Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God

Our readings for the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God are:

1. Numbers 5: 22-27
2. Psalm 67: 2-3, 5, 6, 8
3. Galatians 4:4-7
4. Luke 2: 16-21

• Be a blessing
• One of the supreme ironies that you hear about more and more these days occurs when management hatches a scheme to save money, and it involves the present employees training their eventual replacements.  In such circumstances, it's easy, maybe even justifiable, to intentionally or unintentionally sabotage such efforts, often to the detriment of everyone involved.
• Has there ever been a situation where you were called to be a blessing in someone else's life at your expense?
• What sort of struggles did you go through in that situation?
• Did you eventually become the blessing to that other person?
• How did that change you?

• God's watching over us
• When you think of God's face as it's turned towards you, what sort of expression do you see God wearing?
• If you were to try to summarize God's feelings towards you in three words, what might those be?
• What would you rather those three words be?

• The family business
• If we are all heirs to the Kingdom, what does each of us feel the deepest need for in our lives that we may fulfill that destiny richly?
• For my part, humility and wisdom are at the top of my list.  The humility to truly see myself as God sees me, the wisdom to see the true meaning of the events and condition of the world around me.
•  In which ways are the virtues like athletic skills?
• How are the different?
• How can we make room in our lives for a greater practice of the virtues so that we steadily become better at them?

• Taking time to ponder
• Do you ever feel as though life is happening too fast, demanding too much of you?
• Do you think that we are able to live better if we ponder, mull over, our lives?
• What practices are there that can help that intentional savoring of life?
• How can we help each other get better at it?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Am I afraid to be a blessing to others in my life?
2. When was the last time that I took time to delight in the presence of God, and let Him delight in me?
3. What am I doing to become more ready for the Kingdom?
4. What can I do to slow my life down, even if it's just a little?

The Smell of the Nativity

The stable was pretty well kept, all in all.
The stalls had been mucked out recently.
The straw relatively clean.

At least that's what the innkeeper said.
To a carpenter's nose, the stench was searing.
And yet, whenever I smell that bouquet of odors

I'm carried back to that lonely inn
Where Mary & I had found shelter for the night
Against the bitter cold outside.

Just when I thought that I had coped
With all of the practical essentials there
This band of shepherds shows up, excited beyond measure.

My first thought was "Oh bother", but Mary stopped me
With a glance that I was already learning to respond to.
And we listened to their amazing story.

And I realized that this time, this place,
Was a gateway to God's heart,
And that heaven was closer than ever before.

And suddenly, the scratchy straw was nothing to worry about
I realized that the stench of the stable came from the same place
As the warmth in those cramped quarters.

I realized that we were not alone, but surrounded
By a great cloud of witnesses through all of time and space
Hanging on every move, every word.

And I knew that all of the chaos, the unpredictability
Were there to break me open
The the vastness of eternity come down to Earth.

And I knew that we were home.

Shalom!