“Blessed is Mary who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.” (c.f. Lk. 1:45) Week 1: Mary, Mother of Believers Oct 7 - 13, 2013 Objective of the week: To learn to share intimately with our Mother Mary who is our companion and fellow-pilgrim in faith.
IntroductionAs we continue to grow in faith in our confidence and fidelity to the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, this week we are privilege to be reminded once again of the enduring companionship and closeness of Mary, our Mother in faith. She had been with us and will always be with us in our faith journey. Hence, to share intimately with her is also to imitate the qualities of her faith, the kind of faith we all need in the journey. "Mary, mother of Jesus and mother of the Church of Christ…is our true mother. Because of her being his mother, God wanted her to be full of grace, with unfathomable divine treasure which the fullness of the life-love of God in her brings. She becomes the mediator of all of graces and gifts for the good of all and each one of her children. Through Mary, God has chosen to reveal his motherly face to all men in the closest and most familiar, effective and delicate way applied through Mary, the pure essence and tender delicacy of his infinite love for all his children without exception.” (Cf. VD Statutes 230- 231). The Holy Trinity had a plan for her before she was born. She too experienced the initial fervor and absolute confidence of the first encounter she had with God that conditioned her whole earthly existence. She experienced the push of the unconditional generosity as someone moved by the love of Christ. She too had to make hard decisions for the sake of Christ. She accompanied the growth of Christ in her life, and had her own share of anxiety because of him. She had moments when it was hard to understand his love for her. She had times to share His cross, times of waiting patiently for his resurrection. She learned to make the ones he gave her as her own children too, to love the community as she loved her son. Isn’t it that the journey of our mother’s faith is our journey of faith too? Isn’t it that her path of faith is our path of faith too? Monday“Am I not here, I, who am your Mother?” “Am I not here, I, who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Am I not the source of your joy? Are you not in the hollow of my mantle, in the crossing of my arms? Do you need anything more?” (Message of Mary at Guadalupe to Juan Diego) At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her! (Luke 1:39-45) “Mama Mary, thank you for being my faithful companion in living to the call that God has for my life. You were never in doubt that my poor life could be a blessing also for others. Your loving guidance sustained us in the moments of trials and gives us the grace to continue this journey with God. May your faithfulness be our guide to do the same as we walk everyday loving and living the call of God. In what way God is calling me to be faithful today? How do I see Mama Mary accompanying me in responding to God’s call to love? Tuesday“Do whatever Jesus tells you.” Two days later there was a wedding in the town of Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine had given out, Jesus' mother said to him, “They are out of wine. “You must not tell me what to do,” Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.” Jesus' mother then told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” The Jews have rules about ritual washing, and for this purpose six stone water jars were there, each one large enough to hold between twenty and thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill these jars with water.” They filled them to the brim, and then he told them, “Now draw some water out and take it to the man in charge of the feast.” They took him the water, 9 which now had turned into wine, and he tasted it. He did not know where this wine had come from (but, of course, the servants who had drawn out the water knew); so he called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone else serves the best wine first, and after the guests have drunk a lot, he serves the ordinary wine. But you have kept the best wine until now!” (John 2:1-10) “Mama Mary, many things draw us away from Jesus living in a world full of temptations. The worldly riches blind us and lose out our identity as children of God. Thank you our dearest Mother because you lead us back to Jesus. There are a lot of times that we lose out wine…financial difficulties, losing a job, failure in our relationships, that many times makes us feel down and helpless. I thank you mother because you were sensitive in knowing all of these and reminds us to go to Jesus and be at peace because He will do miracles if we believe and do whatever He tells us. With Jesus and Mary, nothing is impossible.” What are the things that ran out in out at this moment in our life? What does Jesus tells us to do? Wednesday“Behold, she is your mother of faith!” (cf. Jn 19:25-27) Mary is the person chosen by God and in this way presented and given by Jesus to be our true Mother. “Woman, here is your son, son here is your Mother.” Mary is the beloved inheritance of Jesus which he gives us in succession and whose living memory he transmits to us daily in the Eucharist. (VD Statues 233) “Mama Mary our dearest Mother, thank you for making us feel that we are not an orphan because we have you, whom Jesus gave to us to be our Mother of Faith. You listen to our deepest sentiments. Your motherly love makes me feel secured like a blanket who wraps around me in the lowest moment of my life. May I always be reminded of your presence in time that I feel alone and no one accepts me. Thank you Mama Mary for your presence gives me strength everyday to continue taking steps in following God. What are the situations in our life that we feel we are alone? What motherly traits of Mama Mary that helps us in overcoming life’s challenges? Thursday“I am the Lord’s servant…” The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus… “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[a] the Son of God… For no word from God will ever fail. “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. (Luke 1:26:38) ”Mama Mary, you have showed to us the true humility as a servant of God. Teach us how to respond with humility to the call that God is calling us every day in the places where we are. May we see beyond the situation and know that you are with us all the way. Teach us Mama how to humbly say our daily “yes” to God. What is God calling us to say “yes” today? How does the humility of Mama Mary inspires us as we respond to the call of God in our life? Friday“My soul magnifies the Lord” And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. (Luke 1:46-50) Mary will always be the source and guarantee of our clean and abundant joy, our perseverance and optimism in our vocation, of our purest loves. (VD Statutes 244) “Mama Mary, full of grace, your life filled with so much love for God transcends to the life of many. Teach us how to follow Jesus with gratitude in our heart. Help us to see the good works He’s doing in us and in others. May we learn from your simple faith today and so be filled with God’s grace. What are the traits of Mama Mary that helps us in our following with God? Saturday“For nothing will be impossible with God.” Perseverance in a true following of Jesus requires unending patience, as much in one’s own spiritual process as in that of the others. Patience is the fruit of true love of God and this love sinks its roots in true humility. Mary is the mother, the perfectly humble one, whom God filled with wonders which extend, though generations, to us. (VD Statutes 240) "For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11) Jesus said, “With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.” (Mark 10:37) “Mama Mary, when Jesus died on the cross, you never lose hope. You were there in the tomb hopeful for Jesus’ resurrection and indeed, He is alive! I thank you Mama for you are our greatest source of hope in the moments that it may seem so dark. You remind us that there’s always a chance for a change for the better. That there’s still hope for this broken world if we put our trust in God and strive to stand up in every fall. What are the difficult situations that you are facing right now? How is Mama Mary helping you to find hope in that situation? Sunday27th Sunday in Ordinary Time1st Reading: Habakkuk 1:2-3, 2:2-4
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 2nd Reading: 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14 Gospel: Luke 17:5-10 Comments are closed.
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