Beloved Children of God:
Grace and Peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you as we journey together this holy Season of Advent. We pray this Gaudate Sunday, Dec. 14, that the wondrous prophecy of God’s intervention redeems all deficiencies and we rejoice in this knowledge of He who was, is and will ever be. Isaiah tells us that God will set right what is wrong; that salvation is ours. Through, with and in God, we create a divine tapestry of transfiguration as we live together on this earth. On this Gaudate Sunday, we rejoice in the hope of the Lord!
It is our Blessed Mother who offers us this hope. This past week has been a week full of attention to Our Blessed Mother, as we observed the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary Dec. 8, and the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe Dec. 12. By her fiat (Lk 1:38), we receive everlasting hope. Through Mary’s obedience, the Son of God enters the world. The Cross is born in this fiat. The gift of salvation is born.
Mary is endowed with such immense and high roles. We know her as Mother of God, immaculate from conception, perpetually virginal from conception through natural death, the first disciple of her most precious Son, assumed body, spirit and soul into heaven, and Queen of the Universe in heaven and on earth. She spent her days on earth cooperating with God, so much so that she lived sharing in the redemptive mission of her Son.
“She far surpasses all creatures, both in heaven and on earth” (Lumen Gentium, #53). Yet, Mary is remarkably close to us, even though she surpasses us. Yes, she is to be esteemed, in a way that our Spiritual Mother would ask. She, through the Holy Spirit, brings Jesus into the world for our redemption, our salvation. We venerate her and love her in a way that is unique from any other person; in a way that is special as her Son gives her to us at Calvary.
As we continue our Advent journey, we seek to imitate our Blessed Mother in her love of God, in her offering of herself for our sake. Pray about the many ways in which you are called to serve God and how His salvation is fulfilled as you rise to His call. Like our Blessed Mother, you also carry God’s Word to each person you encounter. The first place to begin is within your own heart; to honestly vanquish any falsehoods or deficiencies. The Sacrament of Penance is a holy opportunity to examine how you serve God and to ask forgiveness when you might have failed.
Sharing God’s love within our family yields the home a sacred space. Praying together at meals, speaking with one another about our day’s experiences, encouraging one another in our efforts to serve God is proclaiming the Good News. The Good News will smile upon friends, co-workers, and strangers when we live our Blessed Mother’s fiat each day. Filling a bag with food for a person in need, volunteering to participate in various ministries, or offering to help a neighbor because of God’s love spread God’s goodness upon His earth.
The Season of Advent is also a time to participate in a retreat. There are opportunities offered at San Pedro Spiritual Development Center or spend a morning or afternoon in visitation at the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe in Orlando. Our priests, religious and seminarians gather for retreat or prayer during the Season of Advent.
We are given the treasure of God in the divine recompense of which Isaiah foretells. “He comes to save you,” the prophet Isaiah says. As we receive this redemption in the Bread from Heaven, may we follow our Blessed Mother and make our hearts firm to bear her Son throughout all the earth.