{"id":392,"date":"2014-01-03T09:50:30","date_gmt":"2014-01-03T09:50:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/?p=392"},"modified":"2014-12-18T11:16:13","modified_gmt":"2014-12-18T11:16:13","slug":"commentary20140101","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/commentary20140101\/","title":{"rendered":"Commentary on the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God"},"content":{"rendered":"

LUKE 02: 16\u201321<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God<\/strong><\/p>\n

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TEXT<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Shepherds find Jesus<\/strong><\/p>\n

16 And they went with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it they made known the saying which had been told them concerning this child; 18 and all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.<\/em><\/p>\n

Mary pondered<\/strong><\/p>\n

19 But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart.<\/em><\/p>\n

Shepherds return to flocks<\/strong><\/p>\n

20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.<\/em><\/p>\n

Circumcision<\/strong><\/p>\n

21 And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. <\/em><\/p>\n

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EXPLANATION<\/strong><\/p>\n

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16 And they went with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd they went with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger<\/em>\u201d \u2014 Like Mary when she heard of Elizabeth\u2019s pregnancy, the shepherds do not delay but \u201cwent with haste<\/em>\u201d to the stable. When salvation was offered to them, there was no delay in seeking and accepting.<\/p>\n

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17 And when they saw it they made known the saying <\/em><\/strong>[word] which had been told them concerning this child; 18 and all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd when they saw it<\/em>\u201d \u2014 When the shepherds saw \u201cit<\/em>\u201d, that is the birth of the child whom the angels said was \u201ca Saviour, who is Christ the Lord<\/em>\u201d. Three titles describe the Child \u2014 a Saviour, the Messiah and God (Lk. 2: 11). The shepherds would not have recognised the babe as any of these three titles without the revelation of the angels to inform them.<\/p>\n

\u201cthey made known the saying <\/em>[word] which had been told them concerning this child;<\/em>\u201d \u2014 Immediately they became \u201cangels\u201d or \u201cmessengers\u201d, re\u2013telling the revelation they had received from the heavenly persons.<\/p>\n

\u201cand all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them<\/em>.\u201d \u2014 The shepherds\u2019 words opened the minds and hearts of those present to the reality and identity of the Babe. Nevertheless \u201call who heard<\/em>\u201d did not believe, but \u201cwondered<\/em>\u201d. They realised that the shepherds\u2019 message was extraordinary and had to be reflected on and examined. They did not yet believe but were on the threshold of faith.<\/p>\n

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19 But Mary kept all these things <\/em><\/strong>[words], pondering them in her heart.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

But Mary kept all these things <\/em>[words], pondering them in her heart<\/em>\u201d \u2014 Mary, the perfect disciple, is a model for all generations of the first two stages in discipleship, namely listening attentively and reflecting on the word of God in her heart, that is, with love.<\/p>\n

The Catechism of the Catholic Church,<\/em> 94, states \u201cThanks to the assistance of the Holy Spirit, the understanding of both the realities and the words of the heritage of faith is able to grow in the life of the Church: \u2014 \u201cthrough the contemplation and study of believers who ponder these things \u201cin their hearts\u201d; it is in particular \u201ctheological research [which] deepens knowledge of revealed truth\u201d \u2014 \u201cfrom the intimate sense of spiritual realities which [believers] experience\u201d, the sacred Scriptures \u201cgrow with the one who reads them.\u201d \u2014 \u201cfrom the preaching of those who have received, along with their right of succession in the episcopate, the sure charism of truth\u201d.<\/p>\n

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20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. \u2014 <\/em>The shepherds were eyewitnesses of the message revealed to them by the angels and they confirmed the message and believed. Immediately they shared the revelation with those who were present. They \u201creturned<\/em>\u201d to their occupation, shepherding sheep, but as changed persons. The angels had sung with joy when they revealed their message. Now the shepherds also sing the praises of God, glorifying him from the fulness of their new faith in his incarnate Son, which they had verified.<\/p>\n

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21 And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised<\/em>\u201d \u2014 \u201cCircumcision<\/em>\u201d was a sign that a male was a member of the Jewish religion. It was conferred on the eighth day after birth (Gn. 17: 10\u201312). There was a serious dispute about the necessity of circumcision for all Christians but the Council of Jerusalem (49 A.D.) decided against. \u201cFor in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any avail, but faith working through love<\/em>\u201d (Gal. 5: 6). By this decision the Church clearly declared that there was a definite distinction between Judaism and Christianity and Christians are not part of the Jewish religion.<\/p>\n

\u201che was called Jesus<\/em>\u201d \u2014 The angel explained the meaning of the word \u201cJesus<\/em>\u201d in this way to Joseph, \u201cfor he will save his people from their sins<\/em>\u201d (Mt. 1: 21).<\/p>\n

Luke almost glossed over the actual circumcision to emphasise the naming of the child because the name was given by God through the angel. By circumcision Jesus was subject to the requirements of the Law; by the name he was subject to the will of God for the salvation of the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cthe name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb<\/em>.\u201d \u2014 The angel gave this name \u201cJesus<\/em>\u201d both to Mary (Lk. 1: 31) and to St. Joseph (Mt. 1: 21).<\/p>\n

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APPLICATION<\/strong><\/p>\n

The document on the Church from the Second Vatican Council, Lumen Gentium<\/em>, treats of \u201cThe Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, in the Mystery of Christ and of the Church\u201d (Chapter eight, nos. 52\u201369). This is an outstanding chapter in the literature devoted to Mary. It is a wonderful commentary on the role of Mary and, particularly in this Christmas season, well worth a reflective reading. The mystery of Jesus, God and man, and Mary\u2019s divine motherhood cannot be separated; they form the one mystery, each casting light on the other.<\/p>\n

Everything in her life was closely related to God and this is how her greatness is to be understood. Her Immaculate Conception, her Assumption, her Perpetual Virginity were divine gifts flowing from God who prepared her and rewarded her for her fidelity to her vocation. We cannot understand her and her call without appreciating her relationship with her heavenly Father. This is why we must be grateful to her and, as a consequence, this brings us to a greater personal affiliation and more tender love for God our Father and her Divine Son<\/p>\n

On the cross Jesus her son bequeathed her to us through St. John the Apostle \u2014 \u201cMother behold your son; son behold your mother<\/em>\u201d. In our daily lives, we cannot ignore her role as that of our mother. She expects us to turn to her in all our needs; she is willing to respond like any mother to a child\u2019s plea. She brings us to her son in prayer. Mothers\u2019 prayers are so precious. Who else could be better for us? Only in so far as we allow her can she assist us in all our needs.<\/p>\n

As our mother she is our model. From her humility we can deduce that she never considered herself important or special to God; she was an ordinary young girl in a small, unknown village of about a hundred people. That God should need her would never enter her mind. Yet God did need her to be the mother of his Son incarnate who would redeem the world. She had such an essential role to play in our redemption.<\/p>\n

As our model there are many things we ought to emulate but we will mention only three:<\/p>\n

(i)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She obeyed God perfectly. When he invited her to be the mother of his Son she answered immediately with her fiat<\/em>, \u201clet it be done unto me according to your word<\/em>\u201d. She named her son with the name Jesus,<\/em> given to her by the angel. She obeyed the instructions given to St. Joseph by the angel in two dreams. She is the exemplar of what St. Paul calls \u201cthe obedience of faith<\/em>\u201d. The hallmark of faith is obedience.<\/p>\n

(ii)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She listened, treasured and reflected (pondered) on God\u2019s words and deeds. Jesus praised her for this, saying that this was more important than being his mother, the Mother of God. This we call contemplation, a reflection in prayer.<\/p>\n

(iii)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She presented her son Jesus to the shepherds as representatives of the poor, the outcasts, the sinners, and to the Wise Men from the east, the Magi, representatives of the Gentiles, the non \u2013Jews, the world of people.<\/p>\n

How does this apply to us? First, we must realise that God needs us! He created us as members of his family who should have his family traits or culture. He created us for a purpose, his purpose. This can be described in three activities.<\/p>\n

(i)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The first is the \u201cobedience of faith<\/em>\u201d. He needs us to do his will perfectly, like Mary.<\/p>\n

(ii)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He wishes us to listen to the word of God. Why else would he share it with us? He expects us to treasure it, keep it, ponder on it prayerfully. The twenty mysteries of our faith in the Most Holy Rosary are excellent ways to contemplate the word of God to reveal the person of Mary\u2019s divine son.<\/p>\n

(iii)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Then we must put this faith into action by sharing his word, his presence with others. “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and put it into practice<\/em>” (Luke 8:21).<\/p>\n

Mary has been given to us in a most solemn feast, called a Solemnity, on this first day of the New Year. She has been given as our Mother and Model. She has been given to us by the magisterium of the Church. That is the will of God that we honour her under these two titles throughout the year by doing God\u2019s will perfectly as she would.<\/p>\n

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LUKE 02: 16\u201321 Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God \u00a0 TEXT \u00a0 Shepherds find Jesus 16 And they went with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it they made known the saying which had been told them concerning this child; 18 and all<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-392","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=392"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":626,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392\/revisions\/626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}