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S he is not only the Mother of Jesus, but also the First Disciple, and we could not do any better prayer today than one of imitating her in pondering the great mystery of the Birth of Jesus and all that it promises. As so many spiritual masters have reminded us, the best way to allow love to grow in our hearts is through gratitude.
Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God
1 John 2:18-21
Psalm 96:1-2, 11-12, 13
J ohn 1:1-18 In the beginning the Word already existed; the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (2) From the very beginning the Word was with God. (3) Through him God made all things; not one thing in all creation was made without him. (4) The Word was the source of life, and this life brought light to people. (5) The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out. (6) God sent his messenger, a man named John, (7) who came to tell people about the light, so that all should hear the message and believe. (8) He himself was not the light; he came to tell about the light. (9) This was the real light---the light that comes into the world and shines on all people. (10) The Word was in the world, and though God made the world through him, yet the world did not recognize him. (11) He came to his own country, but his own people did not receive him. (12) Some, however, did receive him and believed in him; so he gave them the right to become God's children. (13) They did not become God's children by natural means, that is, by being born as the children of a human father; God himself was their Father. (14) The Word became a human being and, full of grace and truth, lived among us. We saw his glory, the glory which he received as the Father's only Son. (15) John spoke about him. He cried out, "This is the one I was talking about when I said, 'He comes after me, but he is greater than I am, because he existed before I was born.' " (16) Out of the fullness of his grace he has blessed us all, giving us one blessing after another. (17) God gave the Law through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (18) No one has ever seen God. The only Son, who is the same as God and is at the Father's side, he has made him known.
Meditation by Bert Thelen, S.J.
T he Christmas Gospel, the "glad tidings of great joy" and the song of the angels ("Glory to God in the Highest and Peace to God's People on Earth") that dazzled and mystified the shepherds who were so greatly blessed to see the Infant Jesus, is ours also at this glorious time. Even more -- and this is why today's Feast of the Circumcision and Naming of Jesus is now called the "Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God" -- we are invited into the sacred space of the inner life of Mary who "kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart." She is not only the Mother of Jesus, but also the First Disciple, and we could not do any better prayer today than one of imitating her in pondering the great mystery of the Birth of Jesus and all that it promises.
As so many spiritual masters have reminded us, the best way to allow love to grow in our hearts is through gratitude. So, in addition to gazing with Mary and Joseph and the Shepherds on "the little Lord Jesus asleep in the hay," and adoring Him, we would do well today to take a few moments to count our blessings. Recalling the highs and lows for us of 2009, the incredible graces and blessings of our own lives and of our world, let us look forward to a New Year, returning like the shepherds to our own situation, "glorifying and praising God for all we have heard and seen." And above all thanking God for the name of Jesus, which is above every other name in the heavens and on the earth, by whom and in whom we have been born again to live fully as God's dearly beloved children.
Supplementary Reading
THE SouND of SIlENCE
But now you will be speechless and unable to talk until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time. – Luke 1:20
R ecently, I lost my voice due to a dry cough. It gave me a lot of discomfort as I went about doing my work. But it was during this time that I realized the true value of silence and I learned to appreciate more the gift of listening, of allowing things I hear to sink in before I say anything.
Sometimes God needs to silence us so He can penetrate our hearts. It’s only when we talk less and listen more that we begin to understand what He had wanted to tell us all along.
Silence is not synonymous to helplessness. Rather, it’s a moment of solitude to allow God to talk to us and work out His plans for our lives.
In this often noisy Christmas season, let’s not forget to seek our Lord in silence. --- Jane Gonzales
REFLECTION:
Stop. Tune out all the noise. And wait for God to speak.
Dearest Lord, instead of awkwardness, help me to find solace in silence. Amen.
For meditation/readings of the previous days/months , please click any of the following links:
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http://butuanglobalforum.org/cgi-bin/dboard/YaBB.pl?num=1229339492/220
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GOD BLESS US ALL!
O Theos Na Mas Evlogisi!
PRAY as if everything depended on HIM. ACT as if everything depended on YOU. | 
Sections 
MOTHER OF GOD AND OUR MOTHER
Holy Mary, Mother of God.
How often have we contemplated Mary with the Child in her arms! And Christian piety has inspired the countless different works of art which represent the feast we celebrate today - the Motherhood of Mary. This fundamental fact casts a light that shines Out in the life of Mary. It is the foundation of all the other privileges with which God has wished to adorn her. Today we give thanks and praise to God the Father because Mary conceived his only Son: The Holy Spirit came upon her and she conceived your only-begotten Son. Without losing her glorious virginity, she brought forth Our Lord Jesus Christ, who is forever the light of the world! (Preface of the Maternity of the Virgin Mary). And from our hearts we sing to her: Hail Holy Mother, you gave birth to the King (Entrance Antiphon of the Mass), for truly the Mother has brought forth the King, whose name is eternal; she who has conceived has at the same time the joy of motherhood and the glory of virginity (Divine Office, Lauds, Antiphon 3).
Mary is Our Lady, full of grace and virtue, conceived without sin, who is the Mother of God and our Mother, and who dwells both body and soul in heaven. Sacred Scripture refers to her as the most exalted of all creatures, the blessed one, the most praised among women, full of grace (Luke 1:28), she whom all generations shall call blessed (Luke 1:48). The Church teaches us that, after Christ, Mary occupies the place that is highest and closest to God, because of her divine motherhood. She, after her son, by the grace of God, was exalted over all angels and men (Second Vatican council, Lumen gentium, 63). Through you, 0 Virgin Mary, have been fulfilled all the oracles of the prophets who announced Christ: being a virgin you conceived the Son of God and, remaining a virgin, you gave birth to him (Magnificat, Antiphon of 27 December).
The Holy Spirit teaches us in the first reading of today’s Mass that when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law… (Gal 4:4) Jesus did not suddenly appear on earth out of heaven. He became truly man, like us, taking our human nature in the most pure womb of the Virgin Mary. Insofar as he is God, Jesus is generated, not made, by God the Father from all eternity. Insofar as he is man, he was born, was made, of Mary. I am exceedingly astounded, says St Cyril, that there could be anyone who has any doubt as to whether the Blessed Virgin should be called the Mother of God. If Our Lord Jesus Christ is God, why should the Blessed Virgin, who gave him birth, not be called the Mother of God? That is the faith that Our Lord’s disciples transmitted to us, even though they did not use this exact expression. And that too is what the holy fathers have taught us (St Cyril of Alexandria, Letter 1, 27:30). Thus it was defined by the Council of Ephesus (Dz-Sch, 252).
All the feasts of Our Lady are great events, because they are opportunities the Church gives us to show with deeds that we love Mary. But if I had to choose one from among all her feasts, I would choose today’s, the feast of the Divine Motherhood of the Blessed Virgin …
When the Blessed Virgin said Yes, freely, to the plans revealed to her by the Creator, the divine Word assumed a human nature, with a rational soul and a body, formed in the most pure womb of Mary. The divine nature and the human were united in a single Person: Jesus Christ, true God and, thenceforth, true man: the only-begotten and eternal Son of the Father and, from that moment on, as Man, the true son of Mary. This is why Our Lady is the Mother of the Incarnate Word, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, who has united our human nature to himself forever, without any confusion of the two natures. The greatest praise we can give to the Blessed Virgin is to address her loud and clear by the name that expresses her highest dignity: Mother of God (J. Escrivá, Friends of God, 274).
With permission from Scepter UK. Short excerpt from IN CONVERSATION WITH GOD by Francis Fernandez. Available at SinagTala or Totus Bookstore 723-4326 or at www.totusbookstore.com ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )
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