20260101 MARY OUR MODEL IN OUR PILGRIMAGE OF FAITH
01 January 2026, Thursday, Mary, Holy Mother of God
First reading | Numbers 6:22-27 |
They are to call down my name on the sons of Israel, and I will bless them
The Lord spoke to Moses and said, ‘Say this to Aaron and his sons: “This is how you are to bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them:
May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord let his face shine on you and be gracious to you.
May the Lord uncover his face to you and bring you peace.”
This is how they are to call down my name on the sons of Israel, and I will bless them.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 66(67):2-3,5,6,8 |
O God, be gracious and bless us.
O God, be gracious and bless us
and let your face shed its light upon us.
So will your ways be known upon earth
and all nations learn your saving help.
O God, be gracious and bless us.
Let the nations be glad and exult
for you rule the world with justice.
With fairness you rule the peoples,
you guide the nations on earth.
O God, be gracious and bless us.
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
May God still give us his blessing
till the ends of the earth revere him.
O God, be gracious and bless us.
Second reading | Galatians 4:4-7 |
God sent his Son, born of a woman
When the appointed time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born a subject of the Law, to redeem the subjects of the Law and to enable us to be adopted as sons. The proof that you are sons is that God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts: the Spirit that cries, ‘Abba, Father’, and it is this that makes you a son, you are not a slave any more; and if God has made you son, then he has made you heir.
Gospel Acclamation | Heb1:1-2 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
At various times in the past
and in various different ways,
God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets;
but in our own time, the last days,
he has spoken to us through his Son.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 2:16-21 |
The shepherds hurried to Bethlehem and found the baby lying in the manger
The shepherds hurried away to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. When they saw the child they repeated what they had been told about him, and everyone who heard it was astonished at what the shepherds had to say. As for Mary, she treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds went back glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen; it was exactly as they had been told.
When the eighth day came and the child was to be circumcised, they gave him the name Jesus, the name the angel had given him before his conception.
MARY OUR MODEL IN OUR PILGRIMAGE OF FAITH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Num 6:22-27; Gal 4:4-7; Lk 2:16-21]
As we begin a new year, we are filled with joy and hope because we can begin anew. The old year might have been a blessing for us; if it was, we can give thanks to God. If it was not, we are too glad to leave the year behind and hope for a better year. Regardless, our life is a long pilgrimage. Year after year, we journey through life, often unsure of what lies ahead. When we look back on our lives, we may have regrets for the follies we have committed and the mistakes we have made. But we also have our moments of gratitude – despite all our mistakes and foolishness, God has helped us along the way. He has surprised us because, just when we think we are down and out, He raises us up and gives us a new opening, a new beginning, and new opportunities. Life is truly unpredictable. Man proposes, God disposes.
Today, as we celebrate New Year’s Day and the Divine Motherhood of Mary, we are called to learn from her how to make this pilgrimage of life in faith. Firstly, we learn from Mary how to surrender to God’s will in all things. A life of faith means that we are willing to dance with the Lord in all circumstances. The secret of Mary’s joy and peace in life is her willingness to do the will of God in everything. Mary was betrothed to Joseph in marriage; everything was already arranged. Yet, there came the call of God to be the mother of the Saviour. Even more astonishing was the fact that the Messiah would be born of a virgin through the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit. If we were in Mary’s position, how would we have reacted? Likely with fear, because of the implications of saying “Yes”, and confusion over her existing commitment to Joseph. Then what would her relatives, friends and neighbours say if they found out the truth? Most of all, she would have thought about Joseph – how he would accept such a calling to be the foster father of Jesus and her legal husband. Yet Mary accommodated herself to God’s plan, leaving her future open for Him to work in her life.
Not only must we always do the will of God, but we should do it even when we do not fully understand His plan. As St Paul says, we are called to “walk by faith not by sight.” (2 Cor 5:7) This was the case for Mary as well. She found peace by saying “yes” to God’s will. To the angel, she responded, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” (Lk 1:38) There were times she could not fully understand what was happening in her life. For instance, she was told that her son would be called Son of the Most High, but she might not have grasped the full meaning of this at the time. The idea that Jesus is the Son of God as a divine person may not have come to her mind immediately, considering the Jews were strict monotheists. It took the Church quite a long time to fully understand her confession of Jesus as Lord. Only at the Councils of Nicaea and Ephesus in the 4th century was Jesus defined as truly man and truly God. At most, Mary would have recognised her son as the Messiah and a Son of God – someone unique, but perhaps not yet divine in the way we understand God. So the question of Jesus’ divine sonship would most likely have been understood in terms of kingship and Messiahship, the anointed one of God, and His Son, but it was not until after the Resurrection that the full divinity of Jesus was understood.
Indeed, when prophecies were mentioned of her son, she was silent, and she kept all these things in her heart. Simeon prophesied that “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed–and a sword will pierce your own soul too.” (Lk 2:33-35) Again at the temple when Jesus was lost and found, Jesus told Mary, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what He said to them. “Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart.” (Lk 2:49-51)
We too must be like our Blessed Mother – surrendering everything to the Lord. We do not have to understand everything that happens to us in life. What is important is that we cooperate with God’s plan, walking one step at a time. As we do, God will gradually reveal His plan to us. So we should not be anxious but simply choose to accept His will for us, trusting that His will is His wisdom.
Secondly, from Mary we learn to love Christ – her son, and the Son of God. How did Mary care for this unique son of hers? She raised Him with great sensitivity and consideration, fully aware that her son was no ordinary child. Consequently, she would not react hastily to situations that she could not fully understand. She allowed God to unfold His plans and gradually reveal Jesus to her and to the world. So when the Shepherds “repeated what they had been told about him, and everyone who heard it was astonished at what the shepherds had to say…Mary…treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart.” Later on, in His ministry, Jesus said, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.” (Lk 8:19-21) Mary believed in her Son and supported Him. When Jesus was going through His passion, it was Mary that stood by her son until the end – when most of His disciples abandoned Him. We, too, are called to love Jesus, recognising Him both as the son of Man and the Son of God. We are called to share in His sonship so that we can truly be the adopted sons of God. As St Paul tells us, “The proof that you are sons is that God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts: the Spirit that cries, “Abba, Father”, and it is this that makes you a son, you are not a slave anymore; and if God has made you son, then he has made you heir.”
This means that, on one hand, we must recognise our humanity, as Jesus accepted His; and on the other hand, by living out our humanity in Christ, we share in His divine life. Jesus did not exercise His divinity when He was on earth. As a man, He accepted the human conditions of limitation and constraint, hunger, pain and rejection. He was humiliated, faced hostility, was misunderstood and used, and was innocently condemned. The letter of Hebrews tells us, “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.” (Heb 5:7f) We too must accept our human nature and align it with God’s divine will. When we do not understand what to do, then like Mary, we must contemplate in silence, listening for His divine wisdom and will to guide us. That was how Jesus lived His life and showed us the way to be redeemed as sons of God. This is the Spirit of His Son, which God has sent into our hearts, so that we may truly be His sons in the Son. By living our humanity in accordance with God’s will, we share in Christ’s divine life.
From Mary, too, we learn on this journey to trust in God when all hope seems lost. She must have wondered whether her pregnancy would lead to death or cause her to be cut off from her family and Joseph. Who would ever believe her story – not even Joseph! There must have been moments when she felt she had reached the end of the road, especially during Herod’s persecution. Forced to flee to Egypt, they lived as strangers in a foreign land, not knowing anyone. How were they to survive such an ordeal? Most of all, the mission of her Son appeared to end in disaster when He was put to a tragic death on the cross. Yet our Blessed Mother never gave up hope in God. She trusted in God against all hope and was rewarded with the resurrection of her only Son. In quiet trust, she continued to rely on the grace and mercy of God. She knew that God can be trusted and He is faithful to His Word. This is the ultimate faith that we are called to imitate in Mary.
Indeed, we are called to love Jesus and be faithful to Him, always keeping His Word, just like Mary did.Mary is not only the Mother of God but she is also the Mother of the Church. To her, therefore, we take direction as to how we should continue our pilgrimage on earth to heaven. Mary always kept the Word of God and our Lord before her, in prayer and in her life. We, too, must imitate her faith in the Lord, her obedience to God’s will, and her contemplative spirit if we seek to walk in truth and love, living out our sonship in Christ.
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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