007 Feast of the Mary Mother of God

Readings

Cycle B The Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary  Mother of God

Old Testament: Numbers 6:22-27

Psalm: 63:2-3, 5-6, 8

New Testament: Galatians 4:4-7

Gospel: Luke 2:16-21

Homily Theme
Count Your Blessings

As Catholics we are constantly asking our priests to bless us, our homes and our religious objects. My favorite story of what it means to be blessed came from a six year old child. When he was asked why he wanted to have his rosary blessed, he replied, “God will have touched it.” What a beautiful thought! A blessing is to be touched by God. Today in the readings, count how many times the word blessed or blessing is used, and then count how many times God has touched your life this past year. Near Year’s Day is a time to look back over the old year and review all the events of that have touched our lives. The media will highlight all the big events both good and bad. The Church also starts every New Year with the most favored and Blessed of all creatures: Mary the Mother of God. What greater blessing could there be than to be God’s incarnate mother? Her womb was touched by God, not by man.

Maybe you were blessed with a new wife or husband; a new home or job; a recovery from illness or new friends. Count your blessings today. Count the number of times that God has touched your life. Even the so called bad things that happen to us can be a blessing if they bring us closer to God and change the direction of our lives. St. Ignatius of Loyola was seriously wounded in battle and during his long recuperation he studied the life of Christ, the only book available to read at the time. Something bad happened to him when he was wounded, but it was a great blessing that changed his life. He was deeply touched by God by those wounds. From now on, whenever you see the word blessed, always think of it as, ‘touched by God’.

The most Blessed Sacrament, the Sacrament most touched by God, so deeply touched by Him that it becomes Him in the Holy Eucharist. Make a new resolution to visit Him more often in the Blessed Sacrament during this New Year so you will have many more blessings to count next year.