Hi everyone here's my homily for the SOLEMNITY OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF MARY - The readings can be found at
http://usccb.org/bible/readings/120913.cfm. Many thanks for reading and sharing this blog and your feedback. God Bless!
Often times we can forget the fact that
when we’re reading scriptures, particularly the Gospel writers
aren't “on the scene” reporters giving us an eyewitness
testimony of what they witness.
Biblical experts tell us that the earliest of New Testament writings
were probably the letters of St. Paul.
And as the years passed from Jesus death, resurrection and ascension, the
pentecost experience with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the disciples,
the taking shape and steady growth of the early Christian Churches, that
eventually these different Church communities started to compile the Christian
story - not unlike a family wanting to preserve their family history.
That thought came to mind in a new way
praying with this Gospel passage this morning.
Because it's a reminder that Mary had to have been the one who shared one
of the most intimate of experiences ever known between humanity and the divine....
her vocation story. And I can't help
but think that of all of the words the angel Gabriel shared with her in this “Annunciation,”
the ones that must have been among the most powerful, most memorable ever
spoken were:
Nothing
will be impossible for God
Mary must not only have cherished these words in her heart,
they had to have been a source of
comfort...
a remedy to doubt...
an invitation to deeper faith, deeper
hope, deeper Love.
And probably the depth of meaning of
those words from their original proclamation to the moment she shared them with
the Early Church community must've changed in ways she could never have
imagined that day this event took place.
It must be similar to when Grandparents reflecting on their 50th
Anniversary of their wedding and think back to what it was like when they
became husband and wife and first shared their sacred vows to one another. On the wedding day, there was joy and
excitement; perhaps fear; but the full meaning of “for
better or worse...sickness and health... good times and bad”
could only be fully appreciated in retrospect, as the colors of the masterpiece
that God envisioned for them on their wedding day come into fuller view. That's what it must've been for Mary
recounting the words of the Angel to her at the Annunciation to the Early
Church:
- Perhaps
she thought about moments after the angel left her and now having to share this
heavenly news with Joseph, an upright Jewish man who she loved and who she knew
loved her. In that moment, maybe she wondered
"how's he ever going to believe this?"
Nothing
will be impossible for God
- The
baby is coming - where do we go, what do we do?
Nothing will be impossible for God
- People
want to kill this baby as a persecution unfolds through Herods jealous
wrath? What's going to happen to him? To
us?
Nothing will be impossible for God
Throughout her life, as she embraced this divine call, as said
yes to God to the vocation of motherhood of Jesus Christ... She must've had many of these types of moments,
and this encounter with this Angel, these heavenly words that she shared with
the Church, that St Luke preserved for us for all generations in this family
history of ours, had to have been a tremendous source of strength for her.
They also teach us something important
to remember about vocations. This vocation
wasn't God assigning Mary a task and then abandoning her to set about in
accomplishing it on her own. Her
vocation was an invitation to be a cooperator, to draw even closer to Him in
seemingly impossible ways and to be amazed in the end at all that was
accomplished.
That's one reason we call Mary, Mother
of priests. That's why Mary is seen as the perfect disciple. That's why she occupies such a. privileged
place in the life of the Church and the life of us Catholic Christians. She reminds us of that same reality for each
of us. That God is calling you and I to
things that might seem outlandish, seem ridiculous, seem ludicrous, seem so
outside of what we planned or conceived – they might even seem impossible.
On this great feast of the Immaculate
Conception of Mary I pray that all of us take this day to recall how from our
conceptions, God too has a plan for us, an invitation for us to serve
Him,love Him in a way that only you and I can accomplish... Maybe it’s
a call to Priesthood or religious life.
Maybe it’s a call to deeper holiness, or more
dedicated service. Maybe it’s
a renewal of what you’ve been called to already and a
reminder that vocation is a precious intimate gift that God has given you –
but that we need to keep going to him for the instructions on how to fully
utilize that gift. Whatever that is for
you and I, may we be open to these plans of God. As we
allow that plan to unfold, may Mary's testimony be a similar comfort to us... May
the words spoken to her call us to deeper faith, hope and love... The fullness
of which will only truly be understood in retrospect: Nothing will be impossible for God.
