Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent



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Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent
(Dec 24, 2006)

Intro: Have you ever thought about why we call her the Blessed Virgin Mary. Of course Mary is her name And crucial to our faith is that she gave birth to Jesus as a Virgin. But why do we call her Blessed?
Mary predicted it when she proclaimed: All generations will call me Blessed

* When Mary came to visit her, not once but three times Elizabeth called Mary Blessed:
Blessed are you among women; Blessed is the fruit of your womb
And Blessed are you who believed the Word spoken to you by the Lord.

· We speak of something or someone as a blessing, because that person or object in some way brings God into our world. If there is anyone of whom it could be said that she brought God into our world it would be Mary. She was truly blessed and a source of blessing for the whole human race

A)    Blessed is the fruit of your womb. Mary is a mother – the Mother of Jesus
She had the special privilege of carrying God in her womb. The Orthodox and Greek Catholics refer to Mary as the Theotokos or God-Bearer.
      While pregnancy may not always seem like a blessing for a woman who is going through a rough time or an unexpected pregnancy, it is an awesome reality to bring a new human life into this world

· Mary’s womb became the first Tabernacle of Christ’s real presence
Her womb is the Ark of the Covenant, bringing Jesus to near to Jerusalem, at the house of Elizabeth and Zachary

B) Blessed are you among women. Mary to be seen as the special woman –
In John’s Gospel: it is at the behest of Mary, whom Jesus calls Woman , that he performs his first Sign turning water into wine. And on the Cross to the beloved disciple, that Jesus says: Woman, behold your son. And to the beloved: Behold your mother –
Thus the link between Woman and Mother of the church.

*Historical footnote: Just a few weeks ago, Pope Benedict chose to have mass at Ephesus, Turkey, just outside the house which tradition has claimed to be the house where Mary lived with John, the beloved disciple.

However, I think an even more interesting historical evolution of Mary’s role has been to help us discover the feminine side of God. While we know Mary is not God, as Catholics believing Mary is in Heaven, there is a feminine dimension of religion and Heaven. In the book of Revelation, many people see Mary in the text about the Woman clothed with the Sun.

C) Blessed are you who believed the Word spoken to you by the Lord. We do not honor Mary just because Jesus occupied her womb. Ultimately we refer to her as the Blessed Virgin Mary because she believed the Word spoken to her by the angel Gabriel and said yes to God’s plan for her life.
Her faith in God’s Word was so profound that she totally and unselfishly delivered over her plans and dreams so that God could be incarnate in our world.

Conclusion: Since a blessing refers to something or someone who brings God into our world, we can see how totally she deserves to be called The Blessed Virgin Mary . Mary is blessed to be the provider of the Womb which carried God, the Woman who brings the feminine dimension to our church, all made possible by her belief in the Word spoken to her by God.
And all generations will call me blessed.

Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent (Dec 24, 2006)

Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent
(Dec 24, 2006)