WORD FOR MISSION
Missionary reflection  on Sunday Liturgy

God seeks a home in the heart of each person

IV  Sunday of Advent

Year B –  18.12.2005

2Samuel  7:1-5,8-12,14-16

From Psalm  88

Romans  16:25-27

Luke  1:26-38

Reflections
Christmas is very close! In many parishes and Catholic families preparations are almost complete: the Crib is just about ready, the choirs are rehearsed, and h excitement is growing. The Crib is important because it is a "reconstruction" of the place where Jesus was born. The Liturgical texts of this Sunday put this topic before us: where God is born, where he lives. Where can we find a house for God? What would he prefer?

King David  (1st Reading), and his enemies had just about fought themselves to a standstill, and a truce was in force. He had build himself a fine palace of cedar wood, and now decides to build a temple for the Ark of his God. He was thinking of something majestic, that would rival all the sanctuaries of the neighbouring peoples. But the prophet Nathan halts the project: what is really important is that David understands that God chose him from among his flocks (v.8) and that the present peace is due to the fact that God was at his side with power: "I was with you wherever you went” (v. 9). Even the dynasty and the future generations, which matter so much to the king, will be granted him as a free gift, established for ever (vv. 11 & 16) as part of a much wider project which is that of God himself, and which he will carry out.

The full manifestation of the indwelling of God in the human family is the flesh of Jesus, who is Son of God in human flesh (Gospel). The womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary is chosen, through the work of the Holy Spirit, to be the human dwelling for God, who prepared a special person, the one "full of grace", for this purpose (v.28). Several Fathers of the Church pointed out that Mary conceived the Son of God first in her heart, then in her body. That is, she became the dwelling pace of God through faith and love, before her physical. This was possible through the total readiness of Mary, who accepted the astonishing proposal put to her by the Angel of the Lord: "I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done... " (v.38). The fiat of Mary is far more than an act of resigned acceptance. The underlying Greek text shows a willingness, a joyful readiness to have it happen. Already the new family of those who adore the Father in spirit and in truth (Jn.4:23) is being formed. And so Mary will proclaim the marvellous things that the Lord has worked in her (Lk.1:49).  *

Among these wonderful works is the fulfilment of God's promise to David, that the Son of the Most High - and a descendant through Mary - would inherit the throne, for a Kingdom that will have no end (v.32-33) In the second Reading St. Paul talks about this mystery of salvation that remained hidden for generations, but is now revealed and proclaimed (cf. v.25) to all nations so that they be brought to the obedience of faith (v.26). God wishes to be discovered and welcomed into the heart of every human person, because each one is created in His image. Each person, every culture, is God's dwelling place. In each person there are signs of the beauty and goodness of God; in the culture of the nations there are signs of the truth - the so-called "seeds of the Word", vehicles of a greater reality, for they need the Word in order to reach full maturity.

Every human heart is potentially and really an incipient dwelling of God. The missionary activity of the Church consists in discovering the signs of God's presence in the hearts of each person and in the events of the day-to-day history of the nations, so as to bring all of them to the fulness of life in Christ, the one true Saviour. Maria is a model of this fulness; she was the first believer in Christ and his first missionary: after the Annunciation, she takes Him with her to the meeting with her cousin Elizabeth; and she shows him to the shepherds and the Wise Men. Mary is the model of a diving dwelling; she teaches us  that God wants to renew people from within; that the human heart is the first and the best crib in which Jesus wants to be born: that is, in the heart of each person!


The Pope's words
*  “The closer man is to God, the closer he is to others. We see it in Mary. The fact that she is totally close to God is the reason why she is also so close to people. For this reason she is able to be the Mother of all consolation and of all help, a Mother to whom anyone, in any need, may dare to turn in their need and their sin... Hence Mary stands before us as a sign of consolation, of encouragement, of hope. She turns to us and says:  "Have the courage to dare with God! Try it! Do not be afraid of Him! Have the courage to dare with faith! Have the courage to take a risk with goodness! Have the courage to take a risk with a pure heart! Commit yourself to God, and then you will see that precisely through that your life will become open and enlightened, not boring but full of infinite surprises!"

Benedict XVI

Homily for the Immaculate Conception, 08.8.12.2005

In the footsteps of Missionaries
- 21/12: St. Peter Canisius (1521-1597), a Jesuit priest from central Europe, Theologian at the Council of Trent, the animator of the German Counter-reformation and author of a Catechism. He is a Doctor of the Church.
- 22/12: St. Frances Xavier Cabrini (born Lodi 1850; died Chicago 1917), Foundress of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, for the special care of immigrants. She founded many works and initiatives for this purpose.
- 23/12: St. John of Kenty (1390-1473), a Polish priest and theologian, who taught several generations of priests and was a parish priest, exemplary in his prayer and works of Charity.
- 23/12: St. Marie. M. d'Youville (1701-1771), a Canadian from Quebec, first wife and mother, then later a nun and Foundress.
- 23/12: Bl. Antonio da S. Anna Galvão de França (São Paulo +1822), a Franciscan priest, renowned for his preaching and his penances.
- 24/12: Bl. Bartolomeo Maria dal Monte (1726-1778), a priest from Bologna, assiduous preacher of Missions in parishes and to the clergy in 62 Dioceses in Italy. He founded the Missionary Society.

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Editor: Fr. Romeo Ballan, mcci – former Director of CIAM, Roma

Website:   www.ciam.org    “The Word for Mission”

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