12 December 2016 - many nations

[ Today's Readings ]

Many nations shall join themselves to the LORD on that day,
and they shall be his people,
and he will dwell among you,
and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.

The LORD still seeks out the nations to be his people. He wants everyone to join themselves to him. He sends messengers to us like Juan Diego and wants us to believe that he sends them so that we can receive the blessings of the messages they have to give us. Juan Diego's message was to a specific people at a specific place and time. But it is also to all people in all times and places. God wants us to be a family that transcends bounds of race or ethnicity. He wants to be the Father of all. He wants us to have Mary as our mother.

A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun,
with the moon under her feet,
and on her head a crown of twelve stars.

Mary is no accident in the plan of salvation. She is no afterthought. She is set apart to bring the nations the blessing of Jesus Christ. She continues to be set apart for this role. She wants to see us all become his brothers. That is what Jesus himself wants and Mary desires nothing more than that his will be done. It is precisely in her obedience that she can be a perfect mother for the people of God. She is meant to become the mother of all who follow him and keep his commandments.

Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea (see Revelation 12:17).

In fact there is no plan of salvation apart from Mary. We do well, therefore, to avail ourselves of the blessings God wants to give us through her. Let us listen to Juan Diego and believe that God wants to bless us through Mary. The particular grace of this blessing today seems to be one of unity in the family of God. It is a power to transcend the various boundaries that keeping us from loving one another as we should. It is a power to transcend cultural baggage keeping us from giving all that we have to God.

Mary is humble. She is in some ways all too easy to miss, too small to notice. But when we do notice her our lives become filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit.

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Most blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

So let us embrace Mary as our mother.

All true children of God have God for their father and Mary for his mother; anyone who does not have Mary for his mother, does not have God for his father.

--Saint Louis Marie de Montfort

Mary is the doorway through which grace comes to the world. She is the place where the Holy Spirit brings forth the incarnation of the Word of God. If we want to be filled with the Holy Spirit and to become more like Jesus we need to avail ourselves of this blessing.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!