First, I want to thank our students for your generous gifts
to our Advent food drive. Many
people, both in our community and in various places of the world, have far less
than we do. We must be grateful
for the gifts God has given us and be generous to those in need, especially in
this time of year.
We
heard two important readings about our Mother this morning. The first came from Revelation, in
which a woman is clothed with the stars with the moon at her feet. This is similar to what Mary looked
like when she appeared to a poor Mexican man—Juan Diego. She appeared to encourage him and the
Church in Mexico and to let him know how much she and her Son loved the Mexican
people, especially those who were poor.
Then
in our Gospel Mary’s cousin Elizabeth declared lines we are all familiar with: “Most blessed are you among women, and
blessed is the fruit of your womb.” As you know, this is part of the Hail Mary—the great prayer
in which we ask our Mother to pray for us.
Mary
is a great model for the Advent season in two respects. First, she gave her full yes to the Lord. We seek to do the same as we prepare
for the coming of her Son at Christmas.
Second, Mary herself was poor.
She gave birth to Jesus not in a castle or hospital but in a
stable. She represents those who
are poor, those we must continue to be generous to this Advent season.
As
we continue to walk through the Advent season we ask Mary to guide us to Jesus
who comes to us as a baby on Christmas.
No comments:
Post a Comment