Weekly Catholic Bible Study

 

Weeks 761-770

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Oratory of Divine Love Reflection 761: Mary, the Holy Mother of God:  A Reflection on the Gospel of Luke (Luke 2: 16-21)

 

The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child.
All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God  
for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them. When eight days were completed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

 

 

As I’ve probably mentioned in previous homilies, my father and I would go for walks sometimes at night. There was a gravel road out to our chicken house and barn, and we would walk back and forth on it in the starlight. He was quite enthusiastic about religion and spiritual topics, and loved to talk about them. But most other people weren’t all that interested. I was willing to listen, though. A frequent topic would be, “Don’t be a big shot in this world; be a big shot in the next.” He had kind of learned that the hard way, and wanted to spare me all the wasted energy in the wrong direction. He would point up to the stars and say, “Don’t be one of those specks in the Milky Way. Be one of the bright stars.” And he would say, “Some people live their lives for this world, and barely make it into heaven. And for all eternity, they’re just a tack under the rug.” And he would go on, “Compared to eternity, this life is over like that!” and he would snap his big fingers. “But eternity goes on, and on, and on, and on . . . and I would still be standing here next year saying, ‘on and on, and on . . . ‘ “ It reminds me of the metaphor of a dove carrying one grain of sand at a time to the furthest edge of the universe. Once all the grains of sand on earth are gone, the first second of eternity has just passed.

 

Today’s Solemnity is a startling example of a human being who was not at all a big shot in this world, but became the biggest of all shots in the next. How can you get any higher than “Mother of God”? She far surpasses all the angels and saints. Only the Triune God is above her, and even then, she holds a lot of influence over the Three Divine Persons. And yet, during her life here on earth, she was a nobody in the eyes of the world. During her time, and in that part of the world, women had very little standing in society. They certainly were not able to vote. Think of it . . . women did not have the right to vote in our country until the 19 Amendment was passed in 1920, thanks in large part to our local Susan B. Anthony. We in the 21st century take for granted that men and women are equal, but in Mary’s time, it was a man’s world, and women were considered part of the chattel of their husband – part of his moveable property. We recently heard passages read from the Book of Ruth at Sext in our church. When Boaz was bargaining for her at the city gate with the elders, Ruth had no say in the matter. Daughters and girls had even less standing than women; they were given away in marriage and were expected to obey.

 

I was struck by this contrast when singing the hymn for Lauds yesterday. In the second verse, it is talking about our Creator taking on flesh. And then in the third verse it says,

 

For this how wondrously he wrought!

A maiden in her lowly place,

Became, in ways beyond all thought,

The chosen vessel of his grace.

 

Mary was just a maiden – a teenage girl without any rights or prestige. And yet God plucked her out of that obscurity, and made her the highest human being of all time – and for all eternity! This was not by accident. Mary had cooperated with grace to set herself up for this moment. She lived her life for the next world, not this one. She made all the right decisions to remain sinless from her birth.

 

Think of Jesus’ parable of Lazareth and the rich man. Dives, as he came to be known, lived for this world only. Ok, he lived sumptuously during those years, but how short that span is! Just a speck of sand in a bird’s beak. Now he is in misery, and it will never come to an end.

 

My dad had it right – it makes much more sense to live one’s life for the next world, rather than this one. And nowadays, as I look back on those nights as a child with my father under the starlight, it gives me pleasure to think of him now enjoying the eternity he so loved to preach about.

 

by Fr. Stephen Muller

 

 

Prayer: “Father, source of light in every age, the virgin conceived and bore Your Son Who is called Wonderful God, Prince of Peace. May her prayer, the gift of a mother’s love, be Your people’s joy through all ages. May her response, born of a humble heart, draw Your Spirit to rest on Your people.

Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen.”

Quote from a Saint: Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word." (Luke 1:38)

 

Questions for reflection:

1. Reflect on this passage: “Don’t be a big shot in this world; be a big shot in the next.” What do you think of this? Do you live your life like this?

2. What have you been doing to build up riches in heaven so that you can be a big shot in the next?

3. Is there a Lazarus in your life that you have been ignoring or not seeing?

4. Have you or did you ever have memorable spiritual discussions with your parents or children?

5. Do you routinely have spiritual discussions with the people closest to you?

6. How can we use the example of Mary’s life to learn how to live our own lives?

7. When we realize how small we are in the grand scheme of things, how can following God’s will make our lives significant?

-Benjamin & Kristen Rinaldo, CfP