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We have begun another Church year with the season of Advent. During the first part of Advent, the readings of the Mass prepare us for the second coming of Christ in his glory.
Then on December 17 to December 24, the readings focus upon preparing us for Christ’s coming at Christmas.
On December 24, the Christmas season begins and ends with Jesus’ Baptism on January 10, 2021. As always, everyday we should be ready to receive and recognize Jesus’ comings in the grace-filled moments of our life.
Mary appears
In the Mass readings of the Advent and Christmas seasons, Mary appears more often than at any other time in the Church year because she is the mother of Jesus who gave the Divine J#esus a human nature.
Like her Son, she was fully open to doing God’s will!
The Church has declared her Jesus’ first and greatest disciple. By raising Jesus in a family, Mary and Joseph remind us of the crucial importance of the family as the domestic Church.
Mary is the patron saint of Advent because she carried Christ in her womb close to her heart.
She longed to give birth to Christ and offer him for the salvation of the world.
The dream of many devout Jewish girls was to be the messiah’s mother.
For God’s Word to become flesh, Jesus needed a special mother who would help him grow in his human nature in wisdom, understanding, and knowledge.
Mary was no ordinary Jewish girl. On the feast of the Immaculate Conception, we celebrate the good news that from the moment of her conception, Mary was free from sin.
Poet William Wordsworth called sinless Mary “our tainted nature’s solitary boast!”
Fr. Kevin O’Shea, a Marian expert, said that Mary was so in love with God that she conceived Jesus in her heart before she conceived Him in her womb.
Consequently, when God sent the angel Gabriel to ask Mary to be Jesus’ mother, she listened and responded, “May it be done to me according to your word.”
Mary agreed to become the mother of Jesus because she was fully open to doing God’s will.
Mary, the patroness of Advent, teaches us the importance of listening to God and seeking to do God’s will!
Understanding Mary’s role
On May 17, 1846, the bishops of the United States proclaimed Mary, under the title of her Immaculate Conception, as the principal patroness of our country.
On May 1, 2020, the bishops of our country and Canada reconsecrated their countries to Mary under the title of Mary, Mother of the Church.
The United States and their brother Canadian bishops especially sought the intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church, for strength in the struggle against COVID-19, looting, rioting, abortion, worldwide religious persecution, and loss of respect for God and others.
According to paragraph 102 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, through all the words of sacred Scripture, God speaks only one single word: Jesus.
Christ is the Father’s one utterance in whom He expresses Himself completely.
For Christians, Jesus Christ is the unique word of God who is the center of human history.
Mary gave birth to Jesus so that He could redeem us from our sins, teach us how to love as He loved, and offer us the gift of Heaven.
After Jesus rose and returned to Heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit to help us to love God and others and to enable us to call Jesus “Lord.”
Preparing for the Lord
Just as we prepare for guests who come for dinner, so also during Advent we prepare ourselves for his coming — at our death and then at his second coming at the end of the world.
The Church urges us to prepare in a special way for the coming of Christ at Christmas.
During Advent, let us each day remember that one of the best ways to receive and keep Jesus in our heart is through participating in Mass and listening attentively to the homily, for faith comes through hearing.
We can also receive Communion while making a special effort to recognize the consecrated host as the Body of Christ.
Surely the Blessed Mother received Christ in Communion and participated in Mass with the apostles and St. John into whose care Christ entrusted her.
Loving Father, these troubled times include COVID-19, looting, rioting, persecution, abortion, and often loss of respect for self and others.
Inspire us during the Advent and Christmas seasons to ask Mary, Mother of the Church, to intercede for us.
Like her, may we continue to receive Christ in our heart, and keep him there by sharing him, by encouraging those who are suffering, praying for them, and trusting in God’s providence.
Christ providently can change darkness to light, despair to hope, and violence to peace on earth and goodwill to all.
Like Mary, during Advent let us prepare for and celebrate the birth of Christ with renewed faith, hope, joy, and love. May we enjoy a blessed Advent and Christmas season!
Fr. Donald Lange is a pastor emeritus in the Diocese of Madison.