Welcome to the 4th Sunday of Advent 2020.
We are only one small step away from the celebration of the most beautiful, meaningful, and family-oriented event for us Christians—Christmas; the Incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In today’s Gospel, Mary meets the Angel Gabriel, who announces to her that she will become the Mother of God. And, she said YES! She became the Mother of God and the Mother of Christ. But, Mary is the Mother of Christ in two senses. She is the Mother of Christ in the physical sense in that she carried Jesus in her womb and gave birth to him. This is an unrepeatable event and an honor that no other human being could share with her. But, she is also the Mother of Christ in a spiritual sense. In a spiritual sense, the role of being the Mother of Christ is available to all Christians. We all, men, women, and children, can and should become mothers of Christ.
What is this spiritual motherhood of Christ, and how does it happen? For the answer, we need to go right back to Jesus himself.
While he was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers were standing outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, “Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.” But to the one who had told him this, Jesus replied, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother”.
This shows that (a) Jesus expects his followers to be not only his brothers and sisters, but his mother as well, and (b) the way to be the mother of Jesus is by doing the will of God. Spiritual motherhood of Christ is attained by saying yes to God, even when God appears to demand from us what is humanly impossible, like asking Mary to be a virgin mother. To become mothers of Christ we need to make the prayer of Mary our own: “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word”.
This prayer of Mary has been known as the world’s greatest prayer. It is the prayer that brought God down from heaven to dwell in the soul and body of a lowly young woman. It is the prayer that brought about the greatest event in human history, God becoming human in Jesus. It is a prayer that changed forever the course of human history some 2000 years ago. This prayer is so very different from what has been called the world’s most common prayer, the prayer in which we try to get God to do our will. The world’s most common prayer says, “My will be done,” whereas the world’s greatest prayer says, “Thy will be done.”
It’s not easy to be the Mother of Christ. But in today’s gospel, Mary shows us how. It is in hearing God’s word and saying yes to God even when God’s will seems to go against all our plans and hopes for the future. As Christmas 2020 draws near, Mary reminds us that the best Christmas, in fact, the only true Christmas, is that Christ will be born, not in the little town of Bethlehem, but in the inner sanctuary of our hearts.
“O Come All Ye Faithfull…
”You are all invited for the Christmas celebrations 2020. Our Masses will be celebrated on Christmas Eve at 4 pm, 6 pm, and at 12 am – Midnight Mass. On Christmas Day there will be only one Mass at 10 am. Due to COVID, we will have limited capacities in the church (first come, first served) but for those who would be late or cannot find a pew in the church, there will be an option to participate the Mass in the Activities Center via live stream with the distribution of the Holy Communion.
The rest of the Christmas week mass schedule is as follows: Dec 25 – 9 am, Dec 26 – 5 pm, Dec 27 – 9 am, 11 am.
We are really looking forward to celebrate with You!!!