Weekly HOMILY for January 1, 2008: To Appreciate the Past, to Value the Present, and to Greet the Future

Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, Cycle A
New Year’s Day
Our Lady of Grace
January 1, 2008

To Appreciate the Past, to Value the Present, and to Greet the Future
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato


“We Don’t Have Time…”

One of our classic American plays is Our Town by Thornton Wilder.

In this play, a young woman dies and is then allowed by God to return to earth to re-live just one day of her life. The day she chooses is her twelfth birthday.

A few hours into the day she cries out: “I can’t. I can’t go on. It goes so fast.

“We don’t have time to look at one another. Oh earth, you’re too beautiful for anyone to realize.”

Then, with tears in her eyes, she asks, “Do human beings ever realize life as they live it?” And a voice answers her, “No. The saints and poets maybe – they do sometimes.”

New Year’s: A Moment in Time

That excerpt from Our Town is very appropriate as we celebrate New Year’s Eve.

The woman says, “We don’t have time” – time to realize the gift of life while we have it.” New Year’s is a special moment and day because it marks the beginning of another major segment of time – a new year – in our lives.

The words of the woman in Our Town are intended to awaken us a bit to the preciousness of the time we have. In a similar way, the woman in this evening’s Gospel – Mary – helps us in knowing what to do with our time and how to live it.

Saint Luke depicts Mary at the manger in Bethlehem and simply says that “Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.” Mary’s reflective, prayerful approach is very appropriate as we begin a New Year and it leads us in some helpful directions.

Mary: Past, Present and Future

First, Mary leads us to appreciate our past.

For most of us, our past has probably been a mix of some joy and some sorrow, some satisfaction and some disappointment, some good health and some illness.

Mary calls us to see how God has been with us even in troubled moments and confusing times, just as she herself experienced.

Her reflective spirit moves us tonight to affirm God presence at least bringing us this far, to this moment of time.

Then, Mary also leads us to value the present.

She calls us to value the gift of life, whether it is the life of an unborn child that she herself valued or simply this very day of life.

Mary calls us to discern God’s will for us in the guidance of a parent or a teacher or right in the inspired Word of God, as she herself discerned in the words of the angel to her.

Her reflective spirit moves us live the present with an awareness of God’s active presence.

And finally, Mary leads us to greet the future.

Because Mary discerned and trusted God’s call, she moved forward in becoming the mother of Jesus, the mother of God’s Son, the mother of God.

Mary’s call moves us to chart a direction for our parish or make a decision on a new job or select a college to attend – all with trust in God.

Her reflective spirit moves us to greet the future, to greet 2008 with trust in God’s presence, strength, and guidance.

Conclusion

So, as the woman in Our Town asks, “Do human beings ever realize life while they live it?”

And the woman who brings God’s Son into the world, Mary, shows us how to realize life while we live it.

Her reflective spirit led her and now leads us to appreciate the past, to value the present and to greet future – all with a realization and awareness of God’s loving presence and care.