In which area of your life do you need most the assistance of the Blessed Mother? - Daily Reflections January 1,2014

MARY: MOTHER OF GOD AND OUR MOTHER

A blessed and grace-filled 2014 to you and all your loved ones!

       You may be asking, what will this year bring to you? Do I sense some anxiety behind this question? If so, it’s understandable because, in the past, we have experienced not only good things. A loved one might have died. Problems, personal and otherwise, might have beset us. The daily news about terrorist attacks, wars, massacres, typhoons and earthquakes all over the world just add to our anxiety.

       And so we ask with some anxiety: What will this year bring – for me, for my loved one, for our society, and for the world?

       How meaningful and consoling it is that the Church presents to us, on this first day of the year, a feast of the Blessed Mother under the title “Mother of God.” When she stood at the foot of the cross of her Son, her maternal vocation and mission received another dimension. With the lines, “Woman, behold you Son” and “Behold your Mother,” Jesus gave His Mother to His future community, represented by John. Here, the Mother of God became our Mother!

       Mary, the Mother of God and our Mother, is the best mother one can ever imagine. She was always close to her Son – from the moment she conceived Him in her womb until He died in agony. She was never far away!

       In the same way, Mary cares for us, her children. Many of us have experienced her maternal closeness and help.

       What will this year bring? A consoling answer emerges from today’s feast: it will be another year with our heavenly Mother! Another year full of problems, but we are never left alone. The Blessed Mother journeys with us through all our experiences this year. Especially in times of danger, she will be close by. When we feel weak, she will give us strength. When we ask why certain things are happening to us, she will tell us: “You will understand later, as I, too, understood God’s plan much later. Just trust in Him as I trusted, and everything will turn out right.” Fr. Rudy Horst, SVD

REFLECTION QUESTION: In which area of your life do you need most the assistance of the Blessed Mother?

Mary, Mother of God and my Mother, accompany me and my loved ones this year. With you at our side, we can face whatever is God’s plan for us. Mother, we need you.