Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God 2009
Dear Parishioners at Christ the Redeemer,
In our Catholic Tradition, we begin this New Year as always with the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God. Mary is held up before the world as the God-bearer, as our sister Churches of the East would describe her. In the great mystery of the Incarnation, Mary becomes the mother of Jesus, Son of God and Son of Man. On this feast we see that our humanity is touched and transformed by the action of the divine.
My prayer and hope for you in this New Year 2009 is that the grace-filled action of the Father touch and transform our world, our Church, and our family lives. May the mystery of Christ’s Incarnation allow our humanity to be like that of Mary to be God-bearing. Our relationships have the possibility and reality of knowing and bringing Christ among our brothers and sisters.
As we begin the New Year, we have the opportunity to prayerfully reflect on how Christ is present in the believing community here at Christ the Redeemer. As we often come together in worship, Christ shows himself to us in God’s Word and the ritual gestures of the Church. Each believer and minister becomes a vehicle for his Presence among us. In our outreach to adults and children, our religious educators with their words and efforts bring Christ to new and maturing believers. Christ the Redeemer Parish has always been well known for its mission and outreach to the poor and needy, where the work and mercy of Christ is realized in our local community.
Our family lives, our friendships, and all of our everyday contacts are occasions of allowing the mystery of God-with-us to embrace our lives. Not only are we created in the image of God himself, but our human words and actions are transformed into the works of Christ’s saving actions on our behalf. Christian marriage, likewise, the love of husband and wife, the sharing of life by brothers and sisters is the lived out sacrament of Christ within the Church.
In these challenging times in which we live, hopefully Christ, the Son of God and Son of Mary, will be an enlivening sacrament of hope. Mary was one of the “poor, the little ones” of God, those who waited on God for all things in their lives. Hopefully, Mary in her empty virginity and on her waiting of the Word of God becomes an example and invitation to live with new trust and confidence in God-among-us, Emmanuel.
