MARY, THE FULNESS OF MOTHERHOOD.

SOLEMNITY OF MARY, THE MOTHER OF GOD.
January 1, 2009.
(First reading: Numbers 6:22-27) (Psalm 67: 2-8)
(Second reading: Galatians 4:4-7) (Gospel: Luke 2:16-21)


MARY, THE FULNESS
OF MOTHERHOOD.

As a mother, Mary had with Jesus a kind of relationship all mothers would want to have with their children, a kind of relationship all human beings need to maintain with one another.

Mary knows her Son, rejoices in her Son, nurtures her Son.
Since the very time of conception, Mary knows her Son. From the angel of the Lord, she learns that her Son's name is Jesus, the Savior, the Messiah. When she gives birth to her Son, Mary is told again, this time by the shepherds of Bethlehem, something she already knew, that her Son is "a savior... Messiah and Lord" (Luke 2:11).

As a mother, Mary rejoices in her Son and "keeps all these things, reflecting on them in her heart" (Luke 2:19).

Just as Mary knows and rejoices in her Son, we all must know and rejoice in the greatness of every human being.

Saint Paul in his Letter to the Galatians tells us where our greatness comes from: From Mary's Son "we have received the Spirit of adoption" which moves us to cry out "Abba Father" (Gal 4:5-6) and makes us heirs of the Father.

As a mother, Mary cares for her poor and needy Son.
The Son Mary gives birth to in Bethlehem, is a poor, needy infant; and to him she devotes all her life and all her love for he is the fruit of her womb; there is nothing she will not do to protect him and to care for him. All her Son has is what she can give him. Yet she has heard and believed that this infant is "a savior... the Messiah and Lord".

In the poverty and vulnerability of the most defenseless human being, Mary sees and believes that all the glory and power of God rest.

The motherhood of Mary must be an example for all: We must give our total care and dedication to all our fellow human beings, especially to those who suffer poverty, dispossession, injustice, impending death, for it is in them that the presence of the Lord is made manifest.

Mary is a mother for ever.
By virtue of being the Mother of God, Mary continues to give birth to the saving works of her Son, she continues to live for ever in the redemptive works of her Son throughout human history.

Those who join Jesus in his saving works, also become themselves children of Mary in as much as Jesus himself is the Son of Mary.

Through Mary's motherhood we participate in the eternal life she receives from her Son as she shows us how we can transmit life both physically and spiritually, temporally and eternally.

Today, as we honor Mary, the Mother of God, may we all follow her example and bring her Son into our world for she is the fulness of motherhood.