It was the year 1789 when Benjamin Franklin uttered those famous words: “… in this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes.” Little did he know that phrase would still be quoted to this very day. Read More
If you were to search the Internet for the word “paradox,” you would get a couple of different definitions: a paradox is when two things are both true, but the two things seem to contradict each other; or a paradox is a statement that may sound contradictory but upon further reflection, reveals a deeper spiritual truth through the comparison of their parts. Confused? Let me give you a few examples:
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I just came to the realization that yesterday was February 2nd. Fortunately, I did not find myself living Groundhog Day all over again – as is the premise of the 1993 romantic comedy, Groundhog Day.
“Love God greatly; be always united to God; do everything for God; love everything for God.” ~St. Gerard Majella
While on retreat, my lodging accommodations found me in the St. Gerard hermitage. This was quite ironic as this is also my middle name. In my room was a little booklet with novenas to St. Gerard. Admittedly, I did not know much about him, other then he is known as the patron saint of pregnant mothers. (Apparently, my mother prayed to him when she was trying to get pregnant with me – which is where my name derived.) And reading about him was very timely as his feast day is October 16th.
I read this little novena book cover to cover and discovered many things about St. Gerard. He was so attracted by God that his whole life was immersed in the greatness of God, surrendering completely to him. He strived to make everything he did an act of love for God. And he had the gift of recognizing the presence of Christ in the faces of others. That is certainly a gift that we need to pray for in our own lives.
St. Gerard was all about living God’s divine will. He had a sign on his door that read: “Here the will of God is done.” If you were to summarize his life-long intention, it would be with this phrase: to always please God in whatever he did. This should be our goal as well.
Whatever tasks or duties that we undertake, these should all be done cheerfully. We need to change our mindset and truly believe that everything we do should give delight to God. According to Gerard, no matter what comes our way, even when the worst things happen, we need to accept it as God’s will (even if it doesn’t seem to be) and try to make it into something joyful.
We pray that we are able to know and love God, to do everything for God, and have the strength to carry out his will each and every day. Make us always aware that no matter what we do, it matters to God. May we want nothing for ourselves but strive to want what God wants for us. Amen.
Today we celebrate the Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was established by the Pope Pius XII in 1954. He stated that Mary is Queen above every other creature on account of the elevation of her soul and how she never ceases to bestow all the treasures of her love and care on humanity.
Mary is often called the Queen of many things: Queen of the Angels, Queen of Patriarchs, Queen of Prophets, Queen of the Apostles, Queen of Martyrs, Queen of Virgins, Queen of All Saints, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, and Queen of Peace, and many others.
But how does Mary exercise this queenship? Pope Benedict XVI said, “By watching over us, her children: the children who turn to her in prayer, to thank her and to ask her maternal protection and her heavenly help, perhaps after having lost their way, or weighed down by suffering and anguish on account of the sad and troubled events of life.” He continued to say, “The title of Queen is therefore a title of trust, of joy and of love. And we know that what she holds in her hands for the fate of the world is good; she loves us, and she helps us in our difficulties.”
May we always turn to Mary in prayer for she will always intercede for us to her Son. Mary is the Queen of Heaven who is close to God, but she is also the Mother who is close to each one of us, who loves us and who listens to our voice. May we imitate her faith every day, for as it says in today’s psalm, “To do your will, O my God, is my delight.”
Photo Credit: http://kathyschiffer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/The-Annunciation-John-Collier.jpg
Our Gospel today was “the Annunciation”, the same Gospel we used for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. Very often, you will see Annunciation in a painting or stained glass window, and it’s depicted with one striking detail: Mary, holding in her hands or reading an open book. One artist has said this is to show Mary reading Isaiah, learning that a virgin would give birth to the savior. Another artist said that it shows her devotion to The Word – the Word that she would one day bring into the world as Jesus Christ.
However you interpret this, it remains a compelling way of thinking of Mary, especially as we near Christmas, and as we think more deeply about The Word Made Flesh. And as we reflect on today’s Gospel, I want to focus on one word in particular that recurs in this passage. It’s a word Luke uses again and again in the story of the Nativity, three times alone in just this short passage. That word is: “Behold.” In literal terms, it means: “to see,” or “observe.” But in scriptural terms, it goes much deeper. Read More
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