Solemnity of the Mother of God

Mary, Mother of God
Remember on Christmas morning how we found our way to the stable? It may have been the stable on the mantle or under the Christmas tree or in our parish church. We gazed at the baby in the manger just like the shepherds had done so long ago. Jesus was there with Mary and Joseph. Today we begin our new year at the Eucharistic Celebration. We thank God for Mary, Jesus' mother, who brought the Savior into the world. Because she is the mother of Jesus, God's Son, she truly is the Mother of God. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Mary conceived Jesus. Joseph was Jesus' loving foster-father.
God chose Mary to be the mother of his Son. She was a teenager and her parents were Joachim and Anne. Mary loved God and her Jewish religion. She was probably considered ordinary by her neighbors. It would be God's work in her that would make her so special, so blessed. God sent the Archangel Gabriel to Mary's town of Nazareth. The angel asked her to accept a wonderful plan-wonderful for her and for all of us. Mary wanted to please God and she accepted the plan. She became Jesus' mother. Mary and her husband, Joseph, tried to raise Jesus the best way they could and with great love. Jesus spent many happy, quiet years with Mary and Joseph in Nazareth.
When Jesus was about thirty years old, he began his preaching and healing ministry. This is usually called his public life. It seems that sometime before that Joseph had died. Jesus could not now stay just in the little home and carpenter shop at Nazareth. Mary frequently went with her friends to be near her Son. Mary attended a marriage celebration in Cana. Jesus and his disciples came too. When the wine was gone, Mary asked Jesus to do something. She wanted him to save the couple from being embarrassed in front of their guests. He worked the miracle of turning plain water into delicious wine. Mary loved Jesus and believed in him. She was there when he was nailed to the cross. In fact, she stayed right beneath the cross and received his dead body into her arms. After the resurrection, Mary waited with Jesus' apostles for the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. The apostles loved her. They knew they needed more courage to be real followers of Jesus. Mary prayed for them and encouraged them. She taught them how to be disciples of her Son. Mary's feast days are special events that happen throughout the year. Today's feast honors her as God's Mother. She wants to be our mother, too. (taken from an email sent to me by the St. Michael Center for the Blessed Mother)