SOLEMNITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, THE MOTHER OF GOD
January 1st. World Peace Day
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Today we begin a New Year. The Church inaugurates it with the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, wishing that it will be a day and a year of peace for the whole world.

We could say many things about the Mother of God. We could speak about her graces and privileges, about her virginity, her divine maternity, her presence on the way of the Cross (the Via Dolorosa), her assumption to heaven in body and soul, her glorification, etc, etc. But this is not possible in the little space of time that we have.

We will speak about her life in Nazareth, emphasizing the simplicity and humanity that we find in this girl of Nazareth. We will emphasize three aspects of Mary:

• Mary, a village girl.
• Mary, the wife.
• Mary, the mother.

Mary, a village girl.

Nazareth was a small mountain village in Galilee, nine-hundred feet above see level, one hundred and fifty kilometres from Bethlehem. A farmer’s village, surrounded by mountains and dedicated to agriculture. We know that there was a synagogue, a school and a carpentry. Just like we find in our small farming villages. Many of the neighbours of the village are relatives, and when something happens, the event is commented and often criticized.

Mary lived in Nazareth with her parents, Saints Anne and Joacquim. She went to school and she frequented the synagogue. And since in that time the was no running water in the houses, she would go to the fountain to get it. If you go to Palestine and you visit Nazareth, you will still see the fountain where the Virgin Mary would go to get the water.

In Nazareth we also find Joseph. He was a carpenter. In a small town, the carpenter is an important person, and generally earns a good living. Of Mary we know that she had a sister and several relatives, whom the evangelist calls "the brothers of Jesus", although in fact they were not brothers but relatives. The word "brother" has to be understood in a broad sense, as was done at that time.

One day the news spread in the village that Joseph was in love with Mary. The commentaries could have been: they make a good pair! Mary is a saint, and Joseph a good boy.

Mary, the Wife

The two families came to an agreement, and the two youngsters promised to marry each other. Engagement was more than a commitment to one another, it was almost a marriage, that after a year was ratified by the law.

Mean while, a great event took place in house of Mary. An angel of the Lord appeared to Mary asking her to be the mother of Jesus. After the scare caused by the visit of an angel in her room, Mary, a young girl of about fifteen, speaks naturally and courageously with an angel of the Lord. Today we would say that she engaged in a dialog with the angel. She says to him that she does not understand what he is saying to her, since she has no relations with a man, but the angel clarifies all her doubts. When she sees it more clearly, she responds: Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word (Lk 1:38).

Mary kept the words from the angel in secret. She doesn’t even tell Joseph, her husband. We can easily imagine the feelings of Mary when they both meet for the first time after what had happened. She knows very well that she is the Mother of God, but she doesn’t fully know God’s plans. Mary will not be in a hurry. She will wait for God’s revelation.

We already know Joseph’s reaction. He realises that Mary is expecting a child. He knows very well that that child is not his. He goes through a bad time. What will he do? He considers leaving her. If he denounces Mary, she would be stoned, because she would be considered adulterous. As I said before, engagement was considered a formal marriage. About the birth of Jesus, Mathew, the evangelist, says: When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly (Mt 1:18-19).

Joseph is a good man, and he considers leaving her, when the angel of the Lord comes and says to him: Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her (Mt 1:20).

Have you ever thought about the feelings of both, Joseph and Mary, when they met for the first time after the revelation of the angel?

In the village of Nazareth some great news are spreading: Mary is expecting a child! Joseph and Mary already live together. They have reached an agreement. Mary will be a virgin and Joseph will respect her virginity. The news also spreads that her cousin Isabel is also expecting a child, and Mary, Joseph’s wife, is going to help her. Mary is going to spend a long time in Judea, and Joseph allows her to go. It is charity, that compels her. She is going to serve her cousin. Isabel is surprised that that the Mother of her Lord comes to help her. When Mary arrived there, Elizabeth cried out in a loud voice and said, "Most 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? (Lk 1:42-43).

Mary returns to Nazareth and when she is quite advanced in her pregnancy, the will of the Lord is that she go to Bethlehem, where the Messiah will be born.

Mary, the Mother

Jesus is born in Bethlehem, but Mary’s happiness doesn't last too much. The will of the Lord is that they go away to Egypt until Herod dies. They stay there for about three years.

She returns to Nazareth, and Mary is the wife of the carpenter, taking care of her household and helping her husband. Her life is very humble.

The family of Jesus was a worker’s family, earning the daily bread through their work. I would say that it was not a poor family, but a working family. Jose has a small carpenter's workshop. Jesus helps him, and Mary earns a small wage, besides taking care of the house. It’s a deeply religious family. Every Saturday they go to the Synagogue, and more than once Joseph and Jesus would take the Scriptures to read them in public. Its the best family in Nazareth. Their doors are open to everybody, and everybody finds a helping hand there.

When Jesus was twelve, he goes up to Jerusalem with his parents, as they did every year, and Jesus stays behind in the Temple; what a disappointment for Mary and Joseph! But Jesus returns to Nazareth, and there he grew in wisdom and grace before God and men, and he was the admiration of his parents and of the whole town.

Years go by; everyone grows older, as we all do. Mary becomes a widow. Jesus is already an adult and he lives with his mother. Perhaps we have never paid enough attention to the solitude of Mary when Joseph died.

The time comes when Jesus also leaves Nazareth, and Mary will feel even more lonely. Widow and lonely. Although eventually Mary will also accompany Jesus in his public life, and she will never return to Nazareth to live there. Mary will die in Jerusalem.

Why have I reflected on the young girl of Nazareth? To show how the life of the Virgin Mary was a simple one, without great honours, with days of joy and days of sadness, and how she sanctified herself by leading this humble life.

Maybe we have spoken so much of the greatnesses of Mary, that we have forgotten her life as a young girl, as mother, as wife, as widow and as a person dedicated to serve others.

Most likely, our life is very much similar to that of the Virgin Mary. There are days and days. We can also be sanctified, as Mary did, by leading a life full of love for God and our fellow brothers and sisters, in the place where Providence wants us to live, imitating the humility and the simplicity of the girl of Nazareth, since every tree has to grow where God has planted it.

Lord, during the three hundred and sixty five days of this year, beginning today, may our life resemble the life of Mary, and may her, your mother and our mother, keep all of us and help us to discover, to love and to follow You.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!