Solemnity of Mary

Solemnity of Mary
January 1, 2006

"The LORD bless you and keep you! The LORD let his face shine uponyou, and be gracious to you! The LORD look upon you kindly and give you peace!" (Numbers 8: 22-27). "God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” (Galatians 4:4-7).. "Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart." (Luke 2: 16-21).

The Most High gives this beautiful blessing to Moses for the benefit of the people. The people feared that looking upon God, or indeed even uttering the divine name would result in their annihilation. But here they are promised that being exposed to God's countenance will bring peace and abundance. This is not an angry God to be feared and appeased, but one of gentleness and kindness.

St. Paul echoes this when he reflects on the result of receiving the Spirit of God. The blessing we receive is the right to address God as a fortunate child would a kindly and familiar father or mother, easily approached for what we need. How did we ever get the idea that God is a fearful and punishing judge waiting for us to make a mistake? Or that parents' primary responsibility is to be the same? Divine authority comes from divine love. Whatever authority we might have in the lives of others can only derive from imitating our divine parent. The right to advise and correct is earned by first learning to love as we are loved by God.

This is one of the compelling aspects of the story of the shepherds discovering the infant Messiah in the warmth and security of loving devoted parents. We all long for this experience and when we receive it, treasure it up, like Mary, in our hearts to keep us going when times get dark and difficult. Mary and Joseph were privileged to give birth to the Messiah. They accepted this assignment knowing, I'm sure, that they were not going to be perfect parents. They relied on their trust in a kind, gentle and forgiving God to supply the rest.

I think about this as I watch my own mom, now nearly 86 years old and doing her best to assimilate the inevitable ravages of aging. In spite of not having the benefit of this warmth and security in her own childhood, she nevertheless has been able to provide it for her children. This was no doubt in some measure due to her relationship with our dad who died many years ago but still lives in our hearts. Together they were able to surmount their human limitations enough to provide their children with the ability to believe in the God of love and kindness. Like all of us, not perfect but plenty good enough to get the job done. Their "Abba" became ours, in many different forms. Even if denied this gift of reasonably selfless parents, we all have the blessing of the kindly face of the Most High bringing light and warmth to mind and heart.