My dear friends, Happy New Year to you all.
Today we gather on the octave that is the Eighth Day of Christmas to honor the woman without whom we would not have the great Mystery of the Incarnation and the offer of salvation in Him: Mary the sinless virgin, who we call, with great dignity and reverence, the Mother of God.
You recall my friends, in the early Church, there was much controversy about that very title in Greek “Theotokos”. Because the logical question to ask was: how could a creature give birth to God? How could God have a mother? And in the great discernment that occurred under the influence and grace of the Holy Spirit at the Council of Ephesus in 431, the Church proclaimed infallibly that Mary is in fact not the incubator of the word of God in the world, not the giver only of His human nature, but in fact she is the Mother of God who took on flesh in His Son. And therefore she holds a place of great privilege, as we know, the highest of all creation apart from her Son. And she is our mother as well. And therefore, as a good mother, she is always ready to teach us a good lesson.
And allow me to suggest on this, the first day of this new year, she wishes to offer me and you a very important lesson. And it is contained in one sentence in the gospel we heard today from Saint Luke. We heard it said/proclaimed ‘and she held all these things reflecting on them in her heart’. From the vocate, another way to translate the word ‘reflecting’ would be also be ‘to ponder’ – to ponder these things in her heart.
You see my dear friends, our lady teaches us that if we wish to be faithful disciples of her Son, you and I need to learn how to ponder and reflect on the things that matter in our hearts. For that is not easy. Our lady certainly had much to ponder.
We heard today the coming of the Shepherds. Recall in the ancient world, the Shepherds were the outcasts second only to the lepers. They would not be welcomed in the cities. They were left out there to do their work, the lowest of the low in society. And yet they came to bring the greetings of the Son born to her as His meaning began to unfold. Much to ponder, whom the Lord chooses to be his privileged messenger. Only to be followed by the three Magi, kings of great repute and wealth, privilege and status, from the four corners of the earth. Tey too came, because He was destined to be the King of all nations, races and peoples. Again, much to ponder.
And then, of course at the foot of the cross of the Son, born in the stable of Bethlehem, they were certainly for a mother’s broken heart. Much to ponder and reflect.
For my dear friends, what does it mean to ponder? It means to suspend judgment; not come to rash decisions to stand before the mysteries that we encounter in life, and surrender to them, and allow them to sit in our hearts, and give time to God to reveal in His way as He wishes their meaning.
To ponder means that to recall that you and I are not the center of the universe – that we will not have always all the fullness of answers. There will be things we cannot fully answer in this life, and rightfully so, because the center of our lives is the child born in Bethlehem. It’s God made man, and His Father, and the power of His Holy Spirit.
To ponder and to reflect in the spiritual life is to surrender, to seek obedience, and to wait for God to speak, to teach, to lead, to console, and even to leave questions unanswered. It is the discovery of what it means to be a creature before a Creator – a Creator who took on the life of a creature so that you and I might have eternal life.
It seems to me in our 21st century world, pondering and reflecting is in short supply. Because we live in a very aggressive, self-consumed world. We want what we want when we want it. We want answers the way we like it. We want to be in charge of everything, and what we cannot control or answer we just disregard, ignore, leave to the side.
And my dear friends, in the spiritual life, the stuff we’re tempted to leave aside is the very stuff that will set us free. It’s the very things that will give us entry to God precisely because the only response we have is to ponder in our hearts. Sickness of a child, the sufferings in our own lives, the wounds you and I did not ask for, the troubles we see plaguing our world, the brokenness in many of our families, and the mystery of our own sinfulness – yours and mine – and the reckless, generous, wild mercy of God who loves us despite our deepest secrets.
There is much to ponder in life and our lady did it. And because she did it, she remained sinless, obedient, and the perfect disciple, and she is our mother to teach us to do the same.
So allow me to ask: if it was good enough for the great Mother of God, why would it not be good enough for you and me?
—
Bishop’s Sunday Mass: Bishop Frank J. Caggiano has begun celebrating Mass at St. Augustine Cathedral on Sundays at 8:30 am, and the faithful throughout the diocese are welcome to join him. For those who plan to attend in person, St. Augustine Cathedral is located at 399 Washington Avenue in Bridgeport. The live-stream will be available Sundays at 8:30 am on the St. Augustine Cathedral website (www.thecathedralparish.org), while the replay will be available on the Diocese YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/c/BridgeportDiocese/streams) once Mass concludes.
