Collect for Feast of Mary Mother of God

COLLECT SERIES.

 

THE MASS: COLLECT SERIES ICON

COLLECT

The Collect for the Feast of Mary Mother of God reads as follows:

O God, through the fruitful virginity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

bestowed on the human race the grace of eternal salvation,

grant, we pray,

that we may experience the intercession of her,

to whom we were found worthy

to receive the author of life, Your Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son.



REFLECTION QUESTIONS

In making this prayer tangible for my life during the week, the following questions emerged:

1.            What is my spiritual connection with the Blessed Virgin Mary?

2.            How might Mary assist my spiritual growth?

3.            During this Christmastide, how will I show gratitude to Mary for bearing
           Christ?

4.            How might I experience Mary's intercession?

5.            What difference does Christ's birth make to my life today?

6.            How can I keep the message of Christmas throughout the whole year-
          what action/steps/thoughts might I explore to make my world a   better
          place?

7.            If God is the author of life in my life, how might I respond more fully to God in my life?

GOSPEL REFLECTION

Luke's Gospel has 3 important statements for us to consider

1. When the 8 days came, they named Him Jesus.
2. The shepherds found Mary and Joseph and the infant lying in the manger....
3. As for Mary, she treasured all these things in her heart.

In these short phrases, there is a wealth of learning for us.
1. The angel at the annunciation tells Mary about Christ- the child will be great... He also says that ''you must name Him Jesus...'‘,
2. Mary is a young woman- she would have thought about what to name the child just as an any pregnant woman does. Likewise, Joseph would have had his thoughts.  In those days, it was tradition to name your first son after his father.  Mary would have been aware of her cousin's Elizabeth's experience with Zechariah when naming their child John, not Zechariah after his father.
3. The other thing to take into account to with this phrase is that it is now 9 months later.  Both Joseph and Mary not only took into account what the angel had told Mary 9 months before but now, obeyed God through the angel's message.   What about us?  Do we obey what God has asked us to do (straightaway or when required by God?

4. The shepherds always make for interesting meditation during Christmastide.  They were out in the fields doing their job when they received the good news. ‘’They went to see and found everything that they had been told by the angel the scripture says" exactly as they been told''. They gave their homage to the Infant and went back praising God for that they had seen and heard.  

What thoughts do you have when you think of the shepherds?  Are we like the shepherds and step out of our own comfort zone to explore possibilities- to evangelise perhaps?  Do we praise God for all that we have seen and heard in our faith?  How can we learn from the shepherds and take them as a guide for the year?

Finally, Mary herself- scripture says that she pondered these things and treasured them in her heart.

So, what do we ponder and treasure?  How do we hold Jesus in our hearts for the year?  Will you ponder more this coming year your faith and treasure it as you learn/appreciate/value it?  How will you be like Mary as she pondered.  Think about what we do when we ponder- mull over, consider things from different perspectives, think over again and again, analyse in our minds... then from all of these thoughts may come some conclusions.  What might be treasure in our hearts this coming year?  Is there something from 2016 that we wish to ponder more and treasure it in our hearts? 

From these phrases from the Gospel we can learn a lot and can make it our own for our lives.

Happy New Year to my readers.  May God bless you abundantly.