Tuesday, January 01, 2008
"When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption." (Gal 4:4)
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Teacher Debbie Moon’s first graders were discussing a picture of a family. One little boy in the picture had different color hair than the other family members.
One child suggested that he was adopted and a little girl named Jocelyn Jay said, "I know all about adoptions, because I’m adopted."
"What does it mean to be adopted?" asked another child.
"It means," said Jocelyn, "that you grew in your mother’s heart instead of in her tummy." (George Dolan) [1]
Today is the first day of the New Year and we honor Mary, as Mother of God. If Jesus, has been born again in our hearts, as previously recommended, we can look forward to a fresh start this year. Thus, the New Year should usher in a spiritually renewed life for us. In imitation of Our Lady, we too should give birth to greater holiness on this first day of 2008.
As we all know, the Incarnation of Our Lord was and is the greatest gift of our heavenly Father to mankind. For without the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ in expiation for the sins of humanity, the gates of Heaven would not have been opened, and the righteous would have gone to what used to be called, "Limbo." Without Divine grace and the Sacraments, the majority of mankind would very likely have been lost.
As it was, not only was that situation avoided, but Our Lord also paved the way for our adoption by Abba, Father.
By virtue of our Baptism we have become adopted sons and daughters of Almighty God. Jesus has become our Brother and therefore, Mary, logically, became our Mother.
The above narrative implies that though we were not born out of Mary’s womb we grew in her heart out of love for us. All these things we should treasure and keep in our hearts as Mary did. (Cf Lk 2:19)
As the very first Disciple of Christ, Our Lady is a very appropriate model for all of us. Her obedience to God’s will, charity and generosity for all humanity are some things that we should all try to emulate. She has taught us not to keep God’s gifts for ourselves, but rather to share them for the benefit of others, as she willingly shared Jesus with us. She never thought of holding on to her Son for Herself.
Let us all try to be worthy of our adoption, by being faithful and obedient to our Heavenly Father as Mary was. Let us continue to prayerfully seek her help, intercession and guidance on how we can best serve the Lord via discipleship. Let us also pray to the Holy Spirit for continual guidance and direction in this undertaking.
One child suggested that he was adopted and a little girl named Jocelyn Jay said, "I know all about adoptions, because I’m adopted."
"What does it mean to be adopted?" asked another child.
"It means," said Jocelyn, "that you grew in your mother’s heart instead of in her tummy." (George Dolan) [1]
Today is the first day of the New Year and we honor Mary, as Mother of God. If Jesus, has been born again in our hearts, as previously recommended, we can look forward to a fresh start this year. Thus, the New Year should usher in a spiritually renewed life for us. In imitation of Our Lady, we too should give birth to greater holiness on this first day of 2008.
As we all know, the Incarnation of Our Lord was and is the greatest gift of our heavenly Father to mankind. For without the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ in expiation for the sins of humanity, the gates of Heaven would not have been opened, and the righteous would have gone to what used to be called, "Limbo." Without Divine grace and the Sacraments, the majority of mankind would very likely have been lost.
As it was, not only was that situation avoided, but Our Lord also paved the way for our adoption by Abba, Father.
By virtue of our Baptism we have become adopted sons and daughters of Almighty God. Jesus has become our Brother and therefore, Mary, logically, became our Mother.
The above narrative implies that though we were not born out of Mary’s womb we grew in her heart out of love for us. All these things we should treasure and keep in our hearts as Mary did. (Cf Lk 2:19)
As the very first Disciple of Christ, Our Lady is a very appropriate model for all of us. Her obedience to God’s will, charity and generosity for all humanity are some things that we should all try to emulate. She has taught us not to keep God’s gifts for ourselves, but rather to share them for the benefit of others, as she willingly shared Jesus with us. She never thought of holding on to her Son for Herself.
Let us all try to be worthy of our adoption, by being faithful and obedient to our Heavenly Father as Mary was. Let us continue to prayerfully seek her help, intercession and guidance on how we can best serve the Lord via discipleship. Let us also pray to the Holy Spirit for continual guidance and direction in this undertaking.
End Notes for this Bible Sharing
1. "The Millennium Stories" by Frank Mihalic, SVD, n. 178, "What it means to be Adopted," p. 84, Logos (Divine Word) Publications, Inc., Manila, 1997.
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