FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT

His Greatness Shall Reach to the Ends of the Earth

The letter to the Hebrews reveals what Jesus did and therefore what God expects of us: “Behold I come to do your will.” Doing God’s will, however, is not always an easy task. Jesus was asked by the Father to undergo his Passion and Death. Mary was asked to become Mother of God with all the hardships that entailed. “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled,” Elizabeth said to Mary. Both Jesus and Mary had relationships with the Father of complete trust. This is what God our Father wants for each of us. 

As priest and theologian Henri Nouwen observed, the words of the Consecration --- that Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it and gave it -- are a model for us to live a Eucharistic life. Mary, too, was taken from all of the women of Israel, chosen for a special purpose, and she surrendered her life to God. She was blessed with extraordinary gifts to be the Mother of the Savior of the world. Mary’s heart was broken as she watched her son suffer and die in front of her. And from the cross, Jesus gave Mary to John and all other people as their mother. We, too, have been taken into God’s family through Baptism, blessed with gifts to give to others. Our hearts are broken as we experience suffering in this earthly life, but we learn to say with Mary, “Be it done unto me according to your word.” In doing God’s will, we must surrender our lives to God; this is the sacrifice that pleases our heavenly Father, and he gives us grace to do it through prayer and the sacraments. 

With my family I recently made a pilgrimage to Medjugorje where the Queen of Peace began appearing to seven teenagers in 1981. While we were there the Vatican officially gave approval of the messages allegedly given by Mary through them. Our Lady speaks of the five stones of David which should be used to conquer all that threatens us in this life. They are:

1. Praying with the heart daily, especially the Rosary

2. Fasting

3. Receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation

4. Receiving the Eucharist

5. Reading the Holy Bible

There are obviously many other things we can think of that God may be calling us to do, such as the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. But when we use these five “stones,” we will have the supernatural power to share the gifts God has given us, and to fulfill the mission God has for our lives. We will be able to travel “to the hill country in haste,” or even to the ends of the Earth, to help our neighbors in need.

–Tami Albertine

Send Us Forth are reflections written by St. Matthew parishioners and friends.