OXYGEN

01 Jan- Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

The Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God is celebrated on Jan 1, the Octave Day of Christmas (i.e. 8th day after Christmas). It is a celebration of Mary’s motherhood of Jesus. The title “Mother of God” is a western derivation from the Greek term ‘theotokos’, the God-bearer.

The term ‘theotokos’ was adopted at the Council of Ephesus as a way to assert the divinity of Christ, from which it follows that what is declared of Christ is declared of God. So, if Mary is the mother of Jesus, she is the Mother of God. Therefore, the title ‘Mother of God’ and the ‘Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God’, which celebrates her under this title, are at once Mariological and Christological.

- Wikipedia

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Numbers 6:22-27

The Lord spoke to Moses and said, ‘Say this to Aaron and his sons: “This is how you are to bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them:
May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord let his face shine on you and be gracious to you.
May the Lord uncover his face to you and bring you peace.”

This is how they are to call down my name on the sons of Israel, and I will bless them.’

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Galatians 4:4-7

When the appointed time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born a subject of the Law, to redeem the subjects of the Law and to enable us to be adopted as sons. The proof that you are sons is that God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts: the Spirit that cries, ‘Abba, Father’, and it is this that makes you a son, you are not a slave any more; and if God has made you son, then he has made you heir.

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Luke 2:16-2

The shepherds hurried away to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. When they saw the child they repeated what they had been told about him, and everyone who heard it was astonished at what the shepherds had to say. As for Mary, she treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds went back glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen; it was exactly as they had been told.

When the eighth day came and the child was to be circumcised, they gave him the name Jesus, the name the angel had given him before his conception.

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As for Mary, she treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart.

I believe that one of the greatest struggles we go through in life is our struggle to be our own gods, and to let God be God. This is the same struggle that Adam and Eve went through when they wanted to be as knowledgeable and wise as God; hence, they ate the forbidden fruit. While it is easy to blame Adam and Eve for the downfall of humankind, haven’t we also intentionally chosen to make mistakes so that we can grow in wisdom and experience?

I once had a friend who told me that she wanted to get into a wrong relationship so that she could then finally experience why such relationships are wrong for her, rather than simply knowing in her head that these relationships are bad for her. While it is not wrong to desire growth in wisdom and experience, intentionally disobeying God to achieve this goal is wrong. What it reveals is our impatience, our need for certainty and an ability to control our lives and our rate of growth.

Unlike us, Mary followed God’s will for her life obediently and patiently. In times when she did not understand, she simply remembered these events and reflection upon them, patiently trying to piece the puzzle together. Though she had the same desire as us (i.e., she wanted to understand), her method for trying to understand differed greatly from us. She obeyed God and trusted in God’s timing. We, on the other hand, become impatient with God’s timing; hence, we run away from God and try to make sense of events in our lives on our own. Simply stated, we choose to become our own gods.

My dear brothers and sisters, remembering that our God is a patient, merciful and loving God, let us seek His forgiveness and ask Him for His help, so that we might be able to deal with uncertainty with patience and trust in Him. Whenever we are tempted to become our own gods, let us look to Mary as a role model and guide in our life, so that we too can deal with uncertainty with patience and complete trust in our Lord. 

(Today’s OXYGEN by Jean Cheng)
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Prayer: Dear Jesus, the desire in me to gain full control of everything in my life can sometimes overwhelm me. Please help me to surrender myself to you and to always place my trust in your love for me.

Thanksgiving: We give thanks to Mother Mary for showing us that it is possible to live with our human tendencies (e.g., desiring to grow in knowledge) while allowing our God to be God. 

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Upcoming Readings:
Fri, 02 Jan – 1 John 2:22-28; John 1:19-28; Weekday before Epiphany; Sts Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, bishops, doctors
Sat, 03 Jan – 1 John 2:29-3:6; John 1:29-34; Weekday before Epiphany; Holy Name of Jesus
Sun, 04 Jan – Isaiah 60:1-6, Psalm 72, Ephesians 3:2-3a. 5-6, Matthew 2:1-12, Epiphany of the the Lord