Today we honor Mary’s divine motherhood. ❤️
Dear John, Happy New Year! In today's video reflection, Stephen Copeland asks Murray Bodo, OFM, a difficult and timeless question: What is prayer? We think you'll like what he has to say here. ▫️▫️▫️
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Saint of the Day for January 1:
Mary, Mother of God Listen to the Story of Mary, Mother of God Here Mary’s divine motherhood broadens the Christmas spotlight. Mary has an important role to play in the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. She consents to God’s invitation conveyed by the angel (Luke 1:26-38). Elizabeth proclaims: “Most blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Luke 1:42-43, emphasis added). Mary’s role as mother of God places her in a unique position in God’s redemptive plan. Without naming Mary, Paul asserts that “God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law” (Galatians 4:4). Paul’s further statement that “God sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out ‘Abba, Father!’” helps us realize that Mary is mother to all the brothers and sisters of Jesus. Some theologians also insist that Mary’s motherhood of Jesus is an important element in God’s creative plan. God’s “first” thought in creating was Jesus. Jesus, the incarnate Word, is the one who could give God perfect love and worship on behalf of all creation. As Jesus was “first” in God’s mind, Mary was “second” insofar as she was chosen from all eternity to be his mother. The precise title “Mother of God” goes back at least to the third or fourth century. In the Greek form Theotokos (God-bearer), it became the touchstone of the Church’s teaching about the Incarnation. The Council of Ephesus in 431 insisted that the holy Fathers were right in calling the holy virgin Theotokos. At the end of this particular session, crowds of people marched through the street shouting: “Praised be the Theotokos!” The tradition reaches to our own day. In its chapter on Mary’s role in the Church, Vatican II’s Dogmatic Constitution on the Church calls Mary “Mother of God” 12 times. Reflection Other themes come together at today’s celebration. It is the Octave of Christmas: Our remembrance of Mary’s divine motherhood injects a further note of Christmas joy. It is a day of prayer for world peace: Mary is the mother of the Prince of Peace. It is the first day of a new year: Mary continues to bring new life to her children—who are also God’s children.
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Pray at All Times Without prayer, we run the risk of forgetting who we have become, and slowly we begin to feel as if God is distant and uninterested. Prayer also prevents us from hiding from God (like Adam), for through it, we place ourselves before the only one that can perfect us and transform our lives. Every prayer, whether spoken or not, alone or with others, is truly an opportunity to say to Lord, “Fill me with your life. Change me into the person you know me to be.” Just by accepting God’s invitation to be in his presence, we open ourselves to the infinite, giving the Spirit permission to act in the deepest recesses of our being. Moreover, we do so, as St. Thérèse has said, by the simple surge of our hearts to the one that saves us from ourselves. This alone should be reason to pray at all times! —from the book Prayer Everywhere: The Spiritual Life Made Simple
by Fr. Gary Caster |
Explore how Franciscan spirituality can inspire and encourage a wholeness of body and soul through all the ups and downs of life. |
May Peace on Earth Begin with Me Reflect While many of us are still enjoying the celebration of the New Year, January 1 is also known as the World Day of Peace. On this day, all people of the human family acknowledge and pray to take action-centered steps forward to a more peaceful world for all. Pray God of Peace,
I pray for peace in our hurting and troubled world.
Let peace begin and breathe through me—
in my intentions, thoughts, words, actions, attitudes.
The only way evil can flourish is for good-willed people to stand by and do nothing.
Fill me with your passion and wisdom to I stand up for peace.
Amen. Act Where do you most need to be an instrument of God’s peace in your life? Ask for the grace to bring peace wherever you are called or sent. Today's Pause+Pray was written by Patricia Breen. Learn more here! |
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