basic function in society: a community of love and sharing, beautiful for the problems it poses and the rewards it brings; in sum, the perfect setting for rearing children—and for this there is no substitute.

Finally, in Nazareth, the home of a craftsman’s son, we learn about work and the discipline it entails. I would especially like to recognize its value—demanding yet redeeming—and to give it proper respect. I would remind everyone that work has its own dignity. On the other hand, it is not an end in itself. Its value and free character, however, derive not only from its place in the economic system, as they say, but rather from the purpose it serves.

In closing, may I express my deep regard for people everywhere who work for a living. To them I would point out their great model, Christ their brother, our Lord and God, who is their prophet in every cause that promotes their well being.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas. Here is a greeting spoken often and to many through out these days. We say it in passing, we say it to loved ones, we say it to strangers we meet on the street. We even sing about wishing people a "merry christmas."

Have you ever stopped and wondered what exactly does it mean to wish others a "merry Christmas."

There is so much caught up in that little phrase, that simple greeting, that catchy little phrase that sets the heart a blaze and fills the lives of many with joy and peace and brings forth rejoicing.

There is for lack of better words a bit of magic in that little phrase, two little words combined that bring a smile to those too numerous to count.

Merry Christmas!

And what are we saying...

We are saying that God makes himself small. God comes to reign in simplicity. God embraces poverty. God comes in way that is utterly dependent and truly defenseless.

God does not want to overwhelm us with his majesty, with his strength, so he comes to win us with sheer simplicity of innocence that can only belong to a child born and wrapped in swaddling clothes.

God make himself small so that we can receive him, welcome him, understand him, and ultimately love him.

Christmas is a feast of gifts because God gives himself to us, he puts himself completely at our disposal.

This is truly beyond anything we could have imagined.

Easter we understand. We understand the power and force that stands triumphant over the seemingly impassible jaws of death. This is what we have always longed for and have always wanted.

Easter makes sense. It is what we imagined God to be able to do as the empty tomb reveals the power and glory of God in the face of our ultimate nemesis, death.

Christmas is different. The once empty manger now is filled with the grandeur of God in this vulnerable, innocent, defenseless, dependent form wrapped in swaddling clothes.

We see God in this shadow of weakness and humility. This makes no sense. IT is here that the true meaning of "Merry Christmas" rise to the front.

God acts in a way that is beyond our imagination. God is not limited by our reason, by what and how we imagine him to act. Rather he comes to stretch our imagination. God is always more than.

A new way of living and a new way of loving has entered into the world:defenseless love comes to meet us and tear down our defenses and makes our life and love possible.

Who could have ever imagine this?
Yet it remains captivating, it s drawing power is overwhelming as friends, family, strangers all gather together, stand together, kneel together, sing together.

Ingenious really.

This is what it means to say "Merry CHristmas."

So much caught up in such a little phrase. So much to offer, but perhaps the size of the phrase is meant to mimic the reality of Christmas where GOd becomes small so that we may welcome him and never be the same.

questions

Malachi 3:1-4, 23-24; Psalm 25 Lift up your heads and see; your redemption is near at hand; Luke 1:57-66

Today's reading give us the picture of the birth of John the Baptist. There was much mystery over this birth. Zechariah, his father, was speechless, stricken mute, throughout the pregnancy. Elizabeth, his mother, chose the name John, which befuddled everyone since there was no previous John in the family. Zechariah finally speaks as he blesses God.

All of this leaves the neighborhood filled with fear, "Then fear came upon all their neighbors."

Here we have an interesting situation.

Elizabeth and Zechariah who were both elderly and barren finally have a child, that which they longed for throughout their marriage. They finally experience the blessing of God.

This is suppose to be good news worth celebrating. Yet, it is fear not joy that falls upon the neighborhood.

What are they afraid of, what and why do they fear?

I believe the question they ask points to the ground of their fear, "What, then, will this child be?"

This is a great question. This is the question of advent and Christmas.

Yet, this is not the question we ask today. Today,w e ask"what do you want for Christmas?" or "have you finished your christmas shopping?"

How often in life we find ourselves asking the wrong question. The people of Zechariah's neighborhood, asked the perfect question, "What, then, will this child be?"

The question isn't so much about John as it is about the people. They want to know how this child is going to impact their lives. They want to know what changes will they have to endure.

The birth of John the Baptist and the circumstances and mystery all point toward the reality that GOd has a plan; it all points to the fact that God is alive and near and is part of the their lives.

This is the realization that gives the people a cause to be afraid.

As st. PAul says, "it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God.

This is what John the baptist's birth signifies. God is alive' GOd has a planned.The people are now aware that God is not longer distant but he is near to them and he is int heir midst; God cares.

If the birth of John the Baptist awakens people to this reality, how much more the birth of Jesus, the Son of God.

The question we should ask as we peer into the manger, "What, then, will this child be?" or as the Carol goes, "What child is this?"

Should not the birth of Jesus shake things up. Should not we be awaken to the reality that God has a planned, that he is near to us.

This is the beauty of Christmas.

He remembered his promise

1 Samuel 1:24-28; PS my heart exults in the Lord, my savior; Luke 1:46-56



Here are the words of the Blessed Mother after the greeting with Elizabeth:

"He has come to the whelp of his servant Israel for he remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers, to ABraham and his Children forever."


What promise?

We have to go to Genesis 12 to begin to understand this "promise" that Blessed MAry Speaks of in this hymn of rejoicing.

In a nutshell, God promises three things to Abraham: 1)land 2)dynasty or kingdom 3)world wide blessing

The blessed Mother's reason for rejoicing is the reality that the promise spoken has now become enfleshed in the child she carries in her womb.

Our Father keeps his promises. When he delivers, wow!

Here are a few words from the Pope yesterday in his Wednesday Audience:

"There is a second aspect that I would like to touch upon briefly. The event of Bethlehem should be considered in the light of the Paschal Mystery: The one and the other are part of the one redemptive work of Christ. Jesus' incarnation and birth invite us to direct our gaze to His death and resurrection: Christmas and Easter are both feasts of the Redemption. Easter celebrates it as the victory over sin and death: It signals the final moment, when the glory of the Man-God shines forth as the light of day; Christmas celebrates it as God's entrance into history, His becoming man in order to restore man to God: It marks, so to speak, the initial moment when we begin to see the first light of dawn."

The first light of Dawn broke forth in the darkness of the womb. Even in Mary's womb there is light, her womb knows no darkness for she bears the promise, the light of the world.

The spanish terminology for giving birth is "dar la luz. "
A woman give light when she delivers her child. This is true is a unique way at Christmas when Mary give birth to the light of the world. The promise of God is made manifest for all to see.

Hark

Song of Songs 2:8-14; Ps 33 Exult, you just in the Lord; SIng to him a new song; Luke 1:39-45

Hark! My lover-here he comes....


What beautiful words given to us from the church in preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus.

The reading of above is often used during weddings, nuptial celebrations. We celebrate the union of two becoming one.

Christmas is also a wedding. The union of two becoming one, God becoming man and man united to God in the person of Jesus Christ. This incarnation is the prefiguring of the wedding of the Lamb. The Bridegroom is coming...we must go out to meet him, with hearts and arms wide open, ready for the sweet embrace of eternity filling our time and space.

Hark! pay close attention. Stop what you are doing. Cease your busy work. Avoid the distractions that have hounded you all year. Hit the pause button on your life. Stop and listen. Open your eyes and see. Hark in deed. Do not let this season pass you bye with out noticing the love that comes.

Hark! Spend a few extra moments before the nativity scene, before the manger. Don't get so caught up in shopping and wrapping and lose sight of why we do what we do in the first place.

Hark! What a beautiful word to describe what we should be doing this advent season. What Christmas is all about.

It isn't about rushing. It is about Harking. A word that describes prayer, meditation, silence, attentive watching and listening, eager preparation, making ready for the visit and arrival of Love that has let himself be seen.

Hark! My lover-here he comes!

We look to the gospel: Mary set out for the hill coutnry in haste. Should we all not set our sight on the heights and make haste.

But, at Christmas we remember that the heights has come to us and made himself low. The hills have been made into valleys and God himself has come down to us.

This is why John the Baptist leapt for Joy. Shuld we not leap as well.

Harking and leaping is the sign of the times; sounds like a Christmas Carol.

Harkig and Leaping: give it a whirl.



Today is Dec 21: the winter solstice, in which it is the shortest day and the longest night in the northern hemisphere. This simply means though the sun is seen less the stars shine longer. Remember light shines brightest when it is darkest. This is why we celebrate Christmas in the winter season: the light comes and in the dark it is easier to see. Love has let himself be seen