Nativity of Our Lord, Night

Is 9:1-6
Ps 96:1-2, 2-3, 11-12, 13
Ti 2:11-14
Lk 2:1-14

Just like children who cannot wait until Christmas day to open presents, we are here in the middle of the night, with a cold front coming in, and a possible chance of snow.  We are here to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  I love being Catholic, I love our faith, I love the very fact that we would be up in the middle of the night to go to Church!  You all are here because you want to be here!

Tonight I have the challenge of retelling the greatest story ever told.  Christmas and Easter stand as the two greatest celebrations in the Church’s year because they convey two sides of the same mystery of the person of Jesus Christ.  The birth of Jesus in this world is a sign for all of us that salvation has literally come into our midst.  All of creation has been waiting for this moment.  At the darkest hour of the darkest day of the darkest month in one of the most remote backwater places in the world, Christ – the light of the world is born to us.  That God would become a man to dwell amongst us is already an incredible act of love, but how He chooses to do it shows us the perfection of that love.  God had planned this from the very beginning of time.  He didn’t just happen to find the perfect gift for us on the shelf as He was passing through.  He had been preparing us to receive Him since the beginning and yet all the while, allowing humanity to make the free choice and decision on whether to follow Him.

Luke begins his account of Jesus’ birth by calling the time and place of the occurrence.  This is for us to understand that this was not a fable, not a made-up morality story or play, but that this really did occur in time and history.  The location? Bethlehem, the City of David – King David’s hometown.  This point of fact recalls Joseph’s lineage back to the house of Jesse and King David and that from this little town of Bethlehem was promised a king like David but even greater than him.  And the Virgin Mary gave birth to this child, fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah of a virgin giving birth.  She gave birth to Him in a manger and wrapped Him with swaddling clothes.  The shepherds in the region came to Him and see what had happened.  To the lowliest of people came the greatest news that they would hear: their savior is born tonight!

We have heard this story told many times and each time we hear different variations or different parts highlighted.  What is most fascinating to me is how fitting He has designed everything to be and then how the gospel writers are inspired to write those details for us to uncover.  As we hear in the first reading, the people who have walked in darkness have seen a great light.  During the darkest time of the year, it would make sense that Jesus, the light of the World, would come to bring light and life back into our darkness.  He is our hope, He is our light.  God has prepared the cosmos, the seasons to coincide with His coming.

The Mystery of the Incarnation on Christmas cannot be fully realized until we are connected with the Paschal Mystery – that is, Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection.  In other words, without Good Friday and Easter Sunday, we won’t and cannot fully understand Christmas.  As tradition has it, Good Friday and the Feast of the Annunciation were placed on the same day, March 25.  The day when Christ really enters the world is when He is conceived, when the Angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she will bear a son.  The day that He enters the world is the day that He redeems the world, March 25.  Count nine months ahead and we have December 25 the day of our Lord’s birth.  Here you can see that even calendar and time are ordered to and preparing for Christ.

How is Christ brought into the world?  After He is born, He is wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger.  Swaddling is a common way to quiet a child, wrapping them up so they feel secure: like a baby burrito.  I can think of another time of when someone is swaddled and that is after they have died.  Back in the day, they would wrap clothes around a person like a mummy – like you would swaddle a baby.  There is a bit of a symbolic connection of swaddling at the beginning and at the end of your life – in a sense almost one in the same.  As the Lord was laid in the manger, we come to understand this meaning even more fully.  Manger comes from the word “to eat”.  Our Lord was laid in a manger, a feeding trough for beasts and animals.  Christ, just born for us was already being prepared to be sacrificed, to die, and to be offered as food.

Finally, Christ is born in Bethlehem, which many of you know is Hebrew for “House of Bread”.  I could think of no more a fitting place than for Christ to be born in the House of Bread.  Because for us as Catholics, we know that He is the Bread of Life.  The Savior of the world, born for us, swaddled in anticipation of His death and laid in a manger for animals to eat, in the town called “House of Bread”.

For any other person this image would be disturbing, but for us who believe these images are amazing.  That Jesus in a prophetic and symbolic way was already telling us that He has come, not to be heralded as king, but to die for us and give us His life so that we may have relationship and communion with Him.  Today is born our Savior, Christ the Lord – Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice! In the celebration of the Holy Eucharist tonight, let us adore and worship in holy reverence to Christ.  God, out of love for us became man – humbling Himself for our sake that we may have communion with Him and be transformed into Him.  Our Lord has come to us, in the humblest form of Bread to sustain us and to bring us life.  All of Creation has waited in anticipation for this day and now that is here, let us enter into the celebration.  Let us truly bring Him into our hearts.  He has been waiting for us and preparing us – come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.

IV Sunday of Advent, Cycle C

Mi 5:1-4a
Ps 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19
Heb 10:5-10
Lk 1:39-45

Growing up, one of the most nerve-wracking things I have ever had to do was calling a girl that I liked in junior high.  I finally got her number and I was going to call her to ask her out.  We didn’t have texting or email – I had those old rotary phones that felt like it took a whole minute to dial 7 digits.  Palms sweaty and heart racing – I even had to write out some things to talk about on a piece of paper if and when my mind blanked.  I was really excited, but also scared and nervous too.  What if she said ‘no’ or my plans didn’t work out? There was so much riding on this call.  First call: “Hello?”, Click.  What if her Mom or Dad picks up or her brother? Oh this is not going to end well.  Second call: “Hello?”, Click.  Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea, I think I’m going to play video games and read books for the rest of my life.  That seems like an acceptable life choice right?  Third call: “Hello?” “Hi… “  I had her on the line and we talked for what seemed like an eternity.  I didn’t even ask her out… too nervous – I had her on the phone, while spoil a good thing right?   It was probably the most awkward conversation ever and we talked about absolutely nothing – I think it was about homework or something. Needless to say, it was not the best first attempt.

Although my first phone conversation with a girl was a rite of passage for all men, I think I remember the feeling afterwards more than the feelings before and during.  I was so excited that I sprinted around the house about ten times, literally jumping for joy, and then messed/tortured my little brother for a victory lap.  I couldn’t sleep the whole night.  It. Was. Awesome.

I am sure you have felt this kind of joy and excitement before.  When you first find out someone likes you, when you decide you want to get married, when you get the job that you really wanted, when you have finally moved into your dream home, or when you hold your child for the first time.  You wake up in the morning and the sun just shines a little brighter, the birds chirp a little happier, and life is just beautiful.

When we hear of Mary setting out in the hill country in haste to find Elizabeth – this is exactly what she is doing: the Good News lifts her up and sends her off.  When Elizabeth hears Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth cries out in a loud voice of joy.  The infant in her womb also leaps for joy.  The depths of her very being leap for joy.  It is in those moments of intense joy that the Holy Spirit moves within Elizabeth and her unborn child and she proclaims: Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.  And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?  

In this statement we hear the familiar words of the “Hail Mary”, but I would like to reflect on the following passage: And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?  Here Elizabeth speaks a profound truth:  “the Mother of my Lord” – is a powerful theological statement.  Announcing that Mary is indeed bearing the Son of God and is indeed the Mother of God – the unborn John the Baptist knows it, Elizabeth knows it, and certainly Mary already knew it.  Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant – the Promise of God fulfilled in her womb, goes to Elizabeth and Elizabeth is humbled before her.  Elizabeth is older, John the Baptist is older, but they recognized that Lord has come into their midst.  And just by God’s very presence, the people around Him are dramatically transformed and filled with joy.  And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?  

We are too small, too sinful, and utterly insignificant to be regarded as worthy of receiving Him.  What have we done to deserve God’s favor?  All we have done was to do what we were supposed to do.  The good that we do, seems only to help us “break even” in terms of our sin, but because of Christ we have something a whole lot more.  God has looked down on us and shown us His favor by His love for us in sending down His Son.  He comes to us in His smallness as predicted in the Book of the Prophet Micah: from the little town of Bethlehem comes one who will stand firm, shepherd His flock, showing His greatness to the ends of the earth and bring peace to all – He is peace.

How blessed are we that the Lord should come to us every day in the Holy Eucharist.  As we hear in the letter to the Hebrews, Sacrifices and offerings, holocausts and sin offerings, you neither desired nor delighted in.  Jesus Christ, our sacrifice and our offering – though God desired not, was prepared for us, so that we may do His will.  We would not have the Eucharist without the Passion and Sacrifice.  We would not have the Sacrifice of Christ without the Incarnation of Christ, and without all of that, we would not have salvation.  If He did not come, we would not have a relationship with Him, we would not be able to receive Him, and we would be forever steeped in the darkness of our own sin, suffering and, misery.  And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?  

Do we live in that kind of humility?  Do we live in the sense that our heads are bowed down in unworthiness before God for all of His goodness and beatitude?  Or we live in the mindset that God is our ATM, our genie in a bottle that will grant our every wish and completely taking Him for granted?  Are your hearts moved with joy when you are in His presence?  If they aren’t, then maybe that is something that you need to ask for before you ask for anything else.  The lack of joy is not because He is not there, but because we are not fully prepared to receive Him.  In these four weeks, how have you prepared to receive joy?  If you haven’t, this is the time to start.  The joy that you will have with Him is tremendous – this is the Christmas spirit: the anxious anticipation, the preparation, and finally the fulfillment of something that was promised since the beginning of time.  All of Creation has been waiting for the perfect time of Redemption in the Incarnation.  Let us earnestly prepare for his coming.  The time to prepare for His coming is NOW.  Let us be humbled and honored that He would want to come to us – and when He comes may we be filled with humility and joy: And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?  

III Sunday of Advent, Cycle C

Zep 3:14-18a
Is 12:2-3, 4, 5-6
Phil 4:4-7
Lk 3:10-18

Rejoice in the Lord always. I say it again: rejoice!

This is the Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudate Sunday – where Gaudate means “rejoice”.  Yet, it seems that we have hardly any cause for rejoicing.   These words from St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians can hardly be fitting for our mood today.  Only two days from one of the most tragic shooting sprees our nation has ever faced: 26 dead, twenty children ages 5-10.  Some have been glued to the media trying to find the latest information and others are afraid to turn on the television because they cannot handle this emotional burden.  Sadly this event amongst the unrest in the Middle East, Africa, and other parts of the world, the economic situation in our country, and the curtailing of religious freedom is just one more straw on the camel’s back.  Our nation is suffering and in a state of shock and mourning, how can we rejoice?

Our first reading from the prophet Zephaniah is just as out of touch with our emotional state: Shout for joy, O daughter Zion! Sing joyfully, O Israel! Be glad and exult with all your heart… How can we shout for joy and sing joyfully when we are in the state that we are in.  I cannot tell you how many times people have come up to me to tell me how worried they are with the state of society, our nation, and the world.  They ask me as if I had all the answers – and sometimes I do. =)  As much time for prayer and contemplation as I have had, God has yet to let me see His “playbook” on what He is up to.

As for myself, what am I to do? How am I to answer these tough questions about this particular horrible tragedy of senseless evil?  I ask God where and how am I to tell His beloved children that everything is going to be okay when it is obviously not.  Twelve, almost thirteen years from a century that has seen the most horrible atrocities that one man could commit against another – and now we do not see the evil thousands of miles away but in our places of work, places of entertainment, and places of education.

The Catholic priests of the parish closest to the school in Connecticut were some of the first responders to this tragedy – some of the victims were his parishioners – some were preparing for first communion, some had just performed their Christmas play.  The old monsignor and his associate pastor had to answer the tough questions that none of us would want to answer.  As I sit comfortably in my room, I thought to myself that I would never want to be in that priest’s position ministering and meeting with the victims’ families.  How would I handle it?  What would I even do in that situation?  Senseless violence, incredible loss, and absolutely no means to return to innocence.  It is enough to make a new priest scared run for his life, pack up, and go back home – even if it is only a few miles down Central Expressway.  I didn’t sign up for this!

As we hear the Gospel proclaimed, I hear something quite profound when the crowds asked John the Baptist, “What should we do?” “Teacher, what should we do?”  He gives a very simple answer.  He simply tells them to give to those who have none, to be fair and just, and to do their jobs as their occupation required.  When I ask myself what I should do in that situation, I realized that what those heroic priests did and are doing now is exactly what they were supposed to do.  If your parish priest is truly your shepherd, would your shepherd hide out in his room or would he be right there to tend his flock? If, God forbid, something like that were to happen to Seton’s Ark or the Faith Formation Center or any of the public schools around us – I would not have a second thought to be right there because you are mine and have been entrusted to me.  I would be doing what I am supposed to do and what I want to do, because that is what shepherds do.  And I know that any of you as parents would do the same for your children, your children’s children and your neighbor’s children as well.  Why? Because the love of Christ compels us to fulfill our Christian vocation – our calling to love of neighbor and God.

In the midst of evil and adversity, we have no other recourse than to turn to Jesus Christ.  No words of comfort, no human action can undo the horror that has been done.  Evil in all its forms has been infiltrating creation; from the nations, the society, down to the family and the individual person.  In the very literal dark days ahead – before the winter solstice – and in the very abyss of the darkness of the human condition to the very depths of despair comes the Light of Christ into the world on Christmas Day.  What I have gained from praying for and meditating on this particular tragedy is that in the midst of all this mess that we are in, there is reason to rejoice.  In fact, what St. Paul is saying in the first reading today is not a polite recommendation or a suggestion, but rather an imperative – a command!  REJOICE IN THE LORD ALWAYS. I SAY IT AGAIN: REJOICE!  Gaudate Sunday is not out of place and not inappropriate to our sentiments.  I would be so bold as to say that it is exactly in the right place, the right time – precisely because of these events, we NEED Gaudate Sunday.  These tragic events are precisely the very REASON for Gaudate Sunday.

The command for us to rejoice is not for us to rejoice in the loss, but rather for us to realize that all is not lost.  There is hope to bring us beyond suffering.  Now the people were filled with expectation and all were asking in their hearts… Let us be filled with expectation and desiring in our hearts as the people were with John the Baptist!  That expectation is the coming of Christ into the world to bring salvation to all.  The Lord is near. Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. PRAY!!  Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  Brothers and Sisters in Christ, the reality of suffering and tragedy can shake us to our very core – we wrestle with trying to find meaning in the midst of evil.  However, the command to rejoice is not to be taken lightly as some “pious-churchy” excuse to sugarcoat and deny what has happened, but rather to rejoice is our response to what has happened because God is the one who will come to bring us out of these dark times.

Let us remind ourselves that the Eucharist – the Thanksgiving that we celebrate does not stop because there is evil in the world, but rather we continue to celebrate the salvific work of Christ in spite of and in response to those evils.  The Eucharistic Feast that we celebrate here is the sign for us – that God has already won the victory over death and Satan; and we, as the people of God, the people of faith do not live as a people without hope.  We prepare ourselves in anxious anticipation of the hope that is to come on Christmas Day where we will remember and welcome our Lord into this world: Christ our Light is coming, the Lord is near.  Let not anxiety fill your hearts with dread, but let them be filled with joyful expectation for our Lord.  My dear brothers and sisters, let us Rejoice in the Lord always. I say it again: rejoice!

II Sunday of Advent, Cycle C

 Bar 5:1-9
Ps 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6 
Phil 1:4-6, 8-11
Lk 3:1-6


One of my favorite family vacations was when we went to the Grand Canyon.  The four of us, my parents and my brother and I, piled into our Dodge Caravan Mini-van – all the rage in the eighties on our summer trip.  We started our trip to the Grand Canyon by going North. [really?  That made no sense to me – I think I was in the third grade at the time and my geography told me that the Grand Canyon was West, not North.  I offered to drive, but my parents said no.]  We went North up through Oklahoma and Kansas and stopped in Colorado Springs for a quick stay before heading down to the Grand Canyon.  Of course we had to do the family camping thing, the KOA campsites and my brother and I were the best-behaved siblings ever.  [And when I say we were the best-behaved I mean that I would have probably been tried as an adult in some states we drove through.  ]  After almost a week of driving, we eventually did make it to the Grand Canyon and it was certainly one of the most awesome sights I have ever seen in my life: we reached the Promised Land!  But it was short lived; we stayed only two days because we were behind schedule.  My biggest regret was not getting to ride the donkeys.  We finally got back to our home in Dallas in more or less one piece – I think I lost a few of my stuffed animals along the way.

Looking back, I often wondered why we had to go through such a roundabout way to get to our destination.  Wouldn’t it have been better to go straight there and perhaps enjoy it for at least a few more days?  Instead of stopping and going, winding here and there and enjoying myself, I was getting myself into more and more trouble with my brother and my parents.  We hear in today’s Gospel of John the Baptist preaching out in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.  The Lord is coming and we are going to meet Him.  We must prepare the way of the Lord: to take the most direct route possible.  As our family was driving through Colorado down to the Grand Canyon, we had so many mountainous roads to drive through.  It was so stressful for my parents – going up and down, watching out for falling rocks, and trying to keep the two of us boys from tearing each other to pieces.  If the valleys were filled and the mountains leveled, we would have had a much easier time traveling to our destination.  A straight and smooth road – not a winding and rough road – to the Grand Canyon!  

Then again, I think about my life and my walk with God.  And perhaps you too may feel the same way.  Looking back, those roundabouts and rough patches and smooth ways were what made our journey unique and special – something for us to reminisce.  If all the valleys and mountains were made level, there would be no Grand Canyon, no Rocky Mountains.  There would be nothing beautiful to look at or visit.  But you know what?  When we are looking back at our difficult times and struggles, we can see the beauty and we can see the triumph… why? Because we are glad it’s over!  But as we look forward, if there was a shortcut to a desired destination, why would you deliberately try to put yourself into danger or undue stress?  For example, you have procrastinated on homework or a project or a task and waited until the last minute causing you to get angry at people around you for your mistake – why get into that?  After all isn’t the shortest distance between two points is a straight line?  Get it done!  For those who are still young it still sounds like something fun and there is room for that, but you who are older know that some of those side trips in life can have disastrous consequences – spiritually, emotionally, socially, financially, or mortally.  

If we look at the past few Sundays we have had readings about God coming in His glory and that there would be a great fear and trembling when He comes.  Even last Sunday, the First Sunday of Advent’s scripture readings reflected a sense of urgency in preparing for God’s coming.  This Sunday is no different:  A voice of one crying out in the desert: Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.  I would like to draw your attention to a few parts of this Gospel that make today’s message so strong.  

You’ll notice that at the beginning of today’s Gospel reading, we basically have a historical date – a setting in which this narrative will take place, In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar…. This is for the reader to know that this is a historical reality that this was the world at the time of this event.  Rome ruled, Herod was ruling as tetrarch and the high priests were Annas and Caiaphas.  It would be like saying that the Civil War began in the second year of Lincoln’s presidency.  The listing of names and places allows us to piece together that what John the Baptist was doing and when Jesus walked this earth was a real place and actual historical occurrence, not just something that happened “a long long time ago, in a galaxy far far away.”  By having story touch historical reality, what follows has greater importance and significance as we hear about this John the Baptist, the son of Zachariah.

The prophet of Isaiah is quoted – the 40th chapter to be exact – and also slightly connected to our first reading: … every lofty mountain be made low, and the age-old depths and gorges be filled to level ground. This brings for us a fulfillment of one of the many prophecies.  What was prophesied centuries ago is now being fulfilled; a big fat “I told you so!” from God.  There is some guy out in the middle of “nowhere-desert” telling us to repent, be converted, and prepare the way for Christ’s coming. 

What Isaiah, John the Baptist, and all the other prophets of the past are talking about, of course, is preparing the way to God into our hearts, not a highway construction project.  Our Lord who is coming, requires a straight path from us – without the road blocks, without the hurdles that we throw in His way.  When something is obviously good for us and is something that we truly desire with all our heart – we do what we can do to make it happen.  It is remarkable how one can clear their schedule for a football game, time for a movie, or a weekend vacation, but yet cannot even make the time to go to Mass for a Holy Day of Obligation (ahem, yesterday). 

It’s really about priorities in life – if you really wanted to do it, you would make the time to do it or at least give a best effort.  When we prepare the path for the Lord, we are making a straight path – not a winding, rough one – but a highway straight into our hearts.  We prepare for Him – by finding ways to allow God to dwell in our hearts and also making use of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, allowing His grace to flow into every part of our lives.  There is a Chinese saying; and because I’m Chinese I can say it without it being cliché: “You cannot write on rotten wood.”  God cannot work in your life nor can He force His will on you if you don’t want it.  He does, however, make an offer that you can’t or shouldn’t refuse: eternal joy and happiness with Him.  In this Advent season, it is the season to prepare for Christ’s coming into the world and we do so first with ourselves.  God desires that our love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception, to discern what is of value, so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness.  When we prepare the way of the Lord, when we make straight the pathway of the Lord to our heart, we are preparing for His coming on Christmas Day and when He comes, we will rejoice and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the BVM

Gn 3:9-15, 20
Ps 98:1,2-3ab, 3cd-4
Eph 1:3-6, 11-12
Lk 1:26-38

In a singular act, God preserved the Blessed Mother at the moment of her conception the stain of Original Sin.  This is, as it were, the second chances of second chances.  We read from the book of Genesis, the penalty and the fall out of our First Parents’ disobedience.  There’s a blame game between Adam and Eve – “It wasn’t my fault, it was the woman that you put here.” “It wasn’t my fault, the serpent tricked me.”  The ugliness of sin is that it continues to perpetuate – we don’t stop the cycle, we continue it and in trying to save ourselves from getting into more trouble, we make it worse.  But God in His divine goodness and love gave us a hint of what He was going to save us – He didn’t leave us in our sin, but in the fullness of time sent His Son to save us.  But even before the Incarnation of Christ, He set His divine plan into motion by preserving our Blessed Mother from Original Sin.  So that she may be a perfect vessel to bear our Lord and Savior.  I can only imagine the honor and beauty of her as a “tabernacle” or “the Ark of the Covenant” bearing our Lord Jesus Christ in her womb.

We hear in the Gospel, the Annunciation.  The angel Gabriel goes to Mary and announces to her that she is full of grace.  He calls her full of grace.  No other time in scripture is someone greeted in that manner and that troubled her. This is of course evidence of God’s favor and her sanctity in this almost cryptic greeting. And in this greeting and announcement that a child will be born from her, she ponders and accepts with the words Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord, may it be done to me according to your word.

It is a Holy Day of obligation – even if it is a Saturday, with Sunday being right next door – why not combine it with Sunday or abrogate it?  What the Church is saying is that this Solemnity is very important to us.  But why?  Because this Solemnity is not just marking and exalting the Blessed Mother in her special status of being Immaculately Conceived.  This is a feast for us.  How so?  What does the Immaculate Conception have to do with us – that’s Mary’s business not ours.

Everybody here, I would assume – if we had any sense of living life beyond this rat-race of a secular world – in our moments of prayer and solitude we often ask ourselves a very simple question: “Why am I here?  Why me?”  In this question, we are seeking one simple thing: Our Vocation – our calling.  This is not a general call of humanity to holiness, but what is God trying to do in my life?  Why did God put me here on this earth and what is He calling me to do?  Is He calling me to be married?  Is He calling me to a life as a consecrated single?  Is He calling me to be a priest, deacon, or a religious brother or sister?  This vocational call is destined for us – we must seek it.  Why?  Because of Mary’s Immaculate Conception.

God had already in the womb predestined our Blessed Mother to this singular privilege.  And for us too, He has predestined us and planned out our lives for us.  We hear in the second reading to the Ephesians: In him we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will, so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in Christ.  In God, we have been chosen for a particular, personal vocation just like Mary was in hers.  We are called to seek and discover that.

Going further – even though God set these plans in motion, He still gives us free will.  We can choose to cooperate or refuse.  In Mary’s case, all of creation held their breath as they waited for Mary’s response.  Would she say yes? Or would she say no?  Fortunately for us she replied with the best response.  Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord, may it be done to me according to your word. -- A complete act of free will surrender to God’s will, an ultimate act of Love.  Surrendering the self for the other is love, is it not?  And our vocation is doing just that.  When God blesses us with a vocation – be it to holy orders, religious life, or marriage – we must answer it.  We are free to answer it.  We must discover it first before we answer it, but we must answer it.  This is a gift – like the Immaculate Conception was the first gift for our Blessed Mother setting things in motion, her answer to her vocation involved a courageous action on her part.  She had to surrender herself to God – to render her complete self to God.  As we too are called to do in whatever our vocation may be – our cooperation with God is needed – on His terms, not ours.

Today, as we celebrate this feast of the Immaculate Conception let us remind ourselves that we must seek that vocation to which God calls us.  We must pray for it in those moments of quiet solitude; asking God imploring God the promise that He had promised us at the moment of our conception.  He does have a plan for us: He predestined us for love and relationship with Him in a special and unique way – a personal way.  And when we receive that answer from God – that vocation – we must respond back to Him.  And we hold Mary – the first to respond as our first parents did not, to start the redemption of all creation – we hold Mary as our most preeminent and shining example and  our model: Behold, I am the servant of the Lord, may it be done to me according to your word.