MARY THE PREDESTINED.
September 8, 2021
Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
“Those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to
the image of his Son…” (Rom 8:29)
A Congolese proverb says: “The day the monkey is destined to
die, all the trees get slippery.” And a Corsican proverb adds: “At birth, your
fate is written.”
Great joy in the household of Joachim and Anne. A daughter
is born who will give birth to the Savior of the world. With delight we rejoice
in the Lord for he has given us the Mother of His Son. God in his great and
mysterious love foreknew how he will work out human salvation. So, he forechose
Mary to be part of his project. She was chosen by the Father. She was chosen
for the Son. She was chosen by the Spirit to be the Blessed Mother of the
Savior.
In the liturgical calendar, only three people have their
birth celebrated, and these three are united to a unique plan, the mystery of
salvation. We talk of Mary, the Mother of the Lord, John the Baptist, the great
Prophet and precursor, and Jesus our Lord and Savior.
The Nativity of Mary marks the beginning of God's
recreation, of his mystery of salvation. He predestined for himself a womb that
will carry him.
In the Feast of the Nativity of Mary, we celebrate the dawn
of a new day. It also says something of the Immaculate Conception, how God
prepared this humble Lady of Nazareth to become the Blessed Mother of His
Divine Son.
All the readings proposed for our meditation say something
specific about Mary and her role in the mystery of salvation. In the first
option of the first reading, the Prophet Micah speaks of God's visitation to
his people, the Messianic time, the time when she who is to give birth has
borne. Here we have a full revelation of the Savior to be born in our humanity
through a woman. The origin of that woman is also clearly revealed, from the
smallest tribe of Judah, Bethlehem-Ephrathah. The mission of this born Son is
also revealed, "He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock by the strength
of the LORD..." The woman is associated with this project to be his
mother.
St. Paul, in our second optional reading, speaks of
predestination. God foreknew his project on mankind. And to act at the
unfolding of that project, he predestined Mary. He chose her among all women
and blessed her with a special grace. For, Paul says, "We know that all
things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his
purpose." She was chosen and called according to his purpose and so he
made her immaculate for himself as a dwelling place.
The Gospel of Matthew speaks of the Lord's genealogy and his
birth. And there, we are also shown the special position God gave Mary. While
many of the ancients and great names are related to their fathers and
forefathers, the Lord is mentioned as born of Mary betrothed to Joseph. If the
genealogy before Jesus was patriarchal or patrilineal, with the birth of Jesus
it became matriarchal, matrilineal, with a very relevant place given to a
woman. We got a paradigmatic change, and Mary stands at the highest level of
this change. For, "Of her was born Jesus who is called the Messiah."
The Nativity of Mary plunges us into God's concern for our humanity. He is coming to save us and he will make use of our humanity to work at this salvation. The redemptive plan of God enters today in its final stage. With Mary at our side, may we be filled by God with all his graces like he did with his lowly handmaid.
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