A Battle for Souls and Opportunity to Evangelize – The HHS Mandate

Being at war, something no one wants to hear.  But the Catholic Church on earth, its Bishops, members, organizations are all part of the Church Militant.  By our baptism we are baptized into the Army of God.  The Church is always under attack for one belief or another and it has always stood firm in its beliefs.  People keep saying that the Church should get with it, modernize, can’t they see the signs of the times.  Well the Catholic Church most certainly does and what we see is our liberties slowly being violated one at a time.  The encroachment on our religious liberty, right to unreasonable search and seizure (airport patdowns), and the right to bear arms has been under assault for decades.  In this battle we are seeking to not only uphold morality but save the souls in our charge. 

Most concerning in our culture, is the simple moral degradation of our society because of the erosion of values due to the legalization of abortion, contraception and the widespread plague of pornography.  The loss of the family, of fatherhood, of motherhood, of our ability to educate our children the way we want.  Who warned of this, why Pope Paul VI in Humane Vitae:

1)      General lowering of moral standards

2)      A rise in infidelity, and illegitimacy

3)      The reduction of women to objects used to satisfy men.

4)      Government coercion in reproductive matters.

            Does that sound familiar?

            Because it sure sounds like what's been happening for the                past 40 years..."

http://www.businessinsider.com/time-to-admit-it-the-church-has-always-been-right-on-birth-control-2012-2

Why does the church fight so hard to preserve life, because it is human dignity, the dignity of every human life that is one of the bedrock foundations of morality.  One just has to look back at the superbowl ads this past week and you can see the simple erosion of morality in this country.  People will say, “Sex sells.”  Those two words illustrate how cheap our culture has become, how cheaply we sell ourselves.  Sex only sells because people are willing to buy it!!  Wake up America and see what you have become, rise up and fight for yourselves, your dignity, for your eternal salvation.

While you may say these two issues, human dignity and religious freedom, are completely unrelated they are however two battles in the same war that we fight everyday in our world against the moral downslide that we are on and for the salvation of souls.  One has only to look to the excesses of Rome to see where our culture is heading, and it is not a pretty image in the least.

So in this battle Obama fired the first salvo and battle lines have been drawn.  The Church stands strong on over 2000 years of history, tradition.  But what is the battle ultimately over, is it over rules and mandates, yes and no. It is a battle for saving souls.  For bringing the Good News to those who have not heard it and for reenergizing those who have heard but need a booster shot. 

So when we go forth debating, talking, and conversing with people over this mandate, not only should be opposing it but also seeking to use that moment as an evangelistic one, inviting them back to church or to a prayer service.  Letting our witness shine forth, the love of God in our hearts received from the Jesus in the Eucharist, burst out of us.  Our joy should be so great it is uncontainable.

Remembering always that we are at war, we are foot soldiers in the arm of the Lord.  It is a battle for holiness, a battle for our very souls.  The fight goes on and our weapons stand at the ready.  Our battlefield commanders the saints stand ready.  We need to don our amour.

“Therefore take the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.  Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the equipment of the gospel of peace; besides all these, taking the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the flaming darts of the evil one.  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:13-17)

Take a stand against the culture, fight for beauty, and fight for the Lord.  “The Lord Jesus is the beauty of holiness and only from His Heart does holy beauty shine upon the earth.”

HHS Mandate: Not Just a Catholic Issue

While the HHS mandate is being portrayed as a Catholic issue it is not.   This is a violation of a fundamental right.  In the past few weeks there have been outspoken criticisms from all different denominations.  From different Protestant denominations, Jewish groups, and the Orthodox bishops have all spoken out against this mandate.  Why this rare sign of unity because the leaders of these groups see the handwriting on the wall.  This is a test of what the US population will swallow without protesting, what rights we will give up without too much of a fight.  While the administration is seeking to characterize it as a “Catholic Issue” the groups speaking out against it show it for what it is a religious freedom issue.    

Obama is thumbing his nose at the Bill of Rights, at our forefathers; saying that does not apply to me, The systematic eradication of our rights has only begun, if Obama is able to get this passed and get reelected imagine what would occur in four years not having to worry about reelection.  His entire focus for most of the past 3 years has been getting reelected.  Without that hanging over his head what right is next – right to bear arms is probably right up there on his liberal agenda, what are you going to do when they come for your guns, will that make you wake up and realize what is happening.  Unreasonable search and seizure is being pushed very hard with the latest airport screenings and the pat-downs (groping) that goes on, so the fourth amendment seems be in jeopardy as well.  The sleeping giant of conservative Christian groups has been riled at the top, and they see the dangers in what is going on.  Will the average American realize what is being undermined before it is too late.  Stand up and speak, be heard, sign petitions, send letters.  Now is the time to do something before it is simply too late

First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn't speak out because I was Protestant.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me
By Martin Niemöller 

I know this may be viewed as alarmist speech and this could never happen in the United States but to be sure it is happening now and will continue to happen under this administration.  Those that have spoken out in the past against regimes that seemed to be infringing on people’s rights were also called alarmists before they were silenced, is our right to free speech, to assembly going to be the next right taken away.  The military silenced the military chaplains from reading the letter written by the military archbishop…

I, as do many others, thank my Protestant, Orthodox, and Jewish brothers and sisters for speaking out and standing with the Catholic Church on this issue.  May this showing of unity bring more unifying efforts in the future so that the words of our Lord are fulfilled; “I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. (John 17:21)

I am person who likes to speak his mind; I might not be able to do that very soon.  The wolves are at the door, banging against are freedoms.  Now is the time to stand up and be counted as someone who values their freedoms because if we do not, they might not be around much longer.

A Possible Good From a Great Evil: Catholics United Against Health and Human Services Mandate

                Let me simply start by saying that the new Health and Human Services mandate which was enacted under the new health care law is an abhorrent and complete violation of Religious liberty, something that we as a country hold as, one almost might say, sacred.  The simple fact is that requiring all institutions that provide healthcare to employees must now include coverage for contraception, sterilization and abortifacients in the healthcare plans they offer is wrong.  While they state that most states already have laws like this in place, they overlook that exemption clauses in most states are much less rigid than the one proposed by the HHS mandate.  How can you call upon Catholic Hospitals to serve and employ only Catholics, or Catholic Charities to serve only those Catholics who are in need?  This not only violates our moral beliefs as Catholics but there would be outcry over discrimination that we only hired those of the Catholic faith or served those of the Catholic faith.  In the statement released by HHS secretary Kathleen Sebelius (A Catholic) it says as follows:

                “Scientists have abundant evidence that birth control has significant health benefits for women and their families, it is documented to significantly reduce health costs, and is the most commonly taken drug in America by young and middle-aged women…This decision was made     after very careful consideration, including the important concerns some have raised about religious liberty. I believe this proposal strikes the appropriate balance between respecting religious freedom and increasing access to important preventive services. The administration remains fully committed to its partnerships with faith-based organizations, which promote healthy communities and serve the common good.” (http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2012pres/01/20120120a.html)

      The simple fact that this is the most commonly taken drug in America says something about the degradation of our society and our respect for human life.  However, it is the next section that is most telling.  How this strikes a balance between religious freedom is beyond comprehension.  Might I also add that when the administration says is committed to working with faith-based organizations it does not mean the Catholic Church whose initiatives are stripped of funding because they will not promote abortion or contraceptive services in their work.  Evidently according to Obama the Catholic church does not serve his idea of the common good.

                So why do I say that good is coming out of this incredibly evil act by our administration.  There are several good things that have resulted from this mandate.  The first is the unification of all of the Bishops in the United States against this mandate.  The line has been drawn in the sand, this is something that cannot and will not be tolerated, Catholic institutions will close before they offer these services in their health care.  The statements of a variety of bishops from liberal to conservative show this to be true.  The statements of the Bishops Thomas Olmstead of Phoenix, Dennis Schnurr of Cincinnati, and David Ricken of Green Bay, agreed to refuse to comply.

                “They said: “We cannot – we will not comply with this unjust law. People of faith cannot be made second-class citizens. We are already joined by our brothers and sisters of all faiths and many others of good will in this important effort to regain our religious freedom. Our parents and grandparents did not come to these shores to help build America’s cities and towns, its infrastructure and institutions, its enterprise and culture, only to have their prosperity stripped of their God given rights. In generations past, the Church has always been able to count on the faithful to stand up and protect her sacred rights and duties. I hope she can trust on this generation of Catholics to do the same. Our children and grandchildren deserve nothing less.”  (http://www.lifenews.com/2012/01/30/bishops-refuse-to-comply-with-obamacare-birth-         control-mandate/)

A total of 86 bishops and have already spoken out and more will do so I am sure in the coming days and weeks ahead.  Priests were directed to read statements at the end of Masses, Bulletin announcements, email and phone campaigns to make sure all are aware of the violation of liberty that is occurring.  Cardinal-designate Archbishop Timothy Dolan said, “Never before has the federal government forced individuals and organizations to go out into the marketplace and buy a product that violates their conscience. This shouldn’t happen in a land where free exercise of religion ranks first in the Bill of Rights.” (http://www.usccb.org/news/2012/12-013.cfm)  The Hierarchy of the church is united against this; other Christian groups as well are uniting against this with the Catholic Church showing unprecedented unity. 

                Another good to come from this evil is unification of faithful Catholics in an election year.  What is the last thing that the Obama administration wanted to do in an election year, galvanize a group that makes up around 25% of the population, as well as upsetting those who identify themselves as Christian which is an additional 51% (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_the_United_States).   Obama has done this by forcing down our throats a complete violation of our consciences and religious freedom.  While one might say that the economy, the wars, and other issues take center stage this election year, while they are important, this issue of religious liberty should be something that is a unifying force against the most anti-Catholic president in history.

                The repercussions of this will not only be felt in the Obama Whitehouse and in his reelection campaign but there will be backlash against other democrats as well.  This will extend all the way down to the local level throughout the political sphere. The impact will be felt as well in congressional races as well as governorships. 

                This is a serious issue and there needs to be a stand made and people are beginning to see that.  Under Obama our freedoms have slowly begun to be eroded away and this is the first major act of taking away religious freedom that has been done on a wide scale and in the public sphere and cannot, and it must not be allowed to stand.  We stand on a precipice in our country and its direction and I for one do not intend to live in a country where freedom is violated at the most basic levels, that is tyranny and totalitarianism. 

                The threat that has been made is to shutdown Catholic Hospitals, Health Care and Relief Services.  Why not do a test shutdown for a few weeks and see what would occur if suddenly all the support that Catholic and Christian organizations provide in this country were suddenly not there, the massive surge in unemployment because all those people were suddenly laid off, the effects this would have on our barely recovering economy.  I don’t believe that the Obama Administration thought this one out that well when they made this decision.  They were simply influenced by the radical left. 

                So while this great evil is currently occurring in our country, there is the good that there is unification.  Sometimes God allows great evil to allow a greater good to come from it.  The Catholic Church in the US is finally speaking with one voice; let us hope that once this mandate is defeated that we will continue to speak with one voice. 

To quote the movie Independence day:

"Mankind....that word should have new meaning for all of us today. We can't be consumed with our petty differences anymore. We will be united in our common interests...We're fighting for our right to live...to exist...We will not go quietly into the night...we will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on! We're going to survive!"

Short Video clip by Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan Speaks Out

Simplify Christmas...Celebrate Christ

There is a great song that I heard on YouTube a week or so ago called, “Where is the Line for Jesus.”  Please take a moment to listen to it.  

As I reflected on this song and the idea of where is the line for Jesus, all the children line up to see Santa Claus in the mall and yet do they line up to see baby Jesus in the manger.  The wonderful gift and birth of Jesus is sandwiched between the gift giving and the buying frenzy that ensues before and after Christmas.  Ultimately, when you think about it there is never a line to see Jesus.  He is always there for us, present at our local parish church, and always listening to us and speaking to us, waiting for us to listen.  Where is the line, we create a line to Jesus.  Our actions sometimes create a line that separates us from Christ.  All those things that we do year round and especially during advent, things that are put in front of going to Mass or praying daily or just listening to what God has to say to us at that moment in our day. I am guilty of these things over and over and when I think about all the times, the moments when I am frustrated in a store or stuck in traffic trying to get to the store because I put off shopping to the last minute.  The crowd at the stores, the traffic on the roads, the last minute gift rush, in all this, we lose the silence, the simplicity of Christmas.  A simple yes by a simple girl, who was extraordinary without even knowing it, made possible the birth of our savior as vulnerable, humble, unassuming baby in a manger.  Our lives might be full of distractions and interruptions, all the background noise that clouds our lives and all God asks for is a few minutes of silence where we stop and listen to him.  In our human nature, we are great at talking and keeping busy and filling every single moment of our lives with everything except God.  As we search for words to explain this amazing mystery and gift, I believe nothing says it better than the words of St. John’s Gospel.

 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.  In him was life, and the life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.  There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.  He came for testimony, to bear witness to the light, that all might believe through him.  He was not the light, but came to bear witness to the light.  The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world.  He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world knew him not.  He came to his own home, and his own people received him not.  But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God; who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.  And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.”  John 1:1-14

So this Christmas day take a moment, a moment of silence, listen to what God has to say to you today on this the day of the Birth of our Lord.  Christmas has become so complex and so I say something simple on such a wonderful day.  And as you reflect on Christmas realize that the Incarnation is not simply a celebration that is confined to one day.  The humbling, the self-emptying, the kenosis of our Lord Jesus Christ is something that should be celebrated everyday.  It is in fact celebrated in the Mass, Jesus is present to us always, in the Eucharist.  There is never a line to receive what Jesus has to give us.  During this season we tend to put things in the way and as was mentioned above a line is created to see Jesus.  The trip to the store, to relatives, to whatever gets in the way of meeting our Lord in the Mass, participating in the celebration of Heaven and earth.  So this Christmas make the celebration that you attend the right way meet Jesus in the Mass

Simplify Christmas…Celebrate Christ.

The following song is “I Celebrate the Day” by Reliant K - but don't just celebrate this day on Christmas but celebrate it everyday, because Jesus comes to meet us everyday....

Dear Our wonderful humble Savior,

Help us to celebrate the this day and everyday

When you came among us, emptying yourself and becoming one of us

Where you lowered yourself to our level, to raise us up beyond ourselves

Allowing us through your gift to become partakers in the divine nature

Lord Jesus, help us to pause this day and everyday

To realize the great gift that was given to us when “the Word became flesh”

May we always realize that it is through the all-encompassing love

That God has for us that, brought about the most earth shattering event the earth has ever seen

May we always honor you, worship you, and adore you the way you deserve

Give us the gift to love you as you love us, with all-encompassing love

We ask our Blessed Mother to aid us, intercede for us,

For Mary is the one who loves you most perfectly

May she help us love you Jesus more perfectly

Hail Mary…..

Amen

Never Forget 9/11/01

It has been 10 years and I can’t believe it went by so fast. As I watched all the remembrance ceremonies I realized something that we had then that we are missing today. On 9/11/01 Americans came together as We instead of I. People gave their lives to save others. They realized that their duty as an American was to think of others and to help them in whatever way they could. Our Country came together as “We the people.” It seems in the many crisis and wars that have followed we have forgotten that and become all about the “I”. Let us pause and remember that our country was not founded on an “I” but on a “We”.

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

May God Bless America

PRAYER FOR UNITY

You, the one

From whom on different paths

All of us have come.

To whom on different paths

All of us are going.

Make strong in our hearts what unites us.

Build bridges across all that divides us;

United make us rejoice in our diversity.

At one in our witness to your peace,

A rainbow of your glory.

Amen.

-- Br. David Steindl-Rast, OSB

So do you spend time with Mary, Your Mother??

Do you spend time with Mary, your mother.  In this busy world of ours rarely to we take the time to spend anytime in silence.  Barely is there anytime to spend with Jesus let alone with His, our mother.  Do we ever ask Mary's intercession, call out to her in our times of distress, ask her to intercede on our behalf before her Son.  The Gospel tells us that Mary is there to intercede for us just as she did at Cana.

THE WEDDING FEAST AT CANA
On the third day there was a marriage at Cana in Galilee,
and the mother of Jesus was there;
Jesus also was invited to the marriage, with his disciples.

When the wine failed, the mother of Jesus said to him,
"They have no wine."
And Jesus said to her,
"O woman, what have you to do with me?
My hour has not yet come."
His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."

Now six stone jars were standing there,
for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons.
Jesus said to them, "Fill the jars with water."
And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them,
"Now draw some out, and take it to the steward of the feast."

So they took it. When the steward of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, "Every man serves the good wine first; and when men have drunk freely, then the poor wine; but you have kept the good wine until now."Gospel of John 2:1-10

Jesus gave us His mother at the foot of the cross as our own mother, to treat as we would our own mother, to honor and venerate as is proper and also to ask for aid when we are in need.

"When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son!"  Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!" And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home."

John 19:26-27

The Catechism echoes this:


CCC 964 Mary's role in the Church is inseparable from her union with Christ and flows directly from it. "This union of the mother with the Son in the work of salvation is made manifest from the time of Christ's virginal conception up to his death"; it is made manifest above all at the hour of his Passion:Thus the Blessed Virgin advanced in her pilgrimage of faith, and faithfully persevered in her union with her Son unto the cross. There she stood, in keeping with the divine plan, enduring with her only begotten Son the intensity of his suffering, joining herself with his sacrifice in her mother's heart, and lovingly consenting to the immolation of this victim, born of her: to be given, by the same Christ Jesus dying on the cross, as a mother to his disciple, with these words: "Woman, behold your son." 


In our world where we seek to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and often stumble, fall, and  are brought low by the troubles in this world.  Realizing that our reliance cannot be on ourselves but on Jesus and His Mother who was given to us as our Mother to help us when we cannot help ourselves.  
In this loud, some would say obnoxious world, silence is something that is far and few between.  Media of all kinds has taken over our lives.  A person cannot live without Internet or their cell phone but they can live without going to daily Mass and receiving the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.  This bread of eternal life that nourishes more than anything else can is something that we rely on the least.  


Pope Benedict XVI encourages this over and over.  Most recently in his last Wednesday audience:
"Mary teaches us how necessary it is to find in our days, with all of its activities, moments to gather our thoughts in silence and meditate on what the Lord wants to teach us, on how he is present and acts in the world and in our life...meditation involves creating in ourselves a situation of contemplation, of interior silence, to reflect, to assimilate the mysteries of our faith and what God operates in us; and not just the things that come and go."


Mary mediates God's grace to us through her Son Jesus Christ,

And so the challenge is to take time out of your day, spend a few moments with Mary.  Have her help you, lead you to her Son.

This website can help you in that, every time you get online spend this one minute with Mary

http://www.marianminute.org/

Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life our sweetness and our hope.  To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.  Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us and after this our exile show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary!
V-  Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God
R-  That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
LET US PRAY: O God, by the life, death and resurrection of Your only begotten Son, You purchased for us the rewards of eternal life; grant, we beseech You that while meditation on these mysteries of the Holy rosary, we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

May all of us grow closer to our Mother Mary

Meditation on Luke 1:26-38 - The Annunciation

A while ago I was at a workshop for Lectio Divina or the prayer for reading of Sacred Scripture and one of the scriptures they had us practice on was Luke 1:26-38, the Annunciation.  As I was reading the passage and reflecting on it, I realized just how much of an amazing and yet fearful moment that had to be.  How would you act if an angel visited you with a message from God?  What would your response be?  I would like to think my response would be that of Mary’s. 

"In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.  And he came to her and said, "Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you!" But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be.  And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.  He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there will be no end."  And Mary said to the angel, "How shall this be, since I have no husband?"   And the angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.  And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.  For with God nothing will be impossible."  And Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her."  Luke 1:26-38

There are such profound phrases that are said by both the Angel and Mary.  “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High.” (Lk. 1:32)  I fall silent at this verse, how must it have felt to hear those words?  Not only are you a virgin and you will bear a son but He will be the Son of the Most High…“His kingdom will have no end.”  Words fail you at this moment and this great pronouncement, how long I wonder was there a pause by Mary as she digested this information just given to her.  I cannot even imagine what might have gone through her mind; I would be thinking what is going on here.  Her simple response, wait a minute how can this be since I have no husband?

After this question another profound revelation is given.  “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.” (Lk. 1:34)  How beautiful, words cannot describe how this must have felt.  However when you think about it, the Holy Spirit is with all of us.  We receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit when we receive the Sacraments.  How great of a gift this is that I take for granted every day.  The Holy Spirit overshadows all we do, provides help for us in all that we do, all we need to do is ask.  How great a gift that is taken for granted by so many today. 

Many times we try to limit God, fit Him into our mold, and bring God down to a more manageable level.  But in the Annunciation we hear the simple words, “For with God nothing will be impossible.” (Lk. 1:37)  How many people think that God can’t help them, that they are too far gone, there is nothing that can be done for them.  To that I give them the above statement, God can work with anyone, about anything, anytime He wants.  God is God and there is no limit to His love for us.  God is love, an eternal communication of persons in love.  Nothing is beyond God.  I feel like we should hear this statement at the start of every day.  When we feel as though our daily struggles are insurmountable, the daily grind impossible, thinking that how can God be in this, we must think those words, that nothing is impossible for God.  God can top every mountain, cross every river and support your feet as you walk His path on earth.

Lastly, some of the simplest words ever spoken are the most earth shattering, words that should be the first out of our mouth every day in prayer.  “And Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word."” (Lk. 1:38)  With these words “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.” (Jn 1:14)  With the Incarnation the world changed forever, God reached down to.  We became “partakers in the divine nature.” (2 Peter 1:4)  “God became man so man could become God.” (St. Athanasius)  The world has been changed forever with those simple words.

I would like to think that my reaction would have been the same, that at that moment my words would have been the same Mary’s.  I pray that through the intercession of Mary on this the Feast of her Assumption into heaven that I become more like her, the perfect disciple who was there at the moment of conception at the moment of His crucifixion.  Let us also pray for the respect of life from conception to natural death.

Father in heaven,
all creation rightly gives you praise,
for all life and all holiness come from you.
In the plan of your wisdom
she who bore the Christ in her womb
was raised body and soul in glory to be with him in heaven.
May we follow her example in reflecting your holiness
and join in her hymn of endless love and praise.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.