According to His Purpose

September 8, 2012

Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary 

We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.  For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.  And those he predestined he also called; and those he called he also justified; and those he justified he also glorified.  Romans 8:28-30

"Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.  For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her.  She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."  All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means "God is with us."  Matthew 1:18-23

Piety

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

Study

The readings today do not really address the actual circumstances of the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  We hear in the Gospel about the genealogy of Jesus through the ancestry of Joseph, not Mary.  What is missing is the genealogy of Mary.  For that, we have to look to the first reading. 

The facts of Mary's ancestry are meaningless when we consider her in light of the reading from Romans.  "We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose."  Clearly, Mary was called to the purpose and mission of the Lord.  She lived according to His purpose.  She might not have always  understood it.  However, she accepted it so that her first born would be firstborn among all in the world. 

Action

Because she was predestined to give birth to the Son of Man, Mary's ancestry is immaterial to the broader story of salvation history.  When her mother's mother was conceived, the Lord knew who and what the granddaughter of this person would become.  What matters is not who was her father's father.  What matters is who is her Son's sisters and brothers.

We should be less focused on her ancestry than on her heirs.  Are we worthy to be co-heirs of the line of Christians that she begat and began?  How do we imitate her life in order to obtain the promises of Christ in our lives?

What will you do today to live according to His purpose, not your own?