Intervention / Solemnity Mary Mother of God (2016-01-01)

Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

1 January 2016

[__01__]   Intervention and intercession are important, from our mothers.

On this Solemnity or Mary, the Mother of God, we recall that Mary is our intercessor before our Savior and before God.

For this reason, we are called to pray the Hail Mary, to pray the Rosary, to reflect on the mysteries of the Rosary and the life of Christ, to recall that our mother, our Blessed Mother is also praying to protect us, just as our own mothers are.

Our own mothers and grandmothers protect us both by what they say and what they do not say.  An important message of the Gospel today is the Good News of pondering, of reflection, of meditation.

[__02__]  In our family, one of my grandmothers is recalled very clearly for her interventions and her intercessions. She behaved in a way that many of us would consider completely natural.

That is, you know where you stood with Frances. And, while my grandmother loved all of us, her grandchildren, she was also one to dare to let her opinions be heard by – and be trickled down to  - the younger generation.

Frances (… we are not talking about Pope Francis …) but she also dared to speak her mind.   And, she even dared to speak her mind about the behavior – the lack of behavior – of her grandchildren.

This one is going to be trouble!    I was told that there were certain grandchildren – though they may have been first-round draft picks – she did not want them on her team.   That is, she did not want to babysit them for an extended period of time.

I believe I made the cut.

[__03__]  Mothers have a sense, an intuition about their families, about their children and, often, mothers have an intuition about children in other families.

It was, of course, risky for my grandmother  - God rest her soul – to express this opinion.   It was not always welcome.

It is a high bar, a high standard, for us to know exactly when to speak and when to be silent in this regard.

[__04__]   Have I also not failed – been at fault – when I have said something …when I could have remained quiet?

[__05__]   The Blessed Virgin Mary possesses the beautiful virtue of archiving, preserving … spiritually …what is important about the Holy Family, about Jesus and Joseph.

Mary is doing this in the following way, as we read in Luke, Chapter 2:

• ·        Receiving visitors
• 
  
• ·        Hearing what people – the shepherds, angels …townspeople of Bethlehem have to say about Jesus
• 
  
• ·        She not only hears but remembers – saves – what people say.
• ·        Mary keeps all these words.   
• Mary ponders them in her heart

[__06__]   Mary, as our Blessed Mother, was reflecting, praying, pondering the current events of Bethlehem, and the events that preceded and followed.

Mary was keeping these things, pondering them in her heart.

[__07__]   Mary was also trusting …surrendering.  In this way, “surrender” was not a retreat from an enemy or adversary ..but a willingness to let the actions of another either complement her actions…or, in some cases, …. Just do the work.

“Mary ponders these words in her heart.”

To be a mother, father, caregiver, grandparent, guardian, this calls us to this same trust, surrender and to – ALERTNESS, REFLECTION, PRAYER.

To be a mother, father, caregiver, grandparent, guardian, this calls us to consider that we do not have to – nor do we wish to – publish everything – or react to everything – we may hear.

Rather, ponder, pray.  Keep these things in your heart.

[__08__]  Not every project – or every success – depends completely on me.

The coach, the teacher, the priest, the parent, the religious brother or sister… we are all supposed to know this.

Sometimes, it takes a while. St Augustine wrote in The Confessions,  “Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient ever new.”  […repeat…]

“Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient ever new.” 

In this autobiography, Augustine is expressing something I would like to write in my own autobiography but I often delete it, misspell it or write it in an exceedingly small font…

That is …”Late have I loved you… late ..only lately have I realized that I do not control the universe.”   

That I do not control what other people say, think, feel.

And, that even as a parent – you are responsible for nurturing, protecting, sheltering, feeding, clothing. Nevertheless, pondering and praying are also important.

Jesus was the Savior of the World, with his own identity even before Mary’s intervention or intercession.

Our children learn things – or come to realizations – and successes and failures – also through God’s power, not our own oversight or imposition.

We ponder these things in our heart.

[__09__]  Then, we speak.

My grandmother is also remembered for her shrewdness and her interest in the best possible deal and her avoidance of being cheated. She would also intervene for others.

In the early 1970’s when my parents were buying their first house in New Jersey, moving here from the Bronx, my grandmother came along for the ride and after seeing the house, told the real estate … “can’t you give these kinds a deal… can’t you cut the price.”

Well, my parents did buy the house. I’m not aware that there was any reduction in the sale price or interest rate on the loan.

Yet, my grandmother was the one daring to speak up …having pondered – I suppose – the square footage, the property size, the quality of the neighborhood and her own hopes for her family.

She also realized that she could not make it happen herself… but she could not make an appeal for someone else.

[__10__]   Mary , our Blessed Mother, also makes an appeal for someone else…yes, she makes an appeal for us before God.

And, she makes an appeal by allowing God to act, not simply by accepting responsibilities to be performed but also by acknowledging that it is not her word – or words – that matter.

Rather, it is God’s word being published – and saved – and pondered – that we too are saved by the birth of Jesus at Bethlehem.   [__fin__]