Daily Reflection – 9/8/2020
Sacred Scripture
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, Son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.” (Matthew 1:18-23)
Reflection
In the midst of all that is occurring in our world comes this beautiful Gospel. Beautiful because it tells of the birth of Jesus and beautiful, because second only to Jesus Christ, stands the model of Mary, His mother.
Theological anthropologists trace the lineage of human beings whom God has sanctified through the conduct of their lives and the imprint they left on the world. Therein lies the heart of today’s message. The story of Maru.
Mary was really the most ordinary person to come before Jesus. If you were to walk down a busy street in a large city, and Mary walked by you, you probably would never recognize her. That’s because Mary lived out the Gospel so fully. She lived out the Gospel even before Jesus became a human being. It’s because Mary lived out the Gospel so completely that Jesus became a human being. But living out the Gospel is really very simple, very quiet, and very ordinary. It doesn’t mean being famous, or looking for attention from others, or wanting to be better than those around you.
Mary listened for God’s voice every day, letting His Will for her life sink into her heart, and carrying out that will with the love of her own human heart.
The Lord desires to come to you and make His dwelling within your heart. But when He comes to you, what does He find? What is the condition of your heart? Some hearts are like a fragrant rose garden. There is light, beauty, magnificence and radiance. It’s a place of peaceful repose and a place made holy by the presence of our Lord. Other hearts are like a dark prison cell, cold, isolated and dreary. These are the souls who are trapped in a cycle of sin and have failed, over and over, to allow the Lord to enter in. But He does choose to enter your heart, no matter the condition. Be it a fragrant field of roses or the darkness and isolation of a prison, the Lord wants to enter.
Ponder the inner chamber of your heart. Be honest and reveal this hidden place to our Lord. If your heart is more like a dreary dungeon, cold, dark and isolated, then know that you, more than any other, are invited to receive the Mercy of God. He desires to come to you and open the door to that prison in which you feel trapped and isolated. He does not shy away from you in this darkness and will enter in. But when He enters, He does so to break you free. He desires to transform your soul into a place of sweet delight. This takes work, surrender, honesty, humility and trust. But God can do all things. His Mercy produces the soil, the Sun, the seed, the water and everything needed to recreate the inner chamber of your soul.
As a member of God’s family, you have an important role to play in God’s plan, just as Mary did. As a parent, sister, brother, daughter, son, friend, co-worker, or neighbor, he wants you to bear Christ to the people around you, just as Mary did.
Give yourself unreservedly to God – he will use you for greatness in his kingdom
When the Lord calls us to serve, we must not shrug back because we think that we have little or nothing to offer. The Lord takes what ordinary people, like us, can offer and uses it for greatness in his kingdom. Is there anything holding you back from giving yourself unreservedly to God?
Prayer of The Day
Lord Jesus Christ, you are the Son of God and the Savior of the world. Inflame my heart with a burning love for you and with an expectant faith in your saving power. Take my life and all that I have as an offering of love for you, who are my All.
Daily Note
Let us make this day a day to start practicing Mary’s virtues. For me, she models the virtues of a trusting Faith in the power of God (“nothing is impossible for God’); perfect obedience to the will of God, (“be it done to me according your word”); the humility of “the handmaid of the Lord,” who surrendered her whole being to God unconditionally; the spirit of sacrificial and sharing love; and the acceptance of suffering.
