January 1, 2022 Homily

The Octave Day of Christmas, Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God

Saturday, January 1, 2022

Readings: Click here to read full text
    Reading I: Nm 6:22-27
    Responsorial Psalm: Ps 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8
    Reading II: Gal 4:4-7
    Gospel: Lk 2:16-21

Becoming Agents and Proclaimers of the Good News of Salvation

Like the shepherds in our Gospel, we too can become agents and proclaimers of the good news of salvation if we ponder like Mary.

Before Christmas, our Advent Liturgy prepared us for the coming of the Christ, the birth of the Savior. During this Christmas season, our liturgy prepares and empowers us to be agents and proclaimers of this good news.

These shepherds proclaimed to Mary and Joseph what they heard from the angel regarding the child. They made known what they had found, as the angel told them. The Gospel tells us, "All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds." These shepherds had leveled up. They became agents and proclaimers of the good news.

Today, we are celebrating the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, to remind us of the fullness of the humanity and divinity of Jesus and of the extraordinary role of Mary in the plan of salvation. Rightfully, the Church, since the early 3rd century, venerated Mary as theotokos, meaning God-Bearer in Greek. This celebration invites us to reflect on the graciousness of God toward Mary and how she responded to such divine grace. In our Gospel, Mary, having heard what the shepherd said about Jesus, her Son, "kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart." All her life, she kept and treasured, reflected and prayed upon in her heart everything about her Son, Jesus, who was her life.

It is this attribute of Mary that we need to emulate. If we ponder and pray as Mary did, then, we too will be able to see and experience how gracious God is to us. This empowers us to become agents and proclaimers of the good news of salvation.

In this new year, I enjoin you to ponder upon God’s graciousness despite the darkness wrought by the pandemic and the typhoon Odette.  Let us also ponder for the coming 2022 national elections and not easily follow what others and the candidates are doing and saying. Let us be like Mary, the theotokos. Let us be "God-bearers" this year and onwards, especially in the coming elections.

Like the shepherds in our Gospel, we too can become agents and proclaimers of the good news of salvation if we ponder like Mary.

Fr. Joel R. Lasutaz, SSS

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