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| “The Granduca Madonna” by Raffaello Sanzio,1504 |
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Numbers
6:22-27
The LORD said to Moses:
“Speak to Aaron and his sons
and tell them:
This is how you shall bless
the Israelites.
Say to them:
The LORD bless you and keep
you!
The LORD let his face shine
upon
you, and be gracious to you!
The LORD look upon you kindly
and
give you peace!
So shall they invoke my name
upon the Israelites,
and I will bless them.”
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Commentary on Nm
6:22-27
This passage contains
the “Priestly Blessing” or the “Blessing of Aaron”. It was to be used by priests to bless the
people of God. “…let his face shine upon you!” would indicate an act of divine
pleasure. As Christians, the finial strophe of the blessing – “The Lord look upon you kindly and give you
peace!” is seen as being
fulfilled at the birth of the Messiah – Jesus, Son of God and son of Mary.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm
67:2-3, 5, 6, 8
R. (2a) May God bless us in his mercy.
May God have pity on us and
bless us;
may he let his face shine upon us.
So may your way be known upon
earth;
among all nations, your salvation.
R. May God bless us in his
mercy.
May the nations be glad and
exult
because you rule the peoples in equity;
the nations on the earth you guide.
R. May God bless us in his
mercy.
May the peoples praise you, O
God;
may all the peoples praise you!
May God bless us,
and may all the ends of the earth fear him!
R. May God bless us in his
mercy.
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Psalm 67 is a blessing and
has elements of the ancient blessing of Aaron from Numbers
6:22ff (above). This blessing has
more of a plaintive tone (a lament), beseeching, almost pleading that the Lord
bless us; or petition asking for a bountiful harvest, this selection points to
the universal salvation promised by God to all the peoples.
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Brothers and sisters:
When the fullness of time had
come, God sent his Son,
born of a woman, born under
the law,
to ransom those under the
law,
so that we might receive
adoption as sons.
As proof that you are sons,
God sent the Spirit of his
Son into our hearts,
crying out, “Abba, Father!”
So you are no longer a slave
but a son,
and if a son then also an
heir, through God.
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Commentary on Gal
4:4-7
“God sent
his Son, born of a woman” this
passage, taken as part of the Gospel proclaimed by St. Paul, provides the Galatians with the important
fact that Mary gave birth to Jesus. He did not mystically appear to us. Jesus
is (was) true man, meaning he went through the biological birth process. That
also means that Mary, the Mother of God went through all of the difficult
physical process of giving birth.
St. Paul goes on to remind us
that through this action we are all adopted by God and are entitled to call God
our Father “Abba” a familial term of endearment (translated into American usage
as “daddy”).
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Gospel: Luke
2:16-21
The shepherds went in haste
to Bethlehem and found Mary
and Joseph,
and the infant lying in the
manger.
When they saw this,
they made known the message
that had been told them about
this child.
All who heard it were amazed
by what had been told them by
the shepherds.
And Mary kept all these
things,
reflecting on them in her
heart.
Then the shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God
for all they had heard and
seen,
just as it had been told to
them.
When eight days were
completed for his circumcision,
he was named Jesus, the name
given him by the angel
before he was conceived in
the womb.
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Commentary on Lk
2:16-21
The message, given to the shepherds by choirs of angels that they, in turn,
brought to Mary that she kept and reflected in her heart about was; “For today in the city of
David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord. And this will be
a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying
in a manger." (Luke 2 11-12)
This encounter
with the shepherds further reinforces Mary’s faith, the acceptance of her
child’s role explained to her by the Archangel Gabriel when this wonderful and
tragic journey began.
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Homily for the Octave Day
of Christmas – The Solemnity of Mary
First, let me wish you all a
happy and prosperous New Year. This is a time when we generally take stock of
what we want to accomplish in the up-coming year and resolve to take positive
action to accomplish those new goals. We may vow to lose weight, save money, or
to work harder at school or at our jobs.
Our New Year’s resolutions are made so that the year ahead will see us
happier and more fulfilled going forward.
Ironically, we also celebrate on this day the Solemnity of Mary; the
high feast day of the Blessed Virgin in whose son’s birth we rejoiced just
eight days ago. I say “ironically”
because she, more than any other saint we venerate, more than any other person
in the history of humankind, points to that which can give us all the happiness
and fulfillment we can imagine – the peace of her Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ.
On this holy Octave day of
Christmas, St. Luke’s story of the nativity continues with the announcement by
the shepherds of the news they had heard from the heavenly hosts (Luke
2:8-14). In the context of the times, this would have
been a singularly amazing event; shepherds abandoning their flocks (they never
left their flocks) coming to the little town of Bethlehem in awe and wonder
seeking a manger and a new born child.
The Magi had not yet arrived
and Joseph and his bride were in humble surroundings with their new born
child. Here come a group of shepherds
praising God, astounded to find this new King as they had been told, wrapped in
swaddling clothes in the stable. It was
true – God’s messengers had announced this momentous birth, not to kings and
princes, but to lowly shepherds. It was
they who gave the Prince of Peace the first praise upon his entry into the
world as man.
Within this incredible scene
is the new mother, Mary, Blessed Virgin, Mother of God’s great gift. What must she have thought seeing these
reclusive herdsmen mysteriously drawn there by angelic choirs? We recall that God’s touch-points with her
had been early in her pregnancy. She was
told what to expect (as was St. Joseph) but that had been some time ago. Even the greeting of St. Elizabeth (“Most blessed are you among women, and
blessed is the fruit of your womb.”) had been several months earlier. The little mother must have been somewhat
puzzled by the events as they had unfolded.
To our best knowledge, she was never told that she would not have this
child in the traditional setting, in her home with kinswomen around her. When she came due and delivered this baby in
a manger of all places, she must have wondered if Gabriel’s message and St.
Elizabeth’s greeting had been a dream.
But here come shepherds,
praising God and giving thanks for her Son, God’s Son, now nestled in her
arms. They spoke of heavenly hosts and
glad tidings of great joy, and she knew, she knew it was all true. This child she had carried and nurtured was
destined to be the salvation of the world and she had brought this new life
into the world. And this gift and
responsibility she silently pondered, perhaps again saying in her heart “My soul proclaims the greatness of the
Lord. My spirit rejoices in God my
savior!”
In that opening offering from
the Magnificat we see the attitude of one truly “full of grace”. In her humility she shows us the grace of her yet
unborn Son already giving the gift of God’s peace. What more can we hope for from our New Year’s
resolutions than to find an interior peace that gives us the ability to
overcome all obstacles; to endure any trial?
As we consider what we hope
to accomplish in this New Year, let us put a pledge to emulate Mother Mary at
the very top of that list. If we, like
the Blessed Virgin, focus all our efforts for the greater Glory of God through
Christ Jesus, our Mother’s prayers will be with us and our success will be that
much more assured.
On this, the solemn feast of
Mary we remember how she began her wondrous and tragic journey. We see her sacrifice, faith, and grace as
examples of what we strive to become in the service of the Son she gave us –
the Son of God who takes away the sins of the world. Today we pray fervently for her intercession
for she has become Queen of Heaven, and as such, has the special favor of her
Son. May we faithfully continue our
journey to Jesus this year and conform ourselves to him and his mother.
Pax
[1]
ALTRE
[2]
The picture is “The Granduca Madonna” by Raffaello Sanzio,1504
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the
Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This
re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
