(Nm.6:22-27; Ps.67:2-3,5-6,8; Gal.4:4-7; Lk.2:16-21)
"The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God
for all they had heard and seen,
just as it had been told to them."
The blessing of God, His holy Son, was upon the shepherds, and it is upon us all. For "God sent His Son, born of a woman" that His "way be known upon earth," "that we might receive adoption as sons." And what greater blessing could man know than to fulfill his call as son of the living God?
We are blessed, brothers and sisters, and we should proclaim it as the shepherds. The blessing invoked upon the people by Aaron has been realized in the birth of the Son. Through Him "the Lord let[s] His face shine upon [us]" – this is His grace come. And how else but in haste should we travel to Him? How quickly we should arrive at His side. And how amazed all should be upon hearing the blessings we have known, at the hand of our God.
Mary is she who is truly blessed, and we honor especially today she "who kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart." For so obedient was she to God's will that He was "conceived in [her] womb" and made flesh in our sight. So, let us thank her today for the blessing she has brought into our midst. As we are now sons of the Father with the Spirit of the Son "crying out, 'Abba, Father!'" in our hearts, so we are sons of Mary, too, for the Lord's divinity cannot be separated from His humanity – the two meet as one in Jesus Christ. This is our great blessing.
From "an infant lying in the manger" shall come the salvation of our race, and the Mother of this renewed race, consecrated to God in Him who is "named Jesus," we commemorate with our hearts and our voices in praise this holy day. May she now be the instrument by which "the Lord bless[es]" and "keep[s]" us; may she pray this day that "His face shine upon [us]." And may all her children be one in the blessing of Christ, her Son. Amen.
Written, read & chanted by James Kurt; produced by Carie Fortney.
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