Thursday, August 15, 2013

Mary, the Mother of Our Lord

Today is one of the days that the Church honors Mary, the mother of Jesus.  Since the early days of the Church Mary has held a special place in the hearts of believers.  She is the model disciple who tells us to listen to her son and to do whatever he tells us to do. See Jn. 2:5 (the Wedding Feast of Cana). 
 
Mary’s life was not easy by any means.  She was greeted by the good news that she would give birth to the one who would restore all things to God, the Immanuel, God with us, and she lived to stand and the foot of the cross witnessing her son’s brutal death. 
 
James Kiefer tells us that: “The New Testament records several incidents from the life of the Virgin: her betrothal to Joseph, the Annunciation by the angel Gabriel that she was to bear the Messiah, her Visitation to Elizabeth the mother of John the Baptist, the Nativity of our Lord, the visits of the shepherds and the magi, the Presentation of the infant Jesus in the Temple at the age of forty days, the flight into Egypt, the Passover visit to the Temple when Jesus was twelve, [Matt. 1:16,18-25; 2; Lk. 1:26-56; 2]; the wedding at Cana in Galilee and the performance of her Son's first miracle at her intercession [Jn. 2:1-11], the occasions when observers said, "How can this man be special? We know his family!" [Matt. 13:54-56; Mk. 6:1-3; Lk. 4:22; also Jn. 6:42], an occasion when she came with others to see him while he was preaching [Matt. 12:46-50; Mk. 3:31-35; Lk. 8:19-21], her presence at the foot of the Cross, where Jesus commends her to the care of the Beloved Disciple [Jn. 19:25-27], and her presence with the apostles in the upper room after the Ascension, waiting for the promised Spirit [Acts 1:14]. She is thus seen to be present at most of the chief events of her Son's life.”
 
She is also mentioned by name in the Apostles’ and the Nicene Creed: “He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.”  (The only other person mentioned by name, besides Jesus, is Pontius Pilate.)
 
Let us pray: O God, who have taken to yourself the blessed Virgin Mary, mother of your incarnate Son: Grant that we, who have been redeemed by his blood, may share with her the glory of your eternal kingdom; through your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.
 
CALENDAR REMINDERS
 
Adult Christian Education every Sunday at 11:00 a.m.: Contemporary Moral Issues.
 
Sunday, 25 August at 9:00 a.m. the Feast of St. Augustine will be celebrated with Eucharist Rite II and a pot luck lunch after.  This is the 129th anniversary of our church community.
 
Retreat on 19-22 September 2013 at Holy Cross Monastery led by the Rev. Dr. Tom  Bain, “Standing at the Center with God and Ourselves.”  Here is a link to the website:
 
Please remember everyone on our Prayer List especially Jim Reagan and all of those who are starting college and will be away from home for the first time.
 
Your servant in Christ,
 
The Rev. Chester J. Makowski
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550

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