Solemnity
of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Mother of God
Reading
I
Numbers 6:22-27
The LORD said to Moses:
"Speak to Aaron and his sons and tell them:
This is how you shall bless the Israelites.
Say to them:
The LORD bless you and keep you!
The LORD let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you!
The LORD look upon you kindly and give you peace!
So shall they invoke my name upon the Israelites,
and I will bless them."
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8
R. (2a) May God bless us in his mercy.
May God have pity on us and bless us;
may he let his face shine upon us.
So may your way be known upon earth;
among all nations, your salvation.
R. May God bless us in his mercy.
May the nations be glad and exult
because you rule the peoples in equity;
the nations on the earth you guide.
R. May God bless us in his mercy.
May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you!
May God bless us,
and may all the ends of the earth fear him!
R. May God bless us in his mercy.
Reading II
Galatians 4:4-7
Brothers and sisters:
When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son,
born of a woman, born under the law,
to ransom those under the law,
so that we might receive adoption as sons.
As proof that you are sons,
God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,
crying out, "Abba, Father!"
So you are no longer a slave but a son,
and if a son then also an heir, through God.
Gospel
Luke 2:16-21
The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph,
and the infant lying in the manger.
When they saw this,
they made known the message
that had been told them about this child.
All who heard it were amazed
by what had been told them by the shepherds.
And Mary kept all these things,
reflecting on them in her heart.
Then the shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God
for all they had heard and seen,
just as it had been told to them.
When eight days were completed for his circumcision,
he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel
before he was conceived in the womb.
COMMENTARY
The reading from the Book of Numbers presents us with "The Priestly
Blessing" that reflects God's response to the maintenance of purity and the
generous voluntary dedication of the community. The concept of the shining
of God's face or presence perhaps had its original setting within the liturgical
theophany. The lifting of God's face is a favorable gesture (cf. Ps 4:7;
33:18; 34:16). In times of distress, it was
believed that God had "hidden his face" and abandoned his people.
Paul's letter to the Galatians presents several themes regarding the humanity of
Jesus and Mary's role as Mother. "fullness of time"
represents the date set by the parent, Paul widens the application of his
comparison to the point in history when God's salvific intervention took place.
Human freedom came with Christ. "God sent forth his Son"
is a statement developed in the early church with a specific religious meaning
of sending someone in the service of the kingdom with authority fully grounded
in God. To be "born of a woman" emphasizes the assumption
of human condition for the mission to be undertaken. Jesus submitted
himself to the law by being circumcised. The vivifying Spirit of the risen
Son is the dynamic principle of adoptive sonship. Without this Spirit
given to us by the risen Christ, Christians would never be able to utter the
words "Abba, Father."
In Luke's Gospel, the shepherds respond eagerly to the angelic good news.
They find the sign given by the angel - Jesus in the manger. But this
"sign" does not merely attest the truthfulness of the angel's message.
Rather it bears out and exemplifies the message that Jesus is Savior (v. 11).
The one who has been born is also a savior because he gives sustenance to his
people - represented in the sign of Jesus lying in the manger. The
shepherds tell others, including Mary and Joseph about the good news, which is
complementary to that announced to Mary in vv. 1:31-33, by Mary in vv. 1:46-55,
and by Zechariah in vv. 1:68-79. The meaning and destiny of the infant
Jesus are like a diamond whose facets Luke illumines from different
perspectives. Mary thinks over the events - "pondering" -
trying to grasp the meaning. Mary does not capture the full significance
of God's action in Jesus immediately and so her journey of faith begins.
Mary is the model believer.
REFLECTION
In the natural order of things, there exists a father and a mother; so too in
the supernatural God is Father and Mary is Mother. All true Christians
have God as their Father and Mary as their Mother. Those who refuse Mary
as their Mother do not have God as Father. There are those who in
vainglory declare that God is their Father yet deny, despise or show
indifference to Mary. This is a total contradiction; for if God himself
gives praise to Mary, how can anyone call themselves a child of God the Father
yet deny the Mother? We cannot, however, condemn those who have not come
to know the true Mary and the mystery of her person. But if Almighty God -
Father, Son, & Holy Spirit - together praise and honor Mary, who are we to
minimize her person? How can anyone claim to love God and call themselves
members of Christ's body and yet show indifference and disdain for Mary?
Does a mother give birth to an entire child or only its head? Or does a
mother give birth to a headless child? In the natural order of things we
would consider such a thing an abomination or freak of nature and certainly a
creature like this would not be able to survive. If a mother gives birth
to a child this child has a head and a body and the mother nurtures the entire
child - not just the head or just the body. Jesus was born from Mary and
if we truly believe the words of St. Paul, which tell us, that Jesus is the head
and we are his body, then we too must be born of and through Mary. For if
Mary were to be only the mother of Jesus (the head) and not us (his body) then
this would be an abomination in the order of grace.
Jesus was, is, and always will be the fruit of Mary's womb. Now as
Christians our ultimate end is to be like Christ. We must allow Christ
into our hearts where he can mold us into a new person. If Christ lives in
us and Christ is the fruit of Mary's womb, then we too can call ourselves fruit
of her womb. Just as Jesus was formed in, nurtured, and taught by Mary, so
must we allow her to do the same with us; that is why we should fly onto Mary so
that through her we may share in the glory of her son. We must allow
ourselves to be possessed by her unwavering faith, her profound humility, her
total mortification, her splendid prayer, her burning charity, her steadfast
hope and all of her excellent virtues. By allowing ourselves to be
possessed by Mary we can offer to Jesus a sanctuary if you will, to live in;
then we can truly exclaim with St. Paul "it is no longer I who lives but
Christ who lives in me."
Biblical Sources: New American Bible; United
States Conference of Catholic Bishops; Seitz, C. (ed.); Helen Kenik Mainelli,
The Collegeville Bible Commentary; Barrett, C.K., "Freedom and Obligation:
A Study of the Epistle to the Galatians"; Fitzmyer, J.A., "The Gospel
According to Luke"; LaVerdiere, E., "Luke";Brown, Raymond E.,
S.S., "Introduction to the New Testament"; Brown, Fitzmyer, and Murphy
(ed.) "The New Jerome Biblical Commentary.
Other Sources: St. Luís María Grignion de
Monfort, Treatise on the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Reflection: Deacon Lazaro J. Ulloa
Home|Commentary|Meditations|Lives
of Saints|Documents|Links