Texts taken from the Missalette “On Your Word” January-February 2023

Mary, Most Holy Mother of God (feast)
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FIRST READING

From the Book of Numbers (Nm 6:22-27)
The Lord spoke to Moses and said: “Speak to Aaron and his sons and tell them: ‘This is how you shall bless the Israelites. You shall say to them: The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord let his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace.’ So shall they invoke my name upon the Israelites, and I will bless them.” – The word of God.

Commentary on the First Reading

The blessing is not simply a ritual for having God on our side: it is a true “sacramental,” an intervention of God to be received with faith. The people must always feel blessed by the Lord, their Father and Savior. Israel is not a nation like the others: it was created and willed by God specifically so that God himself might be born there. In poetic terms, we can say that Israel is the cradle of the Word of God. Through the blessing, the Lord continually renews his divine presence in the life of the people. Naturally, this blessing also applies to the new people of God, which is no longer Israel but the holy Church. Therefore, we too must receive the blessing upon our lives and our possessions and feel that we are protected by divine benevolence. With God’s blessing, we will be able to endure everything. Let us therefore go to our priests and ask them to lay their hands upon us, repeating the ancient Mosaic blessing, which has not lost its validity at all.

SECOND READING

From the Letter of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Galatians (Gal 4:4-7)

Brothers and sisters, 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 as sons. As proof that you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then also an heir, through God. – The word of God.

Commentary on the Second Reading

Saint Paul’s passage is a magnificent manifestation of Trinitarian power. God the Father sends the Son, who redeems us from the curse of sin by dying for us and throwing open the gates of Paradise. The Holy Spirit then brings us back to the Father, because in our hearts he cries out his name: “Father!” Today, the first day of the year, we must realize that we are caught up in a Trinitarian vortex… We are no longer alone, because Jesus makes us one with him, gives us his divine sonship, and breathes divine grace into us, completely changing the character of our lives, which are no longer “simply” human. Christians, therefore, live in two worlds: on earth, among things that can be touched and seen, and at the same time in Trinitarian life, where they already live the life of heaven. “Let no one hope to go to Paradise,” wrote Saint Symeon the New Theologian, “who is not already there now.” We must therefore ask ourselves: Where do I really live? Whose am I? To whom do I belong? God gives us the answer: You are his child; you no longer belong to worldly things; you need only open your eyes and realize it.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Luke (Lk 2:16-21)
At that time, [the shepherds] went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them. When eight days were completed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived in the womb. – The Gospel of the Lord.

Commentary on the Gospel of the Day

The shepherds are the first to receive from the angel the message of the incarnation of the Word of God and the first (after Mary and Joseph) to have the immense grace of seeing him. And, once they leave the grotto, they go and tell everyone what they have seen: they are the first evangelizers in history. The listeners remain astonished, not only by the announcement, but also because these simple men from the people and keepers of sheep, filled with enthusiasm, continually glorify and praise God. The attitude of the Virgin Mary is different: she too is astonished by the ineffable miracle of divine motherhood; she has no words, she is overwhelmed and adores in silence. For nine months she carried the Lord Jesus in her womb, and now she gazes upon him in her arms; every word is superfluous. Hers is an expression of pure love, because, as Charles Péguy said, great truths are communicated in silence. The shepherds see and announce; Mary sees and adores. Mary has an immaculate heart: she adores. The Church lives both dimensions: it sees and adores, like Mary; it sees and cries out enthusiastically to announce the coming of the Savior, like the shepherds.