September 08, 2012
Saturday
The Nativity of the Blessed
Virgin Mary (Feast)
by
Rev. Fr. Jun Sescon (Chaplain, Sto. Niño de Paz Greenbelt Chapel)
Morning Mass at Sto. Niño de Paz Greenbelt Chapel
1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus
Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and
Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah
by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, 4 and Ram the father of Ammin'adab, and
Ammin'adab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Bo'az by
Rahab, and Bo'az the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king.
And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uri'ah, 7 and Solomon the father of Rehobo'am,
and Rehobo'am the father of Abi'jah, and Abi'jah the father of Asa, 8 and Asa the father of Jehosh'aphat, and
Jehosh'aphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzzi'ah, 9 and Uzzi'ah the father of Jotham, and
Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezeki'ah, 10 and Hezeki'ah the father of Manas'seh,
and Manas'seh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josi'ah, 11 and Josi'ah the father of Jechoniah and
his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. 12 And after the deportation to Babylon:
Jechoni'ah was the father of She-al'ti-el, and She-al'ti-el the father of
Zerub'babel, 13 and Zerub'babel the
father of Abi'ud, and Abi'ud the father of Eli'akim, and Eli'akim the father of
Azor, 14 and Azor the father of
Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eli'ud, 15 and Eli'ud the father of Elea'zar, and
Elea'zar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph the
husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. 18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took
place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before
they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; 19 and her husband Joseph, being a just
man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered this, behold, an
angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of
David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her
is of the Holy Spirit; 21 she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save
his people from their sins." 22 All this took place to fulfil what the
Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 "Behold, a virgin shall conceive
and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel" (which means, God
with us).
HOMILY
Every
birth is a joyous occasion. For us, the coming of a baby is the coming of an
additional member of the family - a symbol of new life, which is full of
promises, full of potentials.
We see our dear Mother Mary is a grown-up, but she, too, started as a baby. And as a baby, she, too, had a life full of promises, a life full of potentials. As a baby, Mary had the sole privilege of being born without original sin. However, as a baby, Mother Mary also had her own weaknesses and frailties.
We see in today's Gospel the genealogy of our Lord Jesus Christ, and perhaps this is one, if not the most boring, of all the Gospels. But the Gospel tells us that our Lord is a God of long stories. And like Mary, we should place our trust in God - although life may seem boring, although life may seem heavy and we do not see its ending. Yes, Mother Mary was weak - but she had perseverance. She trusted in God's divine providence. When Jesus died, people may have told Mary "this is the end". But no. For Mary, she believed in Easter. And she believed that after Jesus' death comes a glorious ending.
Today, as we remember Mother Mary's birthday, let us also pray for the poor little souls who did not have a chance to be born, and for their mothers, that they may experience healing and conversion. Let us pray to the Lord that despite our difficulties in life - when everything seems heavy and life's promises seem bleak - we may be like our Blessed Mother Mary - trusting in the Lord and persevering. Let us pray that we may continue the journey until we behold the glory of the Lord.
