Friday – Nativity of Our Blessed Mother

Gospel – Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23

Mom Time

Basilica of the Annunciation, Nazareth

Just last week, we celebrated my Mom’s 98th birthday.  Well, not so much ‘celebrated’.  I mean since I am here in Chicago and she is in Southern Maryland, celebrating is a relative word.  But we did send her cards and a present (seriously, what can you give someone celebrating 98 years that they haven’t already gotten) and we did talk on the phone and give her our best wishes.  Through it all, it was an opportunity to give thanks for her long life and her life as our mother.  It certainly can’t have been easy “wrangling” the four of us kids but she more than managed it (and we survived).  And so we celebrated not only her life as a mother but the life she had given us as her sons and daughters.

We celebrate another birthday today – the Nativity of Mary.  And we would do well to not only celebrate her birth but also her life as the Mother of our Savior, a life that paved the way for our new life as sons and daughters of the Father.  Matthew opens today’s Gospel with a long list of Jesus’ genealogy, tracing His roots all the way back to Abraham through the line of King David.  That is no coincidence; it was through Abraham that the Jewish faith was instituted.  And it is through Jesus that our Christian faith, our life as brothers and sisters of Jesus, originated.

Birthdays are always a time of hope and thanksgiving.  Hope for the future, for many more days of celebration, hope for a long and productive life.  And thanksgiving – a chance to look back on a life well-lived, a life full of memories and blessings!

And so let us celebrate our Blessed Lady’s birthday today in the same vein.  Thanksgiving for all our blessings received, gratitude for Mary’s “YES” and her life of faith!  And hope – hope for blessings still to come and a life to share in the Kingdom of Heaven!

 

Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 8, 2023 at 7:29 AM

    I wake up to the sound of music, Mother Mary comes to me…speaking words of wisdom…let it be.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
  Sunday – 13 th Sunday in Ordinary Time   revisited Gospel – Matthew 10:37-42 The Cost/Rewards of Discipleship Via Dolorosa, Jerusalem I’m holding in my hand a simple piece of paper, barely bigger than an index card.   It’s a mini-golf scorecard and it’s 47 years old.   At the time, the game itself probably cost only about $6.   Certainly a lot less than you would pay today.   So the cost today doesn’t seem like much.   But for me all that time ago, it was a wealth of money.   So it cost me a lot.   But the rewards of the card?   Well, that is priceless.   This was one of the first dates Ginger and I went on.   And who would have guessed how that would turn out?   All the memories we have shared, painful and joyful.   All the times we have shared together and the people who have touched our lives!   Priceless! Cost and reward!   Two vastly different concepts but they play a key role in all of today’s readings.   In the first reading, a rich woman goes out of her way t
Read more
Image
  14 th Sunday in Ordinary Time   revisited Gospel – Matthew 11:25-30 The “Little Ones” Open Market, Jerusalem There’s a story about a rather eccentric teacher who was always looking for creative ways to test (torture) his students.   Sometimes it was crazy project and sometimes it was a wacky exam that tested not just their knowledge but also their experience. So one day he hands out a test, typical normal test, Q/A, except this was the last question.   What’s the name of the school janitor?   One of his students looked at the question and thought – I know he’s short, wears glasses and has light brown hair but how in the world would I know his name?   So he left it blank and turned in his paper. When class was over, he went up to the teacher and asked whether that last question would count in the test grade.   Absolutely, said the teacher.   Throughout your whole life, you will find that every person you cross paths with is important, significant.   They deserve you
Read more
Image
  16 th Sunday in Ordinary Time   revisited Gospel – Matthew 13:24-30 Be Patient, My Child Tied Up in Knots! Many years ago, I remember one summer when it was time for our daughter Jaime to learn how to ride a bicycle.   So I took off the training wheels, she climbed onto the bike and proceeded to take off.   I followed close behind, holding onto the back bumper, trying to keep the bike upright and trying to make sure she didn’t fall.   It was exhausting for both of us.   I thought I was being a good dad by doing everything I could to keep her from falling.   But it didn’t work.   We were both getting frustrated.   Finally, she had had enough and she banished me to sit on the front porch while she worked it out on her own.   It took time and it took a lot of patience, something neither one of us had much of at the start of the process. I was getting impatient with the process and she was getting impatient with me.   Patience was in short supply.   But in the end, patience w
Read more