BLESSINGS -Solemnity of the Mother of God

“I came so that you may have life, and have it to the full” (Jn 10:10). This passage is so close to my heart for this is the theme that I chose for my ordination more than seven years ago. The reason of Jesus’ coming was to give us life and have it to the full. Jesus is the greatest blessing for all of us.
This truth cannot be denied by any events in the world. In the midst of war and violence, darkness and death, anger and hatred, revenge and vengeance, eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth—the reality of God’s desire to bless the world remains the same.
In our first reading, God commanded Moses to tell Aaron and his sons “Thus you shall bless the people of Israel”.
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The LORD bless you and keep you:
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The LORD make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you:
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The LORD lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.
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"So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them."
This has always been God’s desire. The same with what God has promised to Abraham, Jacob and Isaac. The same is true with what God had told the prophets of old.
Our psalm gives us one of the correct responses to God blessings.
that thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving power among all nations.
Let the peoples praise thee, O God; let all the peoples praise thee!
Let the peoples praise thee, O God; let all the peoples praise thee!
The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, has blessed us.
The better way to react on God’s blessings is to make everyone free to praise the God. We know that there are still many of us who are not free to praise him because of many reasons. One of which could be our inability to see and savor the blessings of the Lord in our lives. One text message I received says “CONTENTMENT IS NOT ALWAYS THE FULFILLMENT OF WHAT YOU WANT. IT’S THE REALIZATION OF HOW BLESSED YOU ARE FOR WHAT YOU HAVE.”
Our second reading even heightened God’s blessing. God blessed us with his Son to make our life complete. We became God’s children through and in Christ. There is no greater blessing than that which makes us free to call God as our ‘Abba’. We can never be closer than this relationship. God as our Father means He will be there for us always. This is the truth. God is our father. BUT do we really feel and see him as our Father? His sending of his Son is a manifestation of that great love of the Father. Moreover, Jesus did not fail the Father’s love by living out also as the beloved Son of God. Jesus gave himself out of his great love for us. He gave himself up by putting himself at risk in protesting the evils during his time. Just as God acted on His love by sending Jesus, Jesus acted on his love by giving himself for the Kingdom of God. Fortunately, this love did not end with Jesus. His Spirit was sent into our hearts that we too may have the power to love as Jesus loved and live as Jesus lived.
In our Gospel, being overwhelmed by the great blessing, Mary kept all things into her heart. Mary valued everything that has been happening. She valued this greatest blessing that was entrusted to her by God. Whatever it takes to fulfill God’s plan was kept deep inside her heart. This keeping is not to hide God’s blessing but to savor and be consumed by it so as to be energized by it.
Mary as the Mother of God, certainly, did the right thing on how to receive God’s blessing. She kept it first in her heart. This keeping did not last long for she was able to express this in her “Magnificat”. “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord…”
Brothers and sisters, it may be sad to know that as the year ends, we are still witnessing a lot of inhuman and evil works. We can still see that evil is thriving in the world. But let us not forget, that God’s intention is to bless. Any evil that is happening is not pleasing to God’s eyes. Personally and socially as a people we may have done things this year that may not be pleasing to Him. Nevertheless, God will never give up on us. God would still give us the chance that we may savor the blessings that He has been giving us so that we may be empowered to praise him not only with our lips but by our deeds. God wanted us to “have life, and have it to the full.” There may not be sweeter words that God may want to hear from us than to call Him, “Abba,” as Jesus did, from the deep recesses of our hearts. For by then God knows, you have tapped the power that gives one the happiness that he/she seeks. It means God reigns in our hearts.
May the example of Mary the Mother of God be our guide in 2009.
May the Passion of Jesus be always in our hearts.