The Word God Spells

Luke 1: 39-56
Zep 3: 14-18a or Rom 12: 9-16 / Is 12: 2-6

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
(Luke 1:46)

The wonders of our Lord I’ve found,
The proud and haughty are debased,
The mighty He casts to the ground,
The humble to high honor raised.

At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!” And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers.” Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home. (Luke 1: 39-56)

Reflection

The canticle of Mary, also known as the Magnificat is one of the most beautiful prayers that the Church uses everyday at Evening Prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours. It is a manifestation of Mary’s perfect faith and trust in God. Many biblical scholars believe that Luke based the canticle of Mary on the song of Hannah in I Samuel 2: 1-10. Perhaps Luke wanted to establish a parallel between Samuel, one of the Old Testament precursors of the Messiah who was a “sacrificial child” promised by his mother Hannah, and Jesus, the Sacrificial Lamb and promised redeemer. Their mothers were totally dedicated to God, and for their sacrifices, both were amply rewarded. Hannah bore three more sons and two daughters after Samuel. Mary rightly declares, “My being proclaims the greatness of the Lord…He has done great things for me…All generations shall call me blessed.” Indeed she has become the Mother of mankind.

Mary’s song recalls not only the exaltation of Hannah, but those of David in Psalms 69:30 and 34:3 (“Magnify the Lord, let us exalt His Name together!”), and Isaiah (61:10, “I rejoice greatly in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul!”) All of them acknowledged the wonderful things that God had accomplished in their lives. Let us take Mary’s cue and call to mind all the wonders that our Lord has done for us, the blessings we now enjoy, the members of our family and true friends that we cherish, our resources and our talents and abilities. Let us take the time to enumerate these gifts from God and give Him thanks and praise. Let our souls proclaim the Lord’s greatness, and our lips exult with words of praise; God has shown us all His great kindness, and has led us to this life of grace!

With Mary we proclaim Your wondrous deeds in our lives, Father God, and with joyous songs the coming of our Savior. Thank You, Lord for all Your love and kindness, and the hope of eternal life in heaven. Amen.

Luke 1: 26-38
Is 7: 10-14; 8:10/ Ps 40: 7-11 / Heb 10: 4-10

‘I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.’

Her virtues that we emulate
Will shield us from all tribulation;
Today let’s pause to meditate
Her ‘Yes’ that led to our redemption

In the sixth month of her cousin Elizabeth’s pregnancy, the young maiden Mary was visited by the angel Gabriel to announce her role in God’s plan of salvation. Pledged to be married soon to Joseph, Mary would have been placed in a great quandary by the angel’s news that she would be with child by the power of the Holy Spirit. But this awesome news that she would become the mother of “the Most High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, to reign over the house of Jacob forever” was a divine privilege that a simple village girl like her could hardly refuse. “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.” After hearing these revelations, Mary could only reply in total submission, “I am the Lord’s servant, may it be done to me as you have said.”

Reflection

The Church celebrates this day as the Feast of the Annunciation. It is a special day worth commemorating because this day in human history marks the Incarnation of the promised Redeemer, Jesus Christ. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14) It was in relation to the date of the Savior’s birth on December 25 that the Church selected March 25 (exactly nine months before) as the day when the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity took place, the same day that the great news was announced to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

We do not know if Mary was well versed with the prophetic writings, particularly the words of Isaiah in the first reading: “. . . the Lord himself will give you a sign. The virgin is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.” (Isa 7:14) But her canticle in vs. 46 to 55 revealed her ecstatic feelings to her cousin Elizabeth, knowing that she occupied a unique place in the whole of mankind, because she was now bearing the Son of God. And yet this special honor in no way affected her humble disposition. She even took pains riding a donkey to visit her aged cousin, and stayed to serve her for three months until Elizabeth delivered her own baby.

The Annunciation highlights what we admire most in our Mother Mary: her humility, submission, and obedience to God’s will. Her example clearly defines the meaning of discipleship, which all followers of her Son should strive to emulate.

We thank You, Father for the example of our Mother Mary, providing a beacon for us in times of darkness and trials, for no woman ever felt the pains that she had. Amen.

Luke 13: 10-17
Rom 8:12-17/Ps 68:2,4,6-7,20-21

Shouldn’t this daughter of Abraham be set free from what binds her?
(Luke 13:16)

Of women, this all men must learn:
In numbers they showed more concern
To Jesus, bent by our sins’ weight,
Was urged on by their steadfast faith.

Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on a Sabbath when He saw a woman there who had been a cripple for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up. Taking compassion on her, Jesus called her forward and said, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Putting His hands on her, she immediately straightened up and started praising God. The synagogue ruler, indignant that Jesus had healed on a Sabbath, said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.” But Jesus told him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”

Reflection

It was all too much to take for the strict synagogue ruler. Jesus had discarded all the rules of protocol, interrupting His teaching and calling an infirmed woman to the front of the synagogue (women’s places were always at the back). Disregarding His station as a rabbi, He touched the impure woman, and then desecrated the Sabbath by healing her! But for his outburst, Jesus rebuked the synagogue ruler and his kind as hypocrites. How rich in lessons this incident in the synagogue brings to us today.

There were a number of things in Jewish society that needed to be straightened out, and Jesus saw the opportunity to do it when a woman bent with a crippling disease entered the synagogue that Sabbath day. First, by calling the woman to the front of the synagogue, and calling her a “daughter of Abraham”, He elevated the status of women to the same level of men, they being also children of God, and co-heirs of His kingdom. By touching her, Jesus showed the Jews that her affliction was not the result of sin; she was not impure, and therefore could not defile Him. He had to humiliate His adversaries by calling them hypocrites to expose them for what they were, and to open their eyes to the fact that their man-made laws had made them blind to God’s compassion and mercy.

In some ways we might also be guilty of hypocrisy like that synagogue official if we are only concerned about the legal observance of the Sabbath (Sunday Mass). How do we keep God’s day of rest holy? Is an hour spent in church sufficient? Did we show a little concern for that bent woman begging at the church entrance as Jesus did? Or was our money for her decent meal too much of a sacrifice? Jesus said, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” (Mt.12:7). It is not in sacrifice or in the observance of laws or rites that sanctifies our day or our life. It is in showing mercy and compassion to the weakest of God’s children. Women have always been taken advantage of because of their weakness. We hear and read of rapes and physical abuses against women. Amnesty International, in its campaign to stop violence against women, said, “From the battlefield to the bedroom, women are at risk.” We must all do our share to stop “bending” women’s lives, whether at home or in the marketplace. As we end this month dedicated to Mary, Jesus’ Mother, let us pledge to honor her by treating all women like our own mother or sister.

Dear God, our prejudices against women may have caused our values to be bent and crippled. Thank You for making us realize how important it is to honor all women, just as our Lord Jesus showed respect and compassion to all of them. Amen.

Luke 11:27-28
Jl 4:12-21 / Ps 97

Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!
(Luke 11:28)

We keep God’s Word to make us worthy
To earn God’s kingdom, and nothing less.
Let’s strive to be like Mother Mary,
Who is our model of holiness.

While Jesus was teaching the crowd, a woman there raised her voice and said to him, ‘Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!’ In turn, Jesus replied, ‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!’

Reflection

There was never an opportunity that our Lord did not use to enlighten His followers to a higher truth. When a woman heaped praises on Him for His wondrous works, He deflected the blessing to “those who hear the Word of God and obey it.” He never deviated from His single-minded mission to proclaim God’s message of salvation.

But was He disparaging His own mother for the sake of proclaiming the Good News? This was the second time that Jesus seemed to be belittling His own mother in order to emphasize the importance of God’s Word. The first time was when His mother and some cousins came to see Him but could not enter the house where He was teaching because of the crowd. When someone told Jesus that they were outside and wished to see Him, He replied, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the Word of God and do it” (Lk.8:19-21). As some detractors of our Marian devotion like to point out, aren’t these passages proof that our Lord gave little importance to the role of Mary in our faith vis-à-vis the Word of God? Quite the contrary. Our Mother Mary was in fact Jesus’ model of one who lived the Word of God. She was not only blessed for bearing and nursing Jesus, but rather she was more blessed for hearing the Word of God constantly and obeying it fully. After all, she was the first to believe (Lk.1:45), and had always kept the words of her Son in her heart (Lk.2:51). St. Augustine spoke of her so well in one of his homilies when he said, “Mary heard God’s word and kept it, and so she is blessed. She kept God’s truth in her mind, a nobler thing than carrying His body in her womb. The truth and the body were both Christ: He was kept in Mary’s mind insofar as He is truth, He was carried in her womb insofar as He is man; but what is kept in the mind is of a higher order than what is carried in the womb.” (St. Augustine Sermon 25, 7-8: PL 46, 937-938.)

Lord Jesus, we thank You for giving us Mary, Your Mother when You were at the point of death in Calvary to be our Mother of Intercession. Especially during this month of the Holy Rosary, we venerate her as our model of faith, obedience, purity and compassion. May the devotion of our Church to Your Mother grow stronger even in the midst of the world’s tribulations. Dear Mother Mary, pray for us. Amen.

Luke 2: 33-35
Heb 5:7-9/Ps 31:2-6,15-16,20

Behold this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign of contradiction, (while a sword will pierce your own soul) so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.
(Luke 2:34-35)

What was once a great mystery
Was that “sign of contradiction”;
But soon Christ’s Word revealed to me
That His cross was our salvation.

Malachi’s prophecy had finally come that day when Simeon and Anna entered the temple. “…suddenly the Lord for whom you long (for) will enter the sanctuary. The envoy of the covenant which you so greatly desire already comes, says Yahweh of hosts.” (Mal.3:1)

Reflection

Everyone who met Jesus fell, either into repentance or down to reality. He caused many to both fall, and then rise again. Simon Peter was the first when he witnessed the miraculous catch of fish and fell at Jesus’ feet, saying “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!” (Luke 5:8). Matthew came next when he left his post at the imperial revenue office. St. Paul had the biggest fall of all (from his horse) when he encountered the Spirit of Jesus on the way to Damascus. But as Simeon predicted, all of them rose again to become the best followers of Jesus in spreading His kingdom here on earth.

When we come into a closer relationship with God, He will reveal to us how sinful and unworthy we are of His beloved Son’s suffering and death on the cross. To fall down in humble penitence is an important process of our transformation, because, after all, we can never get to heaven on our own merits. Until we fall from the pride and prestige of this world, from the need to be self-assured and self-sufficient, from the folly of financial achievements and human glory, we will never learn to rise to the call of the cross, to be humble, to be servile, to wake up to the realization that we are nothing, and everything belongs to God alone. Let us always keep in mind the words of the Apostle Paul: “What do you have, that you weren’t given?” We who have acknowledged Jesus as King should live lives that reflect His character, especially His humility.

Today we commemorate the feast of our Blessed Mother Mary as Our Lady of Sorrows. She was given the privilege of being the mother of the Son of God. But with this high privilege also came a “sword which would pierce her heart,” as her Son would be tortured and killed on the cross. She received both a crown of joy and a cross of sorrow. But her joy was not diminished by her sorrow because she had faith and trust in God’s promise. The Lord gives this strange kind of joy which helps all His favored ones (the apostles and saints) bear any sorrow or pain.

Lord, thank You for Your supernatural love, which none of us on earth can ever hope to fathom; it fills us with gladness, and great expectation of things to come. Amen.

Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23
Rom 8:28-30 / Ps 13

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.
(Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23)

Happy birthday, dear Mother Mary,
Our model of love and purity;
Your example of obedience be
Our guiding light to eternity.

Today we celebrate the feast of our Blessed Mother Mary’s Nativity. There is no account in the Bible about the birth of Mary or her lineage, only the lineage of Joseph, recounted in the first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew (1-17). We come to know the names of Mary’s parents, Saints Joachim and Anna, in the apocryphal “Gospel of James”, which is not part of the approved canon of Scripture. According to this account, St. Joachim and St. Anna were already beyond the age of child-bearing, but they prayed and fasted that God would grant them a child.

In 1854, Pope Pius IX made a Formal Declaration: “The most holy Virgin Mary, in the first moment of her conception, by a unique gift of grace and privilege of Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ the Redeemer of mankind, was preserved free from all stain of original sin.” This doctrine had in fact been defined as early as 431 A.D., when the Council of Ephesus, in countering the heresy of Nestorius, who taught that Mary gave birth to Jesus Christ’s human nature only, responded that persons, and not natures, are conceived and born, and that Jesus Christ is a Divine Person. The purpose of this doctrine was, and is, clearly to safeguard the Divinity of Jesus Christ. As such, it is Christ-centered, and not necessarily Mary-centered.

Reflection

In today’s Gospel, we read that St. Joseph also obeyed the Lord’s command, and took Mary into his home as his wife, but had no intimate relations with her. This is why we honor our Blessed Mother for her purity, as befits the Mother of God. It is in her honor and that of her Son, Jesus Christ, that all the members of the Catholic church heirarchy have taken the vow of chastity.

Although it is not considered a holy day of obligation, we should make this a special day by going to the Eucharistic celebration to thank God for giving us Mary, the Mediatrix of grace. As early as the twelfth century, all Christian nations have been celebrating this day as one of the major feasts of Mary. As Catholics we must give this day the importance it deserves. After all, the birth of Mary is second only in importance to the birth of her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Lord God, the day of our salvation came when the Blessed Virgin gave birth to Your Son. As we celebrate her own birth today, grant us Your grace and Your peace. This we pray through Christ our Lord, Amen.