New Year's Day, January 1, 2008

Homily, January 1, 2008

This is the doctrine of the church that dates back to 431 A.D. It was declared during the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus. The Universal Church was represented: A delegation of Egyptian Bishops was led by St. Cyril of Alexandria. Bishop John of Antioch brought another contingent of Bishops from Syria. Pope Celestine I sent three delegates. St. Augustine had been invited but died before the Council opened. Traveling was not as easy as it is today, to allow the majority of bishops to gather all at one time in one place. So, delegating prominent figures from different and important parts of the church was the best way humanly possible.

COMMENTARY:
The Universal Church's understanding of Our Mother's role in our redemption and salvation has been there from the very beginning. It's embedded in the Scriptures, that Mary is special and blessed among all women. She is like none other. The Reformation movement that tossed Mary out of our lives the last 500 years ago went  totally contrary to the 1500 years worth of Marian tradition that was alive and vibrant.

1500 years earlier, Church Fathers had already charted a good understanding of who Mary was. They in the Council of Ephesus defined for us the Doctrine of Mary as the Mother of God. In that council, St. Cyril of Alexandria, said, “I am exceedingly astounded, that there could be anyone who has any doubt as to whether the Blessed Virgin should be called the Mother of God. If Our Lord Jesus Christ is God, why should the Blessed Virgin, who gave him birth, not be called the mother of God?”

“That is the faith that Our Lord's disciples transmitted to us, even though they did not use this exact expression. And that too is what the holy fathers (of the church) have taught us.” (Letter 1, article 27, verse 30).

MEANING OF THIS DOCTRINE:

Doctrine mean what we do in Catechism, “teaching”. Doing doctrine is a teaching ministry. What you are doing in CCD, is a worthy teaching ministry. Jesus send the Apostles saying, “Go into the whole world and make disciples of all the nations:  Baptize them .....Teach them to carry out everything I have commanded you. And know that I am with you always, until the end of the world!”

Teaching Catechism is to carry out that same ministry.

This doctrine of Mary as Mother of God helps us appreciate the prominent role Mary plays in our salvation. Without this doctrine and many others around Mary there won't be a structure on which to build appropriate devotions and spirituality. It's just like this morning and every Sunday morning when we start with the rosary before Mass. That is devotion. The devotion is predicated by the teachings about Mary. With doctrine also comes the assent of faith or an appreciation of who Mary is in relation to us. Without doctrine, there cannot be devotion or spirituality. Doctrine provides structure, devotion provides flesh, and spirituality or faith provides the circulation and so spiritual life is nourished and sustained.

It says, that “Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart..” The Church, just like Mary, meditates and ponders over every text of the Word of God. It doesn't just gloss over it and moves on. Instead the church turns the Word of God around like a mason does the stone to see how that stone feeds and supports the rest of the structure. Such pondering begets doctrines such as the one of today.

What the doctrine of Mary as Mother of God means is that what Mary did to give birth to Jesus Christ entitles her to the honor of bearing the title of Mother of God. This doctrine rises directly out of the church's deeper understanding of who Jesus is. Jesus is the 2nd Person of the Holy Trinity. A person is an inseparable and indivisible unit. When this 2nd Person of the Trinity came to us as a human being through Mary's conception and birthing, he assumed a second nature (the human nature) over and above his divine nature. So, Jesus is still one person who carries two natures (human and divine). If Mary gave birth to one and the same (divine) person of the Trinity with two natures, she therefore unequivocally qualifies to be called 'Mother of God'. From this doctrine, we can now pray the rosary and say, “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.”

We can address Mary appropriately with proper titles because we now know who she really is in relation to God and us. This knowledge alone speaks to how much God is in love with us, humans, to be so intimate with us as to subject himself to being born by one of us, so that we may not be afraid of him but love him as “one with/of us” (Emmanuel).

“Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means 'God is with us'”. (Mt. 1: 23)

“In the beginning was the Word; the Word was in God's presence, and the Word was God....He was in the world....yet the world did not know who he was. To his own he came yet his own did not accept him.  The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us and we has seen glory, the glory as of the Father's Only Son, full of grace and truth.” (Jn. 1: 1-14).

From this passage we get the clear teaching that Jesus was both Divine and Human, the very same Person of the Trinity. So, when Mary gives birth to him, he is a Mother of God, because he gave birth to God.

This feast occurs on the first day of January, a month that marks the beginning of a new year. How appropriate. January comes from the Roman God named 'Janus'. This pagan god was portrayed as have two faces, one looking to backward, another forward. How appropriate that the Church put this first of Our Lady today on this month. It is the strategically the good time to reflect and ponder like Mary on our past and our future at the same time and make resolutions going forward.

“Mary treasured all these things, reflecting on then in her heart.”

The reason, Our Lady pondered and treasured all that was said about Jesus by the shepherds was because she was discerning God's will on her. She wanted to be ready all the time in the future to step up to the plate instantly when called to duty by God. She didn't want to be out of step with the Lord's will on her. She wanted to be cooperative. That was her joy.

 “Behold! I am the handmaid of the Lord. Be it done unto me according to thy word.” (Lk. 1: 38).

We too must ponder and discern God's will for us and make resolutions to be in step with his word and will for us. Socrates, then later St. Augustine, said, “An unexamined life is not worth living.” We can make resolution to pray more with regularity, frequency, duration, and intensity. Fr. Ernest Munachi makes a distinction between a wishful person and a resolute one.

Wishful thinking identifies a goal one wants to reach. A resolution specifies the steps one will take to reach it
A wishful person says “This is where I want to be.” A resolute person says “This is the road I will take. This is what I will do to get there.”

A wishful person says, “I want to pass the exams this year.” The resolved person says, “I will devote an extra hour to my studies everyday in order to pass my exams this year.”

A wishful persons says, “I will have more peace and love in my family this year. A resolved person says, “I will spend more time with my family at table instead of rushing off to the TV, so that we get to know and understand ourselves better.”

A wishful person says, “I will live a life of union with God this year.” A resolved person says, “I will set aside this time everyday to pray and hear God's word.

Mary is an example of a resolved or resolute person: She treasured and pondered God's every word so that she would be in tune with God's will every step of the way. She let no word drop without her turning it over and around like a mason so she could discern God's will over her and her son; and see how one piece fits the larger picture. She did not want to see the trees and not the forest of God's overall plan of salvation. She let no word drop like rain and leave before it did its purpose.  She did this with the Angel Gabriel's message, and as a result, that word became flesh, that is, it became real. Now she does it again with the shepherd's message. She wanted to reverse Eve's disobedience.