Tag: Mary

Luke 2:15-20: Reflections of the Heart
Friday, December 11, 2020Luke 2:15-20

Reflections of the Heart

And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.

Pain and happiness. Amazement and worry. Wonder and joy. A gamut of emotions in such a short few days.

Joseph and the child. Shepherds and angels. Innkeepers and oxen. Extraordinary companions for such a new mother.

God says: Mary is wise to ponder all things in the heart. It is from this pondering that she gains wisdom and fortitude. It is in this abiding with me that she discovers courage and patience. It is from her love of me that she finds persistence and hope. When Mary keeps these things in her heart she hides from no one; rather, she gathers a new strength for the journey before her, a fresh perspective of the past that lies behind, and a deep reverence for the holy present. Each moment of each life is as precious as the moment you read about today. Each moment of your lives holds more love from me than you can imagine. Ponder these things in your heart. Reflect on these things in your heart. And remember me.

Mary knows that the road she travels with this special child will be as fraught with problems as her journey to Bethlehem has been. She also knows that the shepherds who arrive in the quiet darkness have sought and found her small family by knocking on many doors in their determined search. Faith, persistence, endurance and courage. As Mary greets her son’s first visitors, she ponders these things in her heart.

To view a clip of the 2006 film Nativity Story:The Birth of Christ depicting the arrival of the shepherds and wise men, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Lpv77EdxF4

Image From: http://www.williedeutsch.com/the-hobbit-a-beautiful-story-for-christmas/
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December 11, 2020

Jesus, Joseph, Mary, Nativity
Luke 1:18-19: How Shall We Know This?
Tuesday, December 1, 2020

Carlo Dolci: The Angel Gabriel

Luke 1:18-19

How Shall We Know This?

I am Gabriel who stands before God. I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news.

Gabriel appears to Daniel (Daniel 9:21), Zechariah (Luke 1:19) and Mary (Luke 1:26) to announce good news from God. We too want to hear words that lift our hearts as we manage the complexities and challenges of living.

God says: My angels bring you constant messages although they struggle to be heard amid the cacophony of your lives. If you are able to find a regular quiet time – even if for only a few moments each day – when you will draw apart to open the door of your heart to me, you will feel the presence of my angels. You will also feel my own presence within you. How shall you know this? Only come to me . . . and you will know.

The words of Psalm 138 remind us: I thank you, Lord, with all my heart, you have heard the words of my mouth. In the presence of the angels I will bless you . . . I thank you for your faithfulness and love . . . You increased the strength of my soul . . . All earth’s kings shall thank you . . . They shall sing of the Lord’s ways.

How shall we know that God is great?

St. Paul reminds the Colossians: Be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

How shall we know? When we create time for God in our hectic lives, we will come to know.

Enter the word angels into the blog search bar and explore.

Image from: https://today.duke.edu/2017/08/medicis-painter-carlo-dolci
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December 1, 2020

angels, Daniel 9:21, Gabriel, God time, God’s presence, Luke 11:9, Luke 1:26, Mary, Zechariah
Luke 1:46-55: Magnificat
Wednesday, July 22, 2020

Luke 1:46-55

Magnificat

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.

In the tradition of The Liturgy of the Hours the Magnificat is sung as part of Vespers, or Evening Prayer. For the entire prayer, go to the Bible Gateway site linked in the citation above and explore the various interpretations of these verses.

God says: Imagine what I hear when so many voices are raised to me each evening with these words of Mary. It is most pleasing to hear the babel of your many languages and even more pleasing to hear the petitions you lift up to me as you pray. Do not worry if you find that the details of your life call you away at the appointed Evensong. As best you can, pause for a moment to remember me and our Mother Mary who bravely stepped forward so that I might come to live among you. Just say the word “Magnificat” with deep intention before you move into your evening. I will unite your word with the other prayers that fly to me. Remember always how much Mary loves you as the sisters and brothers of Jesus. And remember always that I also love you.

These words of Mary express the hope of all. Let us spend a few moments of our precious time to unite ourselves with her and those millions of others who lift these verses to God each day as the evening closes in.

Image from: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Society-of-Our-Lady-of-the-Magnificat/270422953001042

To read more about Mary’s own Prayer by Fr. John A. Harden, S.J., go to: http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=7340

To visit with a homily about this prayer by Msgr. Charles Pope and to reflect on an image of Elizabeth greeting Mary, go to: http://blog.adw.org/2010/12/the-magnificat-is-a-bold-prayer/
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July 22, 2020

Evensong, Liturgy of the Hours, Mary, Vespers
Luke 1:67-79: Benedictus
Tuesday, July 21, 2020

Zechariah, John, Elizabeth and Mary

Luke 1:67-79

Benedictus

In the tradition of The Liturgy of the Hours this Canticle of Zechariah is sung as part of Lauds, or Morning Prayer or Prime, and although the verses are intoned by Zechariah on the birth of his son John the Baptist, they prophesy the coming of Jesus the Messiah, the Light of the World. Commentary tells us that their origin may have been an early Jewish Christian hymn that Luke adapted for his story. (Senior cf. 100) Today we examine these verses to see how we might bring full voice to our thanksgiving that God is not a remote and distant deity who merely observes the events that surround our lives, but a merciful and loving parent who chooses to live and move among us.

Zechariah begins by praising God for releasing us from all that binds and for delivering us from our enemies the prophets have promised. He reminds us of the covenant we have with God and all that it promises, and then he urges his child, John, to fulfill his role as herald of the Word. Describing the coming Messiah as the dawn from on high, Zechariah recalls for us the purpose of this light for the world: to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

In our world of immediate satisfaction and quick fulfillment, it is difficult to find our place in God’s plan that unfolds through the millennia to unite billions of souls, and it is both fitting and helpful that we rise each morning to intone these words of Zechariah as part of our morning prayer. When we pray the Benedictus we unite ourselves with all the faithful who greet each day with these same words of thanksgiving, remembrance and promise. So let us give thanks. Let us remember God’s promises. And let us walk with our God in the way of peace.

When we look at the entire first Chapter of Luke we discover how God prepares the faithful for the coming of Emmanuel, the incarnation of God’s Word Among Us, Jesus the Christ. We also understand more fully how carefully God’s heart and hand entwine with each precious life.

Image from: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/180214422562937316/

Senior, Donald, ed. THE CATHOLIC STUDY BIBLE. New York, Oxford University Press, 1990.100. Print.
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July 21, 2020

Canticle of Zechariah, Elizabeth, God’s plan, John the Baptist, Lauds, Liturgy of the Hours, Mary, Prime, promise, remembrance, thanksgiving
Luke 1: The Encounter
Monday, July 20, 2020

Luke 1

The Encounter

In the first chapter of Luke we witness a series of encounters: the immaculate as she encounters the one who is in the presence of God, two cousins carrying new life, two cousins as yet unborn, and the quiet drama of God’s word coming to live among God’s people. All encounters are holy. Would that we might see them so.

We plan to meet friends for lunch. We arrange our lives to gather for an important occasion. We enter dates on calendars and electronic schedulers. We commit to union with others. All encounters are holy. Would that we might make them so.

We are surprised when we meet a friend from days lived long past. We chance upon a relative we have not seen since a funeral years ago. We find ourselves waiting in queue with a former colleague we have not thought of in the years since we shared a workplace. All encounters are holy. Would that we might make them so.

We bump into strangers in our daily interactions. We exchange currency and salutations with people we barely perceive. We pump gas and load purchases next to people we may never see again. We rent vacation apartments and share cups and plates with hundreds whom we will never meet. We travel in airplanes, trains, buses and taxis and brush against thousands or even millions. All encounters are holy. Would that we might make them so.

We might imagine a life in which we anticipate joy as we meet new people and encounter new ways of thinking. We might picture a life in which conflicts are expressed openly with respect rather than obliquely with silent aggression. We might read Luke 1 and see a girl who steps into danger, fully knowing and fully accepting the challenge that lies before her . . . saying with full and open heart, My soul magnifies the Lord.

All encounters are holy. Would that we might see them so.

Prophet and Redeemer meet before the world is aware of their existence.

Two women clasp one another as they kiss cheeks.

A harbinger arrives, announcing good news that we often choose to disbelieve.

God comes to earth to walk among his people.

Trust in God. Hope with God. Love for God.

Believing that the impossible might be made possible.

All of these encounters are revealed to us today.

All of these options stand before the people we read about today.

All of these possibilities lie beneath the encounters presented to us today.

Let us imagine a life in which each time we look up, we greet the other with warm trust, exuberant hope, and authentic love. Let us picture a world in which we greet and listen to one another with genuine respect. Let us see ourselves stepping forward honestly with hand extended in faithful friendship. Let us imagine the possibilities that lie beneath our encounters, and let us pray . . .

All encounters are holy. Would that we might believe them so.

Image from: http://www.retreatinabag.net/category/retreat-event-planning/ministry-at-the-retreat/

Adapted from a reflection written on January 22, 2009.
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July 20, 2020

Elizabeth, friends, hope, love, Mary, strangers, trust
John 12:1: Resting in Bethany
Wednesday, March 25, 2020

John 12:1: Resting in Bethany

Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.

Cornelis Engenbrechtsz: Christ in the House of Martha and Mary

We know that we must balance our lives with activity and reflection; Jesus teaches us this by his example and by his word. Too much work makes us anxious, resentful, and forgetting of God. Too much reflection makes us indolent, uncaring, and forgetting of others. We must interweave our intent with our deeds and through Lazarus’s two sisters, Martha and Mary, Jesus shows us how we are to act and what we are to do.

He entered Jerusalem and went into the Temple area. He looked around at everything and, since it was already late, went out to Bethany with the Twelve. (Mark 11:11)

Jesus visits his friends before he goes up to Jerusalem – he knows what experience is about to unfold. Jesus allows himself to be anointed – he knows that he will need special blessings to allow the coming days to teach humanity’s greatest lesson. Jesus does not draw out his enemies – he knows that even he must adhere to God’s plan.

We have need of our rest in Bethany and so we must take it. We must store up, revive, take stock, and recuperate from the work of the world.

We have need of balance and pacing and so we must execute it. We must plan, reflect, pray, be still, and prepare for the next leg of our journey.

We have need of a circle of friends and so we must rest with them. We must ask, we must listen, we must abide, and we must allow others to tend to us.

We must rest and restore in Bethany for Christ awaits us there before he journeys to the cross. Let us choose a chapter in Jerusalem’s story and abide awhile as we do with an old friend. Let us relax and listen. Let us revive and receive. We have miles yet left in our journey . . . so let us rest awhile in Bethany in the arms of the one who loves us so well.

Images from: http://truthbook.com/index.cfm?linkID=1380 and http://www.awesomestories.com/assets/christ-in-the-house-of-martha-and-mary

For an essay that examines a Martha and Mary life, read Mary and Martha Revisited at: http://caroleduff.wordpress.com/2013/03/18/mary-and-martha-revisited/
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March 25, 2020

Lararus, Mark 11:11, Martha, Mary

Tag: Mary

Luke 2:15-20: Reflections of the Heart

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Luke 1:18-19: How Shall We Know This?

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Luke 1:46-55: Magnificat

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Luke 1:67-79: Benedictus

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Luke 1: The Encounter

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John 12:1: Resting in Bethany

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