Feast of Mary, Mother of God

 This is the Octave of the Nativity. It deepens the insight given the Church regarding the Incarnation and the mystery of the Holy Trinity. Jesus, born of the Virgin, is truly human and as second person of the Holy Trinity is truly God. The Virgin, therefore, is revealed as Theotokos, the God-bearer and hence Mother of God. Through baptism we are incorporated into Christ Jesus. Thus, God becomes our Father, as he taught us to pray and his mother becomes our Mother. As we hear in the Second Reading: "But when the fulness of time had come, God sent his son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children." (Gal 4: 4-5) We become temples of the Holy Spirit. As a result we live no longer for ourselves but for the one who gave his life for us: "... for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise."(Gal 3: 29) The Holy family becomes our family and we live as part of the household of God which is the Church: "... you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the loving God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth." ( 1 Tim 3: 15) For this great blessing we can join with the shepherds who: "... returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them." (Lk 2: 20)