blessing
The Great Value Of A Visit
4th Sunday of Advent
Fr. Mark Gatto
Preached: December 22, 2024
Which prayer do you think is said more than any other in our world today?
It is actually the prayer rooted in today’s gospel. We see the greeting of Elizabeth when Mary visits her. “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus.” This prayer, as part of the Hail Mary, is said so often by so many people. Fifty times each time someone prays the Rosary.
As a child I remember hearing my sister say that she was told to pray 3 Hail Marys before going to sleep each night. I started doing that as a young boy and never stopped. Not something deep or mystical, yet I believe that simple act of prayer each night somehow helped me spiritually through the years.
This prayer springs from a visit. Mary has just experienced the Annunciation, she is pregnant with Jesus. Her first act is to go off on a journey to visit her cousin Elizabeth to help her. It inspires this prayer. Of course, the most important visit ever, was when God, our Creator, came to visit us. God comes as a baby, we say Emmanuel, God with us. In Jesus, God visits us in a way we could see, hear and touch. God continues to visit us in Jesus today in the Sacraments.
Also, in a way that we can see, hear and touch. In this Eucharist, we see, hear and touch Jesus who is really present. The Mass is a mutual visit, we come to visit Jesus and Jesus comes to visit us. The great value of a visit. Mary went to visit her cousin Elizabeth and both were inspired. God visited us in Jesus and continues to visit us today in the Sacraments.
There is great value in a visit. A simple visit is good for the other and for us. A simple visit is something we can do that will help our faith, help us when lacking joy or feeling empty. A simple visit will bring hope to the other, and if our heart is open, will allow God to speak to us as well.
My advice to anyone wanting to grow in faith or to deal with personal struggles: go and visit someone. It seems so simple. Yet, a visit is something deeply spiritual and very valuable.
As we leave Mass today, all of us are invited to reflect on who could use a visit from us. Perhaps a phone call, perhaps to drop in and see them. Like Mary, a visit can be a blessing for the person we visit and for us.
Recently, our St. Vincent de Paul Society provided packages of gift cards for over 100 people and families in our area. This was thanks to your generosity. You could say that these packages given out by our parish St. Vincent de Paul Society were like a holy visit to these people.
Today we heard about that visit of Mary to Elizabeth which led to a prayer that is said countless times each day throughout the world. Soon we will be recalling the greatest visit in history as we celebrate Christmas. Never underestimate the great spiritual and human value of one visit.
May God Be Gracious And Bless Us
Solemnity Of Mary, Mother Of God
Deacon Tom Vert
Preached: January 1, 2023
“May God be gracious and bless us and let His face shine upon us.”
This is the refrain from the psalm we have sung today and shows us the theme from today’s readings of blessings.
Blessing in our context means to have God’s presence in us and along with us each day.
A blessing first is not a powerless wish, or a hope, or a polite gesture, but instead it is an empowering and transforming word that accomplishes its purpose.
This is because a blessing does not come from us but has its source as the Father himself in God’s presence being bestowed upon us.
Father Mark or I, will be the first to tell you that if God was counting on us to be the transforming power in the world by our own strength and wisdom, the world would be in big trouble!
Instead, when a blessing is proclaimed, it is God himself who brings His presence into the world through the actions of the Holy Spirit, working through us and not because of us.
Whether it is the blessing of the water for baptism, the blessing during the sprinkling of water on us at Easter, or the blessing of the people as you exit the mass today – you can believe without a doubt that God is present.
At Christmas, we celebrate Christ physically born into the world and His presence among the people 2000 years ago.
But we also celebrate that He is still present to us as a blessing. He is present in the Eucharist of course, but He is also present each day when we love and care for another as we live our Christian faith.
I really like the beautiful quote from the play Les Miserables “to love another is to see the face of God”.
We are God’s blessing in the world today, and we are called also today to reflect on the blessing of Mary as our example and guide.
‘Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb – Jesus!”
These words are so well known to us in the Catholic Christian tradition – they are the words of scripture – from the voice of Elizabeth to her cousin Mary when she comes to visit her to help here during her pregnancy.
Elizabeth says the words we know so well that Mary is a blessing to us and Mary tells us this herself in her response to Elizabeth: “all generations will call me blessed, as the Almighty has done great things”!
We see Mary’s humility that we are called to emulate, as she doesn’t take credit for being blessed and full of grace; but gives that honour to God who has done great things through her.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee! This beautiful phrase spoken by the angel Gabriel to Mary, shows how God is present in our Holy Mother.
But these phrases are not meant for Mary alone, but also for us, as we are also called by our baptisms to do great things for others and be a blessing in their lives.
In the gospel we see this same message. The shepherds are blessed to be in the presence of the Holy Family when they visit the stable. But it doesn’t stop there as they respond to this blessing in their lives by “glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.” They spread the message of joy to all!
We are also to spread the message as well because as St. Paul tells us in the 2nd reading: “So you are no longer a slave but God’s child, and if a child then also an heir”.
We are sons and daughters of God, we are heirs, we are entrusted to keep passing on the gifts of God to others, and as such, we are blessed!
This blessing we see in the beautiful teaching to Moses and Aaron the priests in the first reading today, where he shows them how they are to bless the people.
He has a threefold blessing for them:
“May the Lord bless you and keep you” – in other words to make himself present to you and protect you on your journey!
“May the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you” – therefore to have his face shine on you is to make his presence known to you (to see him face to face and not hidden or far away or unreachable) and fill you with his grace and love.
“May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace” – in other words may God pay attention to you and give you fullness of life – the word peace is “shalom” – which means – peace, prosperity, health, safety, completeness and having nothing to fear.
This is the true meaning of peace today – not just an absence of war – but instead a full and completed life given through and with God.
As we begin this New Year – Father will invoke this blessing on us at the end of mass today – may we be truly gracious and humble as God brings his presence into our lives in this most exceptional of ways and may we be blessings to others as we bring his joy, love, peace and kindness into their lives!
Truly, “May God be gracious and bless us and let His face shine upon us.”
The Bearer Of God
Feast of Mary Mother of God
Fr. Paul Patrick, O.M.I.
Posted: December 31, 2020
1.0 Solemnity of Mary Mother of God
Today in the Catholic Church we celebrate the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God while at the same time around the world, we celebrate New Year’s Day. The title “Mother of God” is a translation of the Greek word Theotokos which literally means “the Bearer of God” Thus, today we are reminded of the role which Mary, the Mother of God, played in our salvation.
The reason why we venerate Mary as Mother of God is precisely because by her co-operation with God’s plan for her, she brought salvation to the entire world in the form of Jesus Christ. Mary remains an excellent model for us in our daily struggle to give our ‘yes’ to God and follow His plan for us in our own personal lives.
When we think about the life of a great person who has passed on, oftentimes we use this phrase to describe them: “That person’s life was a blessing to others” Mary, Mother of God’s life was indeed – a blessing to others.
2.0 First Reading and a Blessing
In the First Reading (Numbers 6:22-27) we hear a beautiful blessing which the Lord gives to His people through Moses. This ancient Jewish blessing is generally referred to as the Priestly blessing and consists of 3 parts. “The LORD bless you and keep you. (1) The LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. (2) The LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. (3) (cf. Numbers 6:24)
The first part contains a word in Hebrew “Yeesh’merecha” translated as “keep you” but also has many meanings including “guard” “save” and “protect” The second and third parts contain an idiom in Hebrew “‘The LORD make His face to shine upon you/lift up His countenance upon you” which means that a person will benefit from God’s goodness to them. The blessing ends with a wish for peace.
3.0 Being a Blessing for Others
Blessings should be understood in this two-fold way: God fills us with his graces so that, like Mary, Mother of God, we in turn go out and make a difference – or be a blessing – in the lives of others. Blessings are not mere pious images to comfort us, but they are actual moments where God fills us with His graces, and in return, God expects that we spread that blessing among everyone we meet in our lives, both those we love, and those we dislike (cf Matthew 5:43-44)
Let 2021 be a year in which, having received the blessing of God, we cast aside bitterness, anger, disillusion, hatred, division, and in its place substitute the blessing, peace and love of God.
“May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord let his face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord uncover his face to you and bring you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
Happy New Year and Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God!