Keep A Candle Lit for the Baby Jesus

Lately our readings have been on the travels of Joseph and Mary. One reading pointed out that Mary didn't have to go to Bethlehem, but Joseph did. Mary could have stayed in the comfort of home and family, but she didn't. This made me see again how Mary followed the will of God our Father. She ventured from what was familiar, safe and comfortable to bring Jesus to the world. She showed us there is no place Our Lord will not go to reach us!

The prayer on my mind lately has been for those far away from home this Christmas Season, and for those missing loved ones too. I received a letter from an old friend, and she had the following on her Christmas Letter: Please pray this season for the "military overseas/home and their families." Specifically for those families who will have a member missing from the table because their life was given for their country. A beautiful prayer and touching also because this friend lost her elderly mother recently. Here she is asking me to remember others rather than focusing on her loss.

One thing we can count on is change, but we can also count on Jesus to remain. Mary showed us no matter what the circumstances, no matter the uncharted territory we venture into, Jesus is there. He is never far away, and His heart is the home we can all share.

Keep a candle lit for the baby Jesus. Let us keep a soft place in our heart for Him to lay His head. Let us view the world through eyes first beholding a Savior's star, and let us grasp that wonder this Christmas Season! Amen

Do You Know About The Living Ark of The Covenant?

As I’ve stated before, one blog posting can lead to another. Recently I posted on the Nativity of Mary. In that post, I remarked about Mary’s participation in the redemption of man in relation to Eve’s participation in the fall of man. (Gen 3:15) This post is about the Ark of the Covenant. Mary is known as the living Ark of the Covenant. When I first learned of this, I remember being delighted.

The earliest prototype in the Old Testament is the Ark of Noah. Then there is the Ark of the Covenant made of the finest Gold which contained the Ten Commandments, some of the manna that fell from heaven for the Israelites wandering the desert and the staff of Aaron. So what does this prototype have to do with Mary? Well let’s take a look! Remember God had the Ark built to certain specifications and made of the purest gold. Here we have Mary made of the purest flesh. We find the Old Testament Ark carried the Ten Commandments; Mary carried Jesus the Word made flesh. The OT Ark carried the staff of Aaron (signifying his priestly position); Mary carried Jesus the High Priest. And the OT Ark carried a gold ciborium with the manna God provided in the desert. Mary carried Jesus the Eucharist, the Bread of Life.

When Mary arrived to visit her cousin, Elizabeth exclaimed, “Who am I that the Mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Luke 1:43) We are reminded of when David says in 2 Samuel 6:9-10; “How can the Ark of the Lord come to me?” Also John the Baptist, leapt in his mother’s womb when Mary arrived (Luke 1:44). Remember David danced with joy in front of the Ark when it was brought to Jerusalem. But that is not all, The Ark stayed in the house of Obededom for three months, and God blessed the household of Obededom. Mary stayed with Elizabeth and Zacharias for three months, and brought blessing to their house.

And the final thought for this post is beautiful. The Holy of Holies was empty at the time of Christ and Mary. So the Ark of the OT was not there. How could the priests of the Temple know that the “presentation” of the child Mary in the Temple, was the entrance of the living Ark ~ the living Ark of the New Covenant?!

Our Lady carried Our Lord, and in obedience to God, from her arms she handed him over for the Salvation of the world. Today and always, she points us towards her Son, her Savior and ours.

She said YES ~ Yes she did! Happy Birthday Mary!!!

Today we celebrate the Nativity of Mary. When hearing the word “Nativity” we think of the birth of Jesus rather than Mary. I remember a time when I was worried about loving Mary. Was I giving her love due only to God? Our gentle Lord let me know there is a reason we cannot measure love. It is because love is infinite. There is more than enough to spread around.

There is this man I used to work with who told me God randomly picked Mary to be the Mother of Jesus. I’m sure he went on and on about it because he knew of my Catholicism. He basically said she was at the right place at the right time. Even then I found it humorous. I could picture God pointing His finger around saying, “maybe that one…no, I think that one.” I wasn’t able to dialogue with him way back when. But as time passed there is one thing I have learned about our Creator. He is ordered, He is a designer, and He would not leave the Mother of His Child to chance. Even humans (responsible ones) don’t randomly pick a person to form a family.

It was funny because as a youngster people told me Catholics, like me, had to pray to Mary to get to God. I didn’t quite understand it because I prayed to God every night. Did these people know something about Catholics I didn’t? Now I know they didn’t know much, if anything, about Catholics. Well as I grew in my faith God began to give me answers about Mary, sometimes from the questions of others. One such question came from another guy at work. He asked me, “Why did God make it so Jesus would come from Mary?” He clarified by asking, “Why did He come from a woman?” I can only guess he was wondering why God didn’t just show up. I thought of all the questions! I’d never heard that one, but I told him I’d try to find out. Shortly after that my dad handed me a book, and there was the answer. In the beginning woman (Eve) came from man (Adam), and through this man came sin. For our redemption God reversed this occurrence and Mary gave birth to Jesus. This time man came from woman, and through this God-Man, Jesus, comes salvation.

So here I began to see Mary’s role. When she said, “yes” to God, her place was fulfilled. She holds a unique position. She is the daughter of the Father, the spouse of the Holy Spirit, and the mother of the Son. She is not Deity, but she is intricately entwined with the Trinity. And from there she calls us to the Glory of God. She is forever pointing not to herself, but to Him! Where Eve participated in the fall of man, Mary participates in the redemption. Satan thought he’d won with the disobedience of Eve. Oh but he underestimated the obedience of Mary. But the serpent would soon learn this when God Himself said, “I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed…”

Our Lady, Our Mother, and the Trinity

The little statue sat on my dresser for as long as I could remember. Amidst the little girl trappings she stood. Later among the teen trappings she stood. And finally she was there among the young adult trappings. This statue was the one of Mary standing on the serpent. I believe it is of Our Lady of Grace. Somewhere along the way the figure disappeared. Much the way my Faith did. I didn't quit believing in God, but I wasn't interested in Church.

When God did call me back, He used an interesting route. As a child I always prayed, "Dear God..." I pretty much stuck with that even into my twenties. One day God, our Father, said, "I'd like you to meet my Son Jesus." Everything that fell in my lap was about Jesus. Then He said, "I'd like you to meet my Holy Spirit." The same thing happened again. Finally He said, "I'd like you to meet my Mother Mary along with Joseph and all the saints and angels." So there I stood realizing I had this enormous family, a great bunch of folks who love me!

The little statue has never reappeared, but I have a real Mother in Mary. My Dad told me she is not Deity, but she holds a unique spot. She is entwined with the Trinity, as the Daughter of the Father, the Mother of the Son and the Spouse of the Holy Spirit. And here is where she wants to direct us. She along with the rest of our huge family wants us all eternally coming together~ united to the Three in One.

Child and the Rosary

This morning we had the pleasure of hearing a small four or five year old girl saying a decade of the rosary. She took her shoes off and knelt before the tabernacle for a few seconds. Next she wrapped her rosary around her barefoot. From there she walked over to her mother and wrapped her rosary around her mother's head. The whole time she was reciting the prayers. She twirled, picked up a piece of paper and waved it around. I had to wonder how this was going to end. I believe she glanced at her mother, who cued her to keep praying, but at the right moment she ended with the Glory Be. She also ended up kneeling back in front of the tabernacle. Her sweet small voice was strong, and I thought our Lord and Lady must have been smiling at this little one. This little one~appropriately named Mary!