Hail Mary, Full of Grace!

SOLEMNITY OF MARY,

THE HOLY MOTHER OF GOD

[ Luke 2: 16-21 ]

   Mary is the Mother of Jesus and the Mother of God.

As Catholics, we believe what we celebrate, and we celebrate what we believe.

Every Christmas, we believe, we profess, and we celebrate the Incarnation (the-Word-made-flesh) and the Emmanuel (God-with-us). We firmly believe that 'He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary…’ Through Mary, our Lord Jesus Christ - the Only Begotten Son of God, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God – came down from heaven and became man. Since Jesus is true God and true man, therefore Mary is truly the Mother of Christ and rightly the Mother of God.

   Mary in the heart of Elizabeth.

The oldest Christian greeting of Mary was proclaimed when Mary’s cousin sister Elizabeth called her “the Mother of my Lord” [Lk 1: 39-45]. When Mary visited Elizabeth, Elizabeth exclaimed in a loud voice, “Of all women, you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honoured with a visit from the Mother of my Lord?...” [Lk 1:42] Since then and through all the ages, Mary has always consistently been praised for her faith and her fiat (Yes-to-God).

   Mary in the heart of the disciples.

Mary is the Mother of Christ, Mother of God, Mother of the Church and our Mother too. On the Cross, Jesus gave his Mother to all humanity represented by John the Apostle [Jn 19: 26-27]. He told Mary, “Women, this is your son.” And to John, “this is your mother.” And from that hour, the disciple took her into his home.

   Mary in the heart of the Church.

To sum up our celebration of this Solemnity, Pope John Paul II has this to say:

   “The Octave of Christmas ends on the first day of the new year, which is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, venerated as the Mother of God. The Gospel reminds us that she ‘kept all these things, pondering them in her heart’. [Lk 2: 19] So she did in Bethlehem, on Golgotha at the foot of the cross, and on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended in the Upper Room. And she does so today too. The Mother of God and of human beings keeps in her heart all of humanity’s problems, great and difficult, and meditates upon them. The Alma Redemptoris Mater (Sweet Mother of the Redeemer) walks with us and guides us with motherly tenderness towards the future. Thus she helps humanity cross all the ‘thresholds’ of the years, the centuries, the millenniums, by sustaining their hope in the One who is the Lord of history.”

Mary is the perfect disciple of Christ: in her heart, she bears the word of God; in her womb, she bears the Eternal Word of God, Jesus Christ! Like John the Apostle, let us hold Mary close to our heart, and let us imitate her faith and her fiat.

Let our fervent prayer be:

   “Holy Mary, Mother of God and of human beings, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.”

Let us also pray that God’s justice, peace, truth and love may prevail in Malaysia, Israel-Palestine, Ukraine, Sri Lanka and Nicaragua.

   [Note: This Gospel reflection was first published on Porta Fidei on 1 Jan 2021.]