Word to the Wise
Saturday, September 8, 2007 - The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
[Micah 5:1-4A or Romans 8:28-30 and Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23]Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2007 NATIVITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY [Micah 5:1-4A or Romans 8:28-30 and Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23] Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. If there is one thing we can be certain about in regard to Mary, it is that she was BORN. So we can confidently give her a birthday and celebrate it! We know that she was living in the town of Nazareth in Galilee and that she attracted the attention of the family of Joseph, to whom she was "engaged" at the time of Jesus' conception. The complications that this caused in her life and in Joseph's are vividly attested in the "infancy narratives" in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. One Christmas season while I was serving as Catholic campus minister at Texas Lutheran University in Seguin, TX, near San Antonio, I attended Christmas "Vespers." During the service there was a portrayal by a talented actress who specializes in biblical characters. She played Joseph's mother - in other words, Mary's mother-in-law. The performance was both funny and moving! It had the effect of giving a human face to Mary, which some of Catholic tradition obscures because of the various glorious titles we give to her. To be born and to give birth are two of life's most profound experiences. Mary experienced both. We celebrate her son's birth with great solemnity, but let's don't forget hers, too! Forgetting Mom's birthday is not a good idea! AMEN