Faith of Hope

(Sharing at the Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help on 27 Apr 2013)

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ

During this Year of Faith, the Nicene Creed is our central prayer. Rightly so, as it tells us and others of our faith. Have you ever wondered why we bow profoundly at the Incarnatus, i.e. the phrase “...and by the Holy Spirit, was incarnate of the Virgin Mary and became man”? On the solemnities of Christmas and the Annunciation, we even genuflect at this moment. Father Daniel Schomaker[1]wrote,

(I quote) “As God comes down to earth, we too go down to the earth and touch our knee to the ground. ...God, in the person of Jesus Christ, emptied himself of all that he was and, putting on flesh, became one like us,”

while maintaining fully his divinity.

Such profound gestures show how central the doctrine of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is in our faith. The Incarnation is the beginning of our Christian faith. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church (# 463) states, belief in the true Incarnation of the Son of God is what marks us apart as Christians. The person who gave our God a body, so that we can be redeemed, is none other than Mary. That is why she is called the Mother of God. As award-winning Catholic writer, Kathy Coffey, highlighted, the crucial moment that led to the Incarnation, the Annunciation, must have been the most unforgettable in Mary’s life. Today, I would like to share Kathy Coffey’s thoughts on the Annunciation, and its applications to us.

Coffey painted Mary’s background as such. Immersed in the Torah, Mary, who probably could not read, would have memorised sections of it. The story of God’s fidelity to His people ran in her veins. She would have lighted the Sabbath candle every week, and sung the psalms regularly, reminding of God’s goodness. On the other hand, there was the Roman oppression. She had friends who were sold as slaves with their children when Romans killed Israel’s two thousand men. Admist these two powerful forces, she received a most puzzling message from the Archangel Gabriel, that turned her life upside down. No agenda was given; she did not have any clue of what to expect after the startling visit.

Mary’s dilemma is like ours, moving between two worlds: the promises of our faith, and the sad realities of our culture. If we hope in our faith, we may be accused of ignoring reality. If we focus on people’s inhumanity, we may despair and ask where God is. Coffey boldly wondered about God’s seemingly bad sense of timing. Could the news of the pregnancy not waited till Mary was safely and respectably married to Joseph? Could the birth not have happened when they were settled at home with family and friends’ support? Could God not have struck Herod with a simple lightning bolt, and spared the besieged family the difficult trip? Coffey then wrote that we balk at hardship and inconvenience because we cannot see into the future.

How could Mary have so easily answered “yes”? Ladislas Orsy, S.J., a Jesuit professor, says that human hopes name future expectations and then cling fast to them, whereas divine hope means immersion in God’s plan. “God guarantees a good outcome but without telling us what it will be.” Mary’s participation (I quote) “...was perfect; she never said, ‘I had hoped.’” (unquote) Mary participated actively in her own drama, without knowing how it would unfold. She did not try to hide her fear or uncertainty, but she knew the cure for our human failure to see: blind trust. She could praise God in the Magnificat thereafter, because she knew God’s constancy and fidelity. Mary’s way was divine hope.

According to Coffey, Mary can help us here, because she understood the kind of tensions we face. Living with the dramatic contrasts, she made her peace with disparate worlds. Throughout her life, she would help her friends remember God’s goodness, especially through her son. She directed Jesus’ disciples towards hope when they despaired. We, who have been baptized into Mary’s same gift of faith, must also live on hope, trusting in God’s promise. Like Mary, we have been called to participate in the fullness of God’s life and bring Christ into our worlds.

As we prepare for the coming general elections, let us keep this hope alive for our nation by praying and fulfilling our duty to vote, guided by the Holy Spirit. By our faith, may we show others the reason for our hope. Mary, our Mother, show us the way and pray for us. Amen.

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[1] An associate director of the diocesan Office of Worship and Liturgy of Covington, Kentucky, the USA