Nativity of Our Lady 8th September
“Don’t be afraid of taking Mary to your home, what comes from her is born of the Holy Spirit.”
Mi.5,1-4a Is.61 Mt.1,1-16.18-23
"This is how Jesus Christ came to be born.His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
Her husband Joseph, being an upright man and wanting to spare her disgrace, decided to divorce her informally."
We celebrate the birth of Mary Queen of Peace, she who will give birth to the Prince of Peace.
For this feast, the Church takes up Jesus’ origins! From generation to generation, our humanity bears the wound of its sin, envy, jealousy, lies and violence. We pray that God sends us the Saviour in this long biblical story. Mary is linked to this holy history, she is rooted in the density of humanity through Joseph, ’ Mary’s husband of whom..’ !
Now there is a shock and a rupture of rhythm : a woman; for a new beginning. God acts in poverty, in humility, in the lowliness of his creature, he disconcerts us always. When God’s action takes us by surprise, we want to welcome it like a mystery which our faith will one day allow us to understand. This mystery introduces us in his beauty, but it has us enter into the darkness of dark powers.
Joseph, the upright man, decided to put Mary away in secret, for he didn’t know the path she was on!
"He had made up his mind to do this when suddenly the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said ’Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit.
She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because she is the one who is to save his people from their sins."
God saves the world! Mary’s mystery, she, a little daughter of Israel, rooted in her people, was announced after a period of being left to itself.
God lowered himself by becoming incarnated in this world, by taking on the human condition.
It is God’s infinite Love which is revealed in is Son who came to share our own humanity.
Joseph, Mary’s husband, is going to have to take in to take into account this change. It is the mystery of the intervention of Heaven that we find in each of our lives! We find it so difficult to welcome these changes!
It is hard for us to place our steps of Jesus, to place us at the school of the Holy Spirit. It is the mystery of a little people, people who are not recognised, who are humiliated and put down and who nevertheless keeps on walking : ’You are in the world, but you are not from the world’ Jesus will say.
God intervenes in our life, which we won’t have to live by ourselves, but with Jesus!
"Now all this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken through the prophet :
’Look! The virgin is with child and will give birth to a son whom they will call Emmanuel’, a name which means ’God is with us.’
Man and woman are made in the image of God and we need to become aware of this goodness, of this beauty, of this love which has been building us up day after day ever since the day we were born.
Mary is the first fruit of Jesus’ Passion wo brings reconciliation of man wit himself and his creature.
In the humility of Nazareth Mary welcomes the mission of Peace, to give birth to the Prince of Peace, giving us back hope.
With Joseph, we welcome the Queen of Peace. She takes us onto paths of reconciliation, to the Source of peace, to Jesus.
The path Joseph goes, each one of us has to travel.
May we open up the whole o our being to the newness of God and in order to do this may we accept our own history as Joseph did : ’This child comes from the Holy Spirit.’
Joseph has to welcome such a mystery .
Jesus always lives in intimacy with God, his Father. This is something new founded upon our humanity where God wishes to raise up the poor! This is the Good News of the Gospel.
We ask for the grace to understand that Mary gives us to Jesus who saves us.
Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary : 8th September
“This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph ; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Her husband, Joseph, being an upright man and wanting to spare her disgrace, decided to divorce her informally.”
"Do you ask yourself how a virgin could bring to birth a Saviour? How the flower of the vine spreads its perfume? Long after the birth of Mary, the Spirit who was going to dwell in her…had said in her name : ’Like the vine, I have produced a gentle odour.’ As the flower doesn’t alter once it has given off its perfume, so is the purity of Mary to have given birth to a Saviour..’ says Blessed Gueric of Igny.
To celebrate Mary’s nativity, the Church takes up again the origins of Jesus! In fact she is linked to this holy history. ’Here is the table of the origins of Jesus Christ.“Thrice fourteen generations are given to us so as to tell of the ’recapitualation ’of holy history. Then we have ’ ’this was the origin of Jesus Christ.’Matthew situates first of all the generation of the Patriarchs : ’Son of Abraham, son of Isaac, son of Jacob…to get to Joseph, the spouse of Mary from whom…” - there is a turn about, a rupture of rhythm : a woman.
This new beginning is rooted in the density of humanity. Micha, the prophet, had announced it :’ You, Bethlehem, Ephrata, the smallest of the clans of Juda.’ It is by this ’little remnant’ that God acts in poverty, in humility, in the lowliness of his creature. ’ My thoughts are not your thoughts and my ways are not your ways’’ Jesus had already warned us. God is always diconcerting for us.His thoughts and his projects are always going beyond the limits of human wisdom. When the Lord’s action disconcerts us, our wish is to welcome it as a mystery, one which our faith will one day allow us to understand. At the same time this mystery introduces us in its beauty,but it has us enter into the night of darkness. Joseph, the upright man, decides to send Mary away in secret for he didn’t understand the way!
“He had made up his mind to do this when an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ’Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a sn and you must name him Jesus, becaus ehe isthe one who is to save his people from their sins.”
It is by theis’little remnant’ that God will save the world : ’After a time of being left, a day will come when the oen that is to be born will be born.’ The mystery of Mary, the daughter of Israel, rooted in her people was announced. Jesus manifests himself to her how he really is one of us,inserted in the line of his ancestors according to God’s plan. He lowered himself at every level,fully incarnate in our world,taking on the human condition, except sin, He who doesn’t belong to our human nature. It is TI make all things new’ God had said and Joseph, Mary’s spouse,will also have to take stock of this change.It is the Mystery of intervention from heaven that we find in each of our lives!It is so hard for us to welcome these changes! We know through experience how hard it is to place our feet in the steps of Jesus, to put ourselves at the school of the Holy Spirit. Mystery of a small people who are not recognised, a people that is humiliated, struck down, yet one that continues its walk :’’You are in the world but are not of the world, ’ said Jesus. God intervenes in our lives and we won’t have to lead it alone, but can do so with Jesus!
"Now all this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken through the prophet :’
’Look! the virgin is with child
and will give birth to a son
whom they will call Immanuel.“Joseph knows that God is at work : ’This child comes from the Holy Spirit.’ Joseph has to welcome such a mystery. the courseof time is changed : God makes all things new, he continues to give himself to the poor:”Joseph, don’t be afraid tot ake Mary, don’t be afraid to recloothe this newhumanity moved by the Holy Spirit." We place ourselves at Mary’s school, she who is moved by the holy Spirit. God presents to us the mysterious sign of the virginal conception so to show us that we cannot give ourselves a Saviour by our own desire. It is the Holy Spiit who gives us the Saviour, out of pure grace, a supreme manifestation of the Infinite Love of God who offers us everything,
freely, in Jeuss His Unique Son. In Him Emmanuel, He lives with us on our earth,he shows ushis face. jesus doesn’t have a human father,he has just one Father, who engendered him for all Eternity. Legally speaking, h is the son of Joseh, but Jeus always lives in th eintimacy of God His Father. It is a fundamental newness lived in oiur humanity where God comes to raise up the poor! This is the Good News of the Gospel.