Vol. 36 No. 8                                      (Cycle B)       MARY, MOTHER OF GOD   Mary kept all these things pondering them in her heart     ENTRANCE ANTIPHON Hail, holy Mother! The child to whom you gave birth is the King of heaven and earth for ever. PENITENTIAL RITE Mary’s life was characterized by constantly being attentive to God’s word, pondering over it and trying to live it in every aspect of her life. Let us now prepare ourselves to listen to God’s word so that His word may be our strength, our light and our joy in our journey through the year 2009. (Pause) I confess to almighty God, and to you my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned through my own fault in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do; and I ask blessed Mary ever  Virgin, all the angels and saints, and you, my brothers  and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God. Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth. Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father, we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory. Lord, Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us; you are seated at the right hand of the Father, receive our prayer. For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen. OPENING PRAYER Let us pray. God our Father, may we always profit by the prayers of the Virgin Mother Mary, for you bring us life and salvation through Jesus Christ her Son who lives and reigns... FIRST READING (Israel was blessed by God through Moses and Aaron. It is the Lord’s blessing that will make our lives good and fruitful right through this New Year.) A reading from the Book of Numbers (6:22-27) The Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron and his sons, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them, The Lord bless you and keep you: The Lord makes his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you: The Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. “So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.” This is the Word of the Lord PSALM (66) Response: O God, be gracious and bless us. 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.R/. 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. R/. 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. R/. SECOND READING (Jesus was born of a woman in order to enable us to be adopted as children. We being the sons and daughters of God, the Spirit cries out in our hearts “Abba”, Father.) A reading from the Letter of St Paul to the Galatians (4:4-7) When the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So through God you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then an heir. This is the Word of the Lord ACCLAMATION (Heb 1:1-2) 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 (The first people to visit Jesus were the poor, countryside shepherds. They believed and acted on what the angels told them, and for it they are amply rewarded.) A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Luke (2:16-21) The shepherds went with haste to Bethlehem and they found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they saw it they made known the saying which had been told them concerning this child; and all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. This is the Gospel of the Lord (Homily) I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL Cel: Gathered together as a family, let us pray to God our loving Father on this New Year’s day for the various needs of the world, of the Church and of our lives. Response: Lord, may your Mother intercede for us. 1. Let us pray for the leaders of the Church, that under the patronage of Mary, they may bring God’s people closer to Christ by word and example.R/. 2. Let us pray that the Lord may make the New Year for us, a year of constant growth and development in living faith, in radiant hope and in a love that reaches to all those whose lives we touch. R/. 3. Let us pray for those who in the past have been heavily burdened by sorrows and sufferings, that they may find peace and inner serenity as they reflect on the sorrows and sufferings of Mary. R/. 4. Let us pray for our parish community, that we may welcome the word of God into our hearts and respond to it with the generosity that was in Mary. R/. Cel: Heavenly Father, You chose Mary to be the Mother of Your Son, Jesus. Help us through her intercession to treasure the mystery of Jesus’ life, passion, death and resurrection in this New Year. We ask this... PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS God our Father, we celebrate at this season the beginning of our salvation. On this feast of Mary, the Mother of God, we ask that our salvation will be brought to its fulfilment. Grant this... PREFACE (56) Father, all-powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks as we celebrate the motherhood of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, she became the Virgin Mother of your only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who is for ever the light of the world. Through him the choirs of angels and all the powers of heaven praise and worship your glory. May our voices blend with theirs as we join in their unending hymn: All: Holy, holy... COMMUNION ANTIPHON Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and for ever. PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION Father, as we proclaim the Virgin Mary to be the Mother of Christ and the mother of the Church, may our communion with her Son bring us to salvation. We ask this... SOLEMN   BLESSING Bow your heads and pray for God’s blessing. Lord, bless your people who hope for your mercy. Grant that they may receive the things they ask for at your prompting. Grant this through Christ our Lord. R. Amen. And may the blessing of almighty God, the Father, and the Son, + and the Holy Spirit, come upon you and remain with you for ever. R. Amen.   LITURGY AND LIFE   The whole question of who Jesus is as well as the importance of understanding his divinity gives rise to the profession of faith that he is the Son of God as well as the Son of Mary. This means that Mary, although herself a human being, can be given the title Mother of God. Through the over-shadowing of the Holy Spirit, Mary conceived within herself the second person of the Holy Trinity. This is the feast that we celebrate today, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. At Christmas time we sing such beautiful carols and even lullabies that put us emotionally back into Bethlehem. So we look at Jesus as a baby. At the same time, through the Christmas story the Church reminds us who this Jesus is.  Jesus is the Pre-existent Word of God.  He is the Lord and the Messiah. He is the Saviour who is fully God and fully human. These are all mysteries to us, and we ask spontaneously how Jesus could be fully God and fully human; but it is faith that we profess, not a system of scientifically proven facts. We are reminded today that the one whose birth we celebrate with carols like Silent Night is the one who was present at the creation of the universe. Scripture tells us that Mary pondered all this within her heart. She, obviously, knew about the mysterious conception of the child nine months earlier.  She continually reflected on the events of Jesus’ birth. Normally in Jewish tradition, a baby boy was received into his home with a festival of musical instruments played by the people of the neighbourhood. Jesus was received with the songs of an Angelic choir. Normally a boy was given the name of a relative. Jesus was given the name, Yahweh Saves. Many years later, after Pentecost, the apostles proclaimed, “This Jesus whom you have put to death is in fact Lord, Messiah and Saviour.” Mary had to remember and reassure herself again and again with the message of the angels, “To you, this day is born in the city of David a Saviour who is Messiah and Lord.” What a person of faith Mary need to have been! What is most amazing is her unwavering faith that somehow God would care for her during her pregnancy, in the childbirth, throughout her life, at the foot of the cross. Her faith that God’s plan was working out in the most common things of this wonderful divine child, her faith even when she was changing the diapers of the Son of God. On this day of the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, we pray for faith, real faith, not faith that demands proofs and is therefore a very weak faith, but faith that God is working out his plans in and through us in various and mysterious ways. We pray today for the gift of understanding to help us realize that God is far greater than our intelligence can comprehend. This gift enables us to take the step of faith that proclaims along with Mary that the child of Bethlehem is the Son of God. All of us have doubts in faith. They are part of human life. The very apostles who witnessed the resurrection of the Lord had doubts of faith even while they stood on the Mountain of the Ascension. Faith demands our taking a step away from our human perspective and trusting in God to do the incomprehensible. Therefore, today we pray that Mary, the Mother of God, may ask her Son to give us the courage, the humility, and the faith to proclaim with the Church that Jesus is our Saviour and Lord.   We all at the SUNDAY LITURGY Wish all our dear PATRONS & BENEFACTORS A Very Happy New Year May God, through the intercession of Mary, Bless & Protect you and your dear ones all through the New Year!