Monday, August 15, 2016

Luke 1: 39-56

Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”

And Mary said:

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
and has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children forever.”

Mary remained with her about three months
and then returned to her home.

Mary’s yes to God undid Eve’s no. Jesus’ yes to God undid Adam’s no. What can I accomplish, Lord, when I say yes to you?

God has a plan and a purpose for each and every one of us. He respects our free will and asks. Most are like Adam and Eve and reject God’s request because we want that which God is not willing to give.

When I was nineteen God asked me to serve him as a priest. This request was strange to me. I wasn’t Catholic. I was a fleet sailor and about as far away from a holy life as one could be. God’s request didn’t jive with who I was or who I thought I was going to be. Like Adam, I said no.

Instead I became a husband and a father. Like so many, I took for myself a vocation I was not called to but wanted regardless. And like so many that marriage failed. Eventually I got my life right with God. Then he came knocking again, this time asking me to serve him as a deacon. Again the answer was no.

Slowly my life deteriorated. Finances, work, even my health got progressively worse. But the knock never went away. I was taken to literally one heartbeat from death before I said yes. Once I did things changed for the better almost immediately. Then I found out that my heart was 90 – 95% blocked and I was really only a single heartbeat from death. I had a quintuple bypass and a near miraculous recovery.  All because I said yes to God’s knock on the door of my heart.

How much more did God bless Mary for her yes to be the mother of the salvation of humanity? How much more did he look with favor on her for the suffering she would endure as she saw her only son hang on a cross and die?

Jesus gave his mother to us to be our mother too. Why do so many say “no thanks” to such a precious gift?

Hail Mary, the Lord is with thee

Blessed are thou among women

And blessed is the fruit of your womb

Jesus

Holy Mary, mother of God

Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death

Amen.