Daily Gospel Reflection
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September 8, 2020
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.
Her husband is Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God with us.”
I have started going back to work after working from home since March, and I am still getting used to my 45 minute daily commute. Before the pandemic, I used some of my commute time for quiet or guided prayer which allowed me to center my day and become more grounded before I arrived. I focused on God’s presence with us, Emmanuel. Lately, as I work on getting back in the groove, I’ve instead avoided the quiet moments that used to help me feel connected with God. This morning, on my drive, I approached my last turn before arriving at work. The sun shone through the forest trees and a light fog created a glorious scene of peace and comfort. I was suddenly reminded of God’s constant presence, Emmanuel. I hope to get back into this routine of using my drive for prayer time to look for these moments when God reminds me of the Spirit’s presence in my day.
Emmanuel. After reading this passage, this word – which we know and hear often – struck me in a new way. Knowing that the Son of God is with us always calms fears and nerves that stir up inside me, especially during these uncertain times. When we hear about division, violence, sickness, it is easy to get buried in the bad news. This passage is a reminder that God has already given us the great gift of presence.
Prayer
Loving Father, you entrusted to Saint Joseph your only Son and his mother, our mother, Mary. Joseph protected them from harm and taught Jesus how to work for a living so that he could provide for his mother. Grant that we too may know his protection and be strengthened by his courage and perseverance, so that we might embrace the daily tasks in front of us more fully. We ask this through your Son, our Lord. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Today, we remember the birth date of the one honored as the “God-bearer.”
Mary’s birth was the first realization of the promise of salvation through Jesus Christ. She was born without sin, pure and holy—“full of grace”—to prepare her to bear God’s Son to the world.
Among the saints, only Mary and St. John the Baptist have commemorations on the dates of their births and their deaths (or assumption to heaven, in Mary’s case). These two, above all other saints, heralded and participated in the arrival of our savior.
The birthplace of Mary is not known for certain. One ancient tradition holds that she was born in Nazareth. Another tradition states that she was born in Jerusalem in a neighborhood near the pool of Bethesda. Today there is a church in that neighborhood dedicated to St. Anne, Mary’s mother, and a crypt under that church designates a spot where Mary is believed to have been born. View images from that church in this part of our virtual pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
In the account of the first sin in Genesis, Eve was led astray by the figure of the serpent. Immediately upon discovering their sin, God said to the serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel” (Gen 3:15).
Because the offspring of the woman lethally strikes at the serpent’s head, this passage is allegorically understood as the final triumph of good over evil. Here is the first promise of a redeemer for fallen humanity, Jesus, and the passage notes he is born of woman, Mary. With her obedience, Mary reverses Eve’s disobedience and brings life to the world through her Son, Jesus.
When Father Edward Sorin, C.S.C., arrived at a missionary outpost on the American frontier in northern Indiana in November of 1842, he saw a frozen lake covered in snow. The purity of the scene reminded him of Mary, and he named the university he founded after Our Lady of the Lake: the University of Notre Dame du Lac.
Images of Mary abound on campus, including a depiction of her birth in the mural shown above from the Basilica. Of course, she also appears atop the golden-domed Main Building, where she stands 19 feet high and weighs 4,000 pounds. Relics of Mary, including pieces of her clothes and hair, rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.
Mary, Our Lady of the Lake, your obedience reversed Eve’s disobedience and brought life to the world—pray for us!