May Jesus Christ be
praised and may his holy Mother pray for us.
There is an ancient
tradition that on the final day of the year, or on the first day of the New
Year, three kinds of prayers are offered.
The Latin titles, which are really the first words of these prayers,
are: Miserere, Te Deum Laudamus, and Ave Maria. The Miserere
refers to Psalm fifty-one, which is the great canticle of repentance
offered by King David after his great sin.
It begins, Have mercy on me O God,
according to your great kindness.
The Te Deum Laudamus refers to
the great hymn of praise that is sung in the Liturgy of the Hours. It is similar to the Gloria that we sing at Mass, and begins: You are God, we praise you.
And the words Ave Maria are
the words that the Archangel Gabriel addressed to Our Lady, Hail Mary. Asking for mercy, giving praise to God, and
turning to Mary, are not a bad way to conclude a year. They are, in fact, not a bad way to conclude
each day.
Today we celebrate the
solemn feast of Mary, the Mother of God.
We recall today, one week since Christmas Day, the naming of the child
Jesus. In that holy name, through which
the dawn and fulfillment of salvation have broken upon us, we receive the
blessing of God and the true meaning of life.
Today we hear of the visit of the shepherds to the manger. These shepherds, who were poor and lived
apart from the rest of society, are the first to greet the child Jesus. Through the message of an angel and the songs
of the choirs of the heavenly hosts, these shepherds received the good news of
great joy that the Savior of the world had been born in the City of David. With
haste, the Scriptures tell us that the shepherds travelled to Bethlehem. With
haste they travelled, and so nothing unnecessary could be taken with
them. The heavy burdens must be left
behind, because the Lord Jesus Christ desired to sanctify the world by his most
merciful coming. These shepherds have
known mercy. Coming to Bethlehem, and
finding Mary and Joseph and the child in the manger, they glorified God for all
that they had seen and heard. These
shepherds have shown us praise. And
these shepherds, these simple men, have brought us to Mary, and she has shown
us Jesus.
Mary, the Mother of God
and Mother of the Church, ponders the great mystery of salvation and
redemption, the great mystery of suffering and glory, and the great mystery of
divine love in her immaculate heart.
Rightly then, dear brothers and sisters, do we turn to Mary at this
transition from year to year so that we might be transformed in this year from
glory to glory.
Mercy, praise, and Mary,
let us take these words for our New Year’s resolution. Let us implore the mercy of God today so that
we can leave the heavy burdens behind us and go with haste to Bethlehem. Let us join our voices to the song of praise
that the Church, on earth and in heaven, sings in praise to the glory of the
Father. And let us turn to Mary, asking
her to keep us in her heart, that we may be drawn ever closer to the heart of
her Son.
Preached
at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Monroe, NC
