A birth and an announcement

First Reading: Mi 5:1-4a or Rom 8:28-30
Psalm: 13:6 -- With delight I rejoice in the Lord
Gospel: Mt 1:1-16, 18-23 or 1:18-23

Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Friends,

In reading the long version of the gospel today, I couldn't help but smile every time I read the words 'father' or 'mother'. The words seem to have new meaning today. I am blessed to announce today, on the birthday of our Blessed Mother, that my wife and I are expecting our first child!

I encourage everyone to read today's scriptures, but will not comment on them today. Instead, we offer this prayer:

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of death. Amen.

Hail, holy Queen, mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope.
To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve.
To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.
Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God.
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Rejoice with us, as we celebrate the blessings our Lord has bestowed on us. Let us together sing of His goodness!

Heavenly Father, we thank you and praise you for this day, and all of its blessings. We ask that you guide us as we begin our new lives as parents. Let the example of your Blessed Mother and St. Joseph stand ever before us and shine in our lives. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, your Son and our Lord. Amen.

The Secret

First Reading: Col 1:24–2:3
Psalm: 62:6-7, 9 -- In God is my safety and my glory
Gospel: Lk 6:6-11

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the church, of which I am a minister in accordance with God's stewardship given to me to bring to completion for you the word of God, the mystery hidden from ages and from generations past. But now it has been manifested to his holy ones, to whom God chose to make known the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; it is Christ in you, the hope for glory. - Colossians 1:24-27

Friends,

In today's reading, Paul is speaking to the Colossians, a community of believers that he had never met. He is sharing with them what is necessary for them to understand the importance of the gospels and how the good news of Christ relates to them. In this small section, he is speaking of his role in ministering and revealing to them "the mystery hidden from ages and from generations past".

Christianity is very interesting when it comes to discussing this mystery of our relationship to God and His relationship with us. As a community, we are not called to keep this secret to ourselves until the initiates have passed through rituals or proven themselves worthy. Rather, we proclaim the mystery of the word of God from the rooftops and share our great secret with everyone who has ears to hear. Ours is an open secret, all are called to know it, but not all will understand or accept it.

And even though our gospel is veiled, it is veiled for those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so that they may not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. - 2 Corinthians 4:3-4

Our secret is this: in Christ, we find all things. Through him, we understand the mysteries of God's love for us. With him, we discover the depths of that love. In him, we find our hope for a restored relationship with our Creator. Not only that, but also the knowledge that he is with us and in us, to build that relationship, that the riches of his glory are to be shared with us. Our secret is truly one to be treasured and shared.

For this reason, we are always thankful for the ministers of the gospel; those who, like Paul, speak to anyone and everyone about the secrets of the ages, revealed in Christ. Let us pray that they be strengthened as they spread the word about The Word of God made flesh.

Heavenly Father, we thank you and praise you for the gift of this day. We thank you for our priests and missionaries, who share your word with us and spread the gospel to the world. Lord, grant that we, also, might be ministers of your word; a living testament to the gospel. Prepare us, that we might be always ready to share the secret of Christ's love. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.