September 8, 2021. The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Wednesday, September 8 2021
The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Feast)
First reading Micah 5:1-4
He will stand and feed his flock with the power of the Lord
The Lord says this:
But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
the least of the clans of Judah,
out of you will be born for me
the one who is to rule over Israel;
his origin goes back to the distant past,
to the days of old.
The Lord is therefore going to abandon them
till the time when she who is to give birth gives birth.
Then the remnant of his brothers will come back
to the sons of Israel.
He will stand and feed his flock
with the power of the Lord, with the majesty of the name of his God.
They will live secure, for from then on he will extend his power
to the ends of the land.
He himself will be peace.
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 12(13):6-7
R./: I exult for joy in the Lord.
Lord, I trust in your merciful love.
Let my heart rejoice in your saving help. (R./)
Let me sing to the Lord for his goodness to me,
singing psalms to the name of the Lord, the Most High. (R./)
Gospel Matthew 1:18-23
How Jesus Christ came to be born
This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph; being a man of honour and wanting to spare her publicity, decided to divorce her informally. He had made up his mind to do this when the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.’ Now all this took place to fulfil the words spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son
and they will call him Emmanuel,
a name which means ‘God-is-with-us.’
Key Message:
Mamma Mary will cover us under Her mantle!! As with Jesus, She will be walking with us in all our joys and sorrows. Let us surrender ourselves and our families to her.
Homily:
Beautiful lessons from Mamma Mary’s life:
Trusting in God’s care:
When the Angel Gabriel announced to Mother Mary that She would have a child, Mamma Mary’s only question was: “How will this happen, since I am a virgin?” Mother Mary never questioned the Angel Gabriel by asking, “What will people think of me? Won’t they punish me by throwing stones at me? How will I convince Joseph that I am a pure virgin?” Instead of these statements, Mamma’s response was “I am the handmaid of God. Let it be done to me according to His will”. Mother Mary never worried about herself. She rested confidently in God and surrendered all her cares to God. When we undergo difficulties in our life, we get perplexed easily on how to solve problems. Jesus says, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”. Just by worrying we cannot solve our problems. Like Mother Mary, let us also trust God to take care of us.
Asking “Why not me?” instead of “Why me?”
Mother Mary experienced multiple challenges in her life. Though She was ‘Mother of God’, She suffered more humiliation, more poverty, more injustice than any of us. She had to see Her own son being crucified on the cross, suffering and dying. Mother Mary’s life answers a difficult question which we ask at many instances in our life – “Why me, why me?” Mother Mary had the highest privilege among humans – being ‘Mother of God’. But She had to walk through the valley of tears all through Her life. Though She was sinless, She was not spared from suffering. She just lived and showed “Why not me?”
Waiting in prayer for answers:
In today’s Gospel we see that our Mother Mary had not revealed the truth that She had conceived by the power of Holy Spirit to Saint Joseph. She knew that Saint Joseph was aware of Her condition, but He was not aware of the complete truth. She chose to be silent, waiting in prayer for God to do the speaking part. Sometimes when we undergo unjust treatment, it is good to wait on God to do the speaking part rather than us. Are we relying on God’s vindication? When we rely on God to save us, then He will send His angels to work for us. Angels do far better than us!!
Going through surprising challenges:
Mother Mary and Saint Joseph were not aware that they had to travel to Bethlehem when Mother Mary was in the final stage of pregnancy. They were not rich enough to hire carts. And not even rich to own two donkeys, so that both of them can ride on their donkeys. All they had was a donkey for Mother Mary to ride on in her final stages of pregnancy. Mother Mary never got frustrated or cried over her status. She understood these troubles are also part of God’s plan, so proceeded sweetly on the same.
Can we have a special devotion to Mother Mary and honour her as our dear sweet mother?