Mary Mother of God

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Mary as the Holy Mother of God, and the New Year as well.  Why is it that we Catholics insist that Mary is the Mother of God?  We do so for three reasons.

1)   We protect the Divinity of Christ

2)    We protect our own nature in and that we are raised up to the Divine nature of God

3)  Because we understand that all our relationships, with both the Church militant and the   Church triumphant are familial.

There are some Christians who shy away from calling Mary the Mother of God or any other title since they think it may impede on Christ or become false worship.  This is not the case or at least as is it needs to be understood.  There are even Catholic who have a hard time with Marian feasts and dogmas for whatever reasons, hopefully I can shed some light on the subject so that we can see that this dogma, “Mary as God’s Mother,” is both reasonable and correct.

All of us agree that Jesus is also God; He has two natures, human and divine.  Both natures are always at work and no one nature supersedes or diminishes the other, both work harmoniously.  Scripture is quite clear, for instance in the Gospel of John it says, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” (Jn 1:1)  Later in John it says, “Before Abraham came to be, I AM.” (Jn. 8:58)  Clearly the Gospel of John indicates that Jesus is Divine as do all the Gospels, especially in Jesus’ miracles.  Never once does He ask for help when He performs a miracle and in those miracles He also shows that He is Lord of nature, i.e. walks on water, raises the dead, etc.

If Jesus is Divine and the 2^nd person of the Trinity then He must have always been the 2^nd person of the Trinity even while in the womb of Mary, therefore Mary is the Mother of God.  St. Leo provided a nice little argument from logic proving that the title of Mary as Mother of God is indeed reasonable and logical.  Leo claimed:

If A is the Mother of B

And if B is C

Then A is also the Mother of C

Mary is the Mother of Jesus

Jesus is God

Therefore, Mary is the Mother of God

This is logic 101.

We also have Mary referred to in Scripture, at least implicity as the Mother of God when Mary visits Elizabeth.  Upon Mary’s arrival Elizabeth says to Mary, “And how does this happen to me, that the Mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Lk. 1:43)  The Jews would never say God’s name out of reverence, the name Yahweh was sacred so they substituted with Adonai, in Greek Adonai is translated as Kyrios, and in English both are translated as Lord.  Another way the passage can read is as, “And how does this happen to me, that the Mother of my God (Yahweh) should come to me.”

It is not just Mary’s title that we protect; again, we protect the Divinity of Christ, for if one claims that Mary is not the Mother of God ones begins to run into major difficulties explaining the personhood of Christ as regards His Divine nature.  We also run into problems of who we are.  Since God became man, God has lifted our nature towards Divinity, we become gods.  The Eastern Churches have a theological concept somewhat lost in the west which is called Theosis, meaning that when we receive saving grace we are becoming what Jesus is, namely divine.  So that there is no misunderstanding, we are not God, though we grow into what He is, i.e. Divine.  St. Paul says in Galatians 2:20, “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”  In another place we read, “He has granted to us his precious and very great promises, that through these you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of passion, and become partakers of the Divine nature.”  And from the great Church father St. Athanasius who defended the Divinity of Christ at the Council of Nicea from his work “On the Incarnation” says, “God became man so that men might become gods.” (Migne,Patrologia Graeca, 25, 192 B De incarnatione Verbi, 54) 

You can see the intimacy that God has with humankind.  It is one in which He becomes one of us, but also that He resides in us in the most intimate of ways, He mingles His nature with ours.  Mary, His mother shared that in the most intimate of ways, for the Lord’s heart rested in her very womb, hence the new Ark of the Covenant.  And yet, Mary like Jesus does not keep these things for herself, but shares them with us.  She shares her very motherhood with us.  From the Cross Jesus says to Mary, “Behold your son.”  And to his disciple John He says, “Behold your mother.”  C.f. John 19:26-27.  Mary embraces us as a mother, even from the Cross while her own Son is dying.  She does so because she understands that all of us are loved by God and have the Divine spark, but more importantly she loves us, as a dear mother who holds her children close.

Mary is therefore rightly called the Mother of God, not just as another title for herself, but so that we may be able to understand who Jesus is, as well as understanding who we are, all of us are children of God.  It is each day that we become more and more like God for just as God rested in Mary He desires to rest in us and He will in just a few moments when we celebrate the Eucharist.  Therefore, this New Year let us remember that when we receive the Eucharist, we become Jesus’ mother, father, sister and brother, we are becoming like gods.

Hello My Friend, It is Good to See You: Merry Christmas

Christmas, the biggest, the greatest, the brightest, the loudest and most spectacular birthday party in the entire world.  Every Christmas tree is a candle, every light is a flame on top of that candle, and every present is a sharing in the celebration of the most excellent of birthday parties, pretty awesome.  No one else receives this kind of party, simply no one.  Some believe we go overboard, that’s true if we spend beyond our limits or forget the real purpose of Christmas, but I say, “We can never go overboard for Jesus.”  There are not enough lights, trees or presents to fully express the love we feel for our Lord and it is today that we remember that love which broke into human history to save us.  It is beyond imagination that God in the 2^nd person of the Trinity would become one of us, fully human in every respect except sin.  That is the essence of Christmas – God is with us.

Mary and Joseph were the first recipients of God being in their midst, and yet He was still just their little boy.  They were a family, though the Holy Family, a family nevertheless, walking on their own journey of faith experiencing life in every respect which we do, with all of life’s sorrows and joys.  Once Jesus’ ministry went public then many others experienced God among them.  We know the stories handed down of all the miracles, the wonders, the prayers, the sacrifice, the love, all of it quite incredible, but the one thing that is most important and sometimes overlooked is that God, this 2^nd person of the Trinity walked among us as a friend.  The greatest stories, the ones that touch us the most are the ones about relationships, especially relationships that are healed, between sinner and God.

By Jesus becoming a man he takes on our nature.  How much closer can God come to us than that, by becoming what we are, one of his own?  Can we be loved anymore?  God saw our hurt, pain, our sin and the inability to make it right, so He came and made it right for us.  He took our place so that we would not have to suffer both here and after.  God indeed is love and the only reason we can love and know love is because He has given us Himself both in a manger in Bethlehem, but also in a manger in our hearts.

Remember as you open each present, exchange gifts, light the Christmas trees, turn on the outdoor lights, and everything else that goes with this day, that our Savior is being glorified, not just for his being born and his birthday, but that He is our friend, God came into this world so that He can sit with us and have fellowship and to say to each one of us, “Hello my friend it’s good to see you, it’s reallygood to see you.”  Merry Christmas Lord!

Fr. John

picture from: http://www.spirituallycomplete.com/2011/12/11/the-christmas-story-of-the-birth-of-jesus/

Fourth Sunday of Advent: Open Wide Your Hearts

           The time for Jesus to enter into human history is close at hand and that is why the Gospel today is from St. Luke on the Annunciation by the angel Gabriel to Mary.  Just as it was close then, the breaking of God into human history – in the literal sense, so too now in a figurative way, since Christ was already born, but still looking to be born in our hearts in the right here and right now.

          

          We have been celebrating Advent in order to open wide our hearts for Christmas day.  We open them wide not simply for presents, both in the giving and receiving, nor for all the Christmas lights, decorations, and everything else that goes with the celebration – yes those things are nice and even good, but there is something much more important and that is, allowing Jesus into my heart fully and completely.

          

          If we reflect on the Gospel it is clear that Mary does just that, allowing the Holy Spirit into her completely and without reservation, she opened heart wide.  She allowed no barriers to be raised or any type of blockage to interfere in her relationship with God, regardless of what God asked.  That is why the angel says, “Hail, full of grace.”

          

          Mary was blessed, this goes without saying, and more importantly are her responses to God when asked to prepare a place for Him in her heart.  Mary’s first difficulty was in her giving birth to Jesus.  Most women and families throughout history will find help and places of comfort in delivering a child, for Mary she was asked along with Joseph to press on through the streets of Bethlehem until finally arriving at a manger.  What was going through her mind as her birth pains increased and yet they still could find no place?  The next thing we hear in Scripture of Mary is when she and Joseph bring the child to the temple for circumcision in order to fulfill the law, a beautiful moment for a family, similar to our own baptismal celebrations.  For Mary though it was quite different.  Simeon prophesied that Jesus would be the reason for the rise and fall of many and that a sword would pierce her own heart.  Not the words a mother wants to hear at a time like that.  It would happen again when Mary and Joseph lost Jesus in Jerusalem for three days.  In finding him he simply responds, “You know I had to be about my Father’s work.”  Mary is already being asked to let go and begin allowing her Son to follow his road, one in which would lead to crucifixion and finally resurrection.

          

          In all of these Mary opened her heart and trusted God.  We give Mary many titles, and rightly so, she is the best example of a human being paving and making straight the path to her heart so that it could be open for God.

          

          The same applies to us.  If Mary is truly a Mother to us and the most excellent of examples among the Saints then we must try to imitate her and do so to the best of our abilities.  God is asking something of each of us.  Are we opening wide our hearts?  This is the time to do it.  Christmas is one week away and Christ will be born in us.  If there is anything I need to have removed, cleansed, paved away the Lord is asking us to do it right now, for remember, “Today is the day of salvation, today is the acceptable time.”  So, open wide your hearts!

Fr John

picture from http://freechristimages.org/biblestories/annunciation.htm

           

Thank You Brothers and Sisters

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As we watch and wait for the coming of Christ in the celebration of his birth St. Paul in his 1^st letter to the Corinthians reminds us, “to rejoice always, and to pray without ceasing.”  We do this, rejoice and pray always, not just to await Christmas, but to await our ultimate meeting with Christ, when He calls us from this life to the next.  The Church provides liturgical seasons as reminders to pray and to prepare; the seasons reflect the rhythm of life and even death.

My dad passed away on Nov. 28^th, 2011.  One never imagines their loved one dying, one never believes it will happen, regardless of when and circumstance, hence Jesus coming like a thief in the night was not exaggerated by him.  I think Jesus allows us to believe that we are safe and that it doesn't hit home in order to keep us sane and to live with enthusiasm and vigor, but when He does call that we will not be completely off guard, therefore in some way we need to reflect on death, but to do so not with fear, but with longing to meet our Lord.

           

My dad was not caught off guard, but was awaiting His master with diligence and more importantly with love.  Since I can remember my dad lived Advent, Lent, Ordinary Time, etc., always.  He prayed upon waking, would stop in his tracks at 12pm to recite the Angelus, he prayed the rosary often, read Scripture and the Catechism often, viewed religious programs and movies, attended daily mass and exceptionally loved Sunday mass.  One would think he was a priest.  In many ways he was, though not ordained he lived out his baptismal priesthood (royal priesthood) with all care and love.  He did so through prayer, devotion to family and friends, and in complete surrender to the Lord on the day of his surgery.

            

I want to take this time to thank the great and good people of Elmer, Woodstown, and Mullica Hill of the Catholic Community of the Holy Spirit Parish who have shown my family great kindness, generosity, and prayers during our time of mourning as well as rejoicing. “The Lord gives, the Lord takes away, blessed be the Lord.” (Job)  Your support and kindness has overwhelmed me and brings me to tears.  I will pray for you and I ask that you send me your prayer requests so that I may begin a 30 day novena for you all, please email me at fr.johnpicinic@holyspiritweb.org.


I also wish to express a big thank you to Fr. Tony, my pastor, Deacon Bob and Deacon Steve Theis, all who traveled a long way to be with my family.  I also thank Fr. Gio and Deacon Anton from St. John the Baptist Church in Fairview, NJ.  I thank all my brother priests and deacons from the Diocese of Camden who sent condolences to my family.  


I also thank all my dear Aunts and Uncles, cousins, and close friends who supported us and continue to pray for us, you are in my daily prayers. 

Looking forward to seeing you all this Sunday.  I pray that God blesses you all with abundant graces and good health.  God be with you!  FJ