Cycle A - Year II:  

1 January 2013: Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God

(Liturgical color: White)

Luke 2:16-21

A new journey, with Mary, the Mother of God!

With great joy I greet my readers and friends A Happy and Prosperous New Year 2014!

New Year should fill our heart with new hopes, inspiring us to reach out to new opportunities, and celebrating anew the gift of life.

The Catholic Church opens the new calendar year by proclaiming Mary as the Mother of God. The Council of Ephesus affirmed in June 431 that Mary can rightfully be called "Mother of God".

Let us understand this title of Mary in the proper context.

Since Mary is Jesus' mother, it must be concluded that she is also the Mother of God. We can affirm this fact by logical syllogism: "If Mary is the mother of Jesus, and if Jesus is God, then Mary is the Mother of God."

However, it is important to clarify that "although Mary is the Mother of God, she is not his mother in the sense that she is older than God or the source of her Son's divinity, for she is neither. Rather, we say that she is the Mother of God in the sense that she carried in her womb a divine person -- Jesus Christ, God in the flesh -- and in the sense that she contributed the generic matter to the human form God took in Jesus Christ." (source: Catholic Answers at www. catholic.com)

In the Gospel for today from St. Luke, we read about the poor shepherds who were the first witnesses of the birth of the Messiah. They went in haste to Bethlehem after receiving the Good News from the angel. There they found Mary and Joseph, and the infant Jesus lying in a manger, just as what the angel told them. We can learn from the Gospel reading on Mary's humility and complete obedience to God's will: "Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart." (Luke 2:19)

We honor Mary, Mother of God, for her courage, faith, devotion and humility. Like all other mothers, Mary must have felt afraid at certain moments in her maternal role, like when the child Jesus was lost and found in the temple after three days, and also during the agony and death of the grown-up Jesus. But Mary's complete trust in God made her accept the role of a mother to God the Son.

In Mary we find a perfect model of being a christian and disciple of Jesus. She was the joy-filled mother of the new born Christ; she was the mother of sorrow cradling her lifeless Son in the "Pieta"; and she is the Queen-Mother standing at the right hand of the Glorified Lord, which we proclaim in the Fifth Glorious Mystery of the Rosary.

As we begin a new journey in the Year 2014, let us pray to Mary, Mother of God and our mother too:

"O Blessed Virgin, pray to God for us always, that He may pardon and give us grace; pray to God for us always, that He may grant us peace in this life; pray to God for us always, that He may reward us with paradise at our death. Amen."

Thank you for a moment with God.

Wishing you all again a Happy and Prosperous New Year 2014!

Ad Jesum per Mariam!

 Cycle A - Year II:  

29 December 2013: Feast of the Holy Family

(Liturgical color: White)

Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23

God loves the family!

It is said that the Philippines has the longest Christmas season, starting from the "ber" months. That means, from the month of Septem-ber. But time seems to pass so fast and Christmas 2013 will soon be part of history.

How did we celebrate Christmas this year? Was it all only just material celebration?

Christmas is when the almighty God comes to our world as a "helpless" infant. Jesus chooses to be born in a human family, with Mary as His mother and Joseph as protector. Thus, it speaks loudly how highly God regards family life.

The theme of the Gospel reading on Jesus' human family is so relevant today, particularly in our country where there are persistent attempts to weaken and destroy the Filipino family values.

Even in the global scene of the modern world, family life is chaotic with parents and children seem to be running in different, sometimes opposite, directions and thus sacrificing interpersonal relationship which is either weakened or completely lost. So that members of the same family act like strangers to each other.

Family life is never easy. This fact was no different for Joseph and Mary. They had to work through, with a little divine intervention, the circumstances of Jesus' conception. And Mary had to give birth to Jesus away from home, in the town of Bethlehem. Soon after Jesus' birth, the holy family had to flee to Egypt to avoid King Herod who was searching for the child Jesus to kill Him.

We can learn something from the examples of the holy family on their love, concern and respect for each other. God loves the family. By the incarnation of God the Son, God unites Himself with everyone through the family. Mother Teresa wrote: "The family that prays together stays together, because such a family learns something about how God loves each one of us."

It is in His human family, fraught with trials and challenges of everyday living that Jesus grew in wisdom, age and grace in preparation for His saving work. In much the same way, God intends to prepare us for life's many challenges and thus make us strong in His grace through the ups and downs of family life.

The Gospel also depicts St. Joseph as a man who was obedient to God. He models how the father of every home exercises his role as head of the house by seeking first and foremost the will if God  for himself and his family.

It is critical for both parents to be close to God, to be prayerful and to have an obedient spirit so that they can hear God speak and follow His plan for the family.

May our celebration of the Holy Family call to mind how highly God the Father regards family life. May we re-dedicate ourselves to building a strong relationship with Christ so that we can be a member of our own family that builds unity through our deep care and virtuous deed.

A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!

Nick Isip