MARY - MOTHER OF GOD AND MOTHER OF THE
CHURCH!
MARY
- THEOTOKOS AND MATER ECCLESIAE...Motherhood is a painful privilege. Young Mary of Nazareth had the unique privilege of being mother to the very Son of God. Yet the pains and pleasures of her motherhood can be understood by mothers everywhere. Mary was the only human present at Jesus' birth who also witnessed his death. She saw him arrive as her baby son, and she watched him die as her Saviour.
Until Gabriel’s unexpected visit, Mary's life was quite satisfactory. She had recently become engaged to a carpenter, Joseph, and was anticipating married life. But her life was about to change forever.
Angels don't usually make appointments before visiting. Feeling as if she were being congratulated for winning the grand prize in a contest she had never entered, Mary found the angel’s greeting puzzling and his presence frightening. What she heard next was the news almost every woman in Israel hoped to hear- that her child would be the Messiah, God's promised Saviour. Mary did not doubt the message but rather asked how pregnancy would be possible. Gabriel told her the baby would be God's Son. Her answer was the one God waits in vain to hear from so many other people: "I am the Lord’s servant ...May everything you have said come true"(Luke 1:38). Later her song of joy shows us how well she knew God, for her thoughts were filled with his words from the Old Testament.
Within a few weeks of his birth, Jesus was taken to the Temple to be dedicated to God. There Joseph and Mary were met by two devout people, Simeon and Anna, who recognised the child as the Messiah and praised God. Simeon directed some words to Mary that must have come to her mind many times in the years that followed: "A sword will pierce your very soul"(Luke 2:35). A big part of her painful privilege of motherhood would be to see her son rejected and crucified by the people he came to save.
We can imagine that even if she had known all she would suffer as Jesus' Mother, Mary would still have given the same response. Are you, like Mary, available to be used by God? The Church contemplates with wonder and celebrates with veneration on the 1st of January the immense greatness conferred on Mary, that is, the title of "Mother of God", by the One who wanted to be her Son. Contemplation of the mystery of the Saviour’s birth has led Christian people not only to invoke the Blessed Virgin as the Mother of Jesus, but also to recognize her as Mother of God. It was in 431A.D the Council of Ephesus proclaimed Mary the Mother of God. In the first Christian community, as the disciples became more aware that Jesus is the Son of God, it became ever clearer that Mary is the Theotókos, the Mother of God. This is a title which does not appear explictly in the Gospel texts, but in them the "Mother of Jesus" is mentioned and it is affirmed that Jesus is God (Jn 20:28; cf. 5:18; 10:30, 33). Mary is in any case presented as the Mother of Emmanuel, which means “God with us” (cf. Mt 1:22-23). . The expression Theotókos, which literally means, "she who has begotten God", can at first sight seem surprising; in fact it raises the question as to how it is possible for a human creature to give birth to God. The answer of the Church’s faith is clear: Mary’s divine motherhood refers only to the human begetting of the Son of God but not, however, to his divine birth. The Son of God was eternally begotten of God the Father, and is consubstantial with him. Mary, of course, has no part in this eternal birth. However, the Son of God assumed our human nature 2,000 years ago and was conceived by and born of Mary.
In proclaiming Mary "Mother of God", the Church thus intends to affirm that she is the "Mother of the Incarnate Word, who is God". Her motherhood does not, therefore, extend to all the Trinity, but only to the Second Person, the Son, who, in becoming incarnate, took his human nature from her. Motherhood is a relationship of person to person: a mother is not only mother of the body or of the physical creature born of her womb, but of the person she begets. Thus having given birth, according to his human nature, to the person of Jesus, who is a divine person, Mary is the Mother of God.
PERSONALITY PROFILE:
Strengths and Accomplishments:
The Mother of Jesus,
the Messiah
The one human who
was with Jesus from birth to death
Willing to be
available to God
Knew and applied
Old Testament Scriptures
Lessons from her life:
God’s best
servants are often ordinary people who make themselves available to Him
God’s plans
involve extraordinary events in ordinary people’s lives
A person’s
character is revealed by his or her response to the unexpected
Key verses:
Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with
me according to your word. Then the angel departed from her".(Luke
1:38)
Mentioned in: Mary's story is told throughout the Gospels. She is also mentioned in Acts 1:14.
Vital Statistics: Where: Nazareth, Bethlehem
Occupation: Homemaker
Husband: Joseph; Relatives: Zechariah and Elizabeth
Our Dear Mother MOST MERCIFUL, INTERCEDE FOR US:
Mary, our model
and mother, by your obedience and patience you have taught us how to be
true children of God. Please help us by your powerful assistance to overcome
all our weaknesses, and to fulfill perfectly our tasks in life.
By your compassionate aid may we ever stand in spirit with you beneath
the cross of Christ so that we may also rejoice with you in your divine
Son's triumphant victory over sin and death. In your maternal kindness
help us to be faithful to prayers in the company of God's Church as you
were one with the Apostles in the upper room as you waited for the promised
Spirit of Pentecost.
With your gracious assistance
may we be near you in the glory of Christ's kingdom come to sing with
you and all the faithful the eternal praise of God. Amen.
V. O Mary, conceived without sin,
R. Pray for us who have recourse to you.
O Mary, Mother most merciful, Intercede for us with our Lord, Jesus
Christ. Amen.
RESOLUTIONS:
So when they had finished
breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you
love me more than these?" (John 21:15)
Jesus has a wonderful way of
restoring us when we fail Him! He does not humiliate us. He does not criticize
us. He does not ask us to make a resolution to try harder. Rather, He
takes us aside and asks us to reaffirm our love for Him.
Peter miserably failed his Lord when he fled with the other disciples
from the Garden of Gethsemane. Later, he publicly denied three times that
he even knew Jesus. Peter must have wondered if he had been capable of
being Jesus'disciple when he was unfaithful to Jesus in His most crucial
hour.
As you begin a New Year,
you may be painfully aware that you have failed your Lord in many ways.
Perhaps you were not faithful. Perhaps you disobeyed His word to you.
Perhaps you denied Him by the way you lived. Jesus will take you aside,
as He did Peter. He will not berate you. He will not humiliate you. He
will ask you to examine your love for Him. He asked Peter, "Do you
love Me more than these?" three times. If your answer, like Peter's,
is always "Yes, Lord,"then He will reaffirm His will for you.
If you truly love Him, you will obey Him (John 14:15). Jesus does
not need your resolutions, your recommitments, or your promises to try
harder this year. If your resolve to obey God last year did not help you
to be faithful, it will not make you successful this year. Jesus asks
for you love. Love that is perfect and has no fear. If you truly love
Him, your service for Him in the New Year will be of the quality that
He desires.
God Bless you!
The HOLY BIBLE can be stated as the Word of God in the words of men, a Record of Revelation, the Book of Faith, the History of Salvation et al. It is a collection of books written over centuries under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and accepted by the Church as inspired. The Holy bible should be read regularly everyday to nourish our Spirit, to strengthen our faith and to guide us at every moment. To help you read the Bible daily, we will be providing you the daily reading plan monthwise with each edition. Set apart some time to read everyday and try your best to stick to the schedule. You will definitely get incredible results.
BIBLE READING PLAN FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY:
| 1.. Day 1 ..... Genesis 1-3 | 2.. Day 2 ..... Genesis 4-7 | 3.. Day 3 ..... Genesis 8-11 | 4.. Day 4 ..... Genesis 12-15 |
| 5.. Day 5 ..... Genesis 16-19 | 6.. Day 6 ..... Genesis 20-22 | 7.. Day 7 .....Genesis 23-27 | 8.. Day 8 ..... Genesis 28 |
| 9.. Day 9 ..... Genesis 29-32 | 10.. Day 10 .... Genesis 33-35 | 11.. Day 11 ....Genesis 36-38 | 12.. Day 12 .... Genesis 39-41 |
| 13.. Day 13 .... Genesis 42-45 | 14.. Day 14 .... Genesis 46-49 | 15.. Day 15 .... Genesis 50 | 16.. Day 16 .... Exodus 1-4 |
| 17.. Day 17 .... Exodus 5-7 | 18.. Day 18 .... Exodus 8-10 | 19.. Day 19 .... Exodus 11-15 | 20.. Day 20 .... Exodus 16-19 |
| 21.. Day 21 .... Exodus 20-23 | 22.. Day 22 ....Exodus 24 | 23.. Day 23 ....Exodus 25-27 | 24.. Day 24 .... Exodus 28-30 |
| 25.. Day 25 ....Exodus 31-33 | 26.. Day 26 .... Exodus 34-36 | 27.. Day 27 ....Exodus 37-40 | 28.. Day 28 .... Leviticus 1-3 |
| 29.. Day 29 .... Leviticus 4-8 | 30.. Day 30 .... Leviticus 9-12 | 31.. Day 31 ...Leviticus 13-15 |
XI DOWN ON JESUS' FARM
Agricultural terms are plentiful in Jesus' conversations. Spring is the time for plowing and planting activities which Jesus often described in his parables. Since many of these farming chores had also been used as symbols by the prophets, Jesus' stories would have recalled the Old Testament images for his listeners. Test your knowledge of Jesus' words and maybe your farming sense too by completing these Bible verses. Find these statements in the Gospel of Matthew and mention the chapter and verse numbers.
| 1. "...at harvest time I will tell the reapers,
Collect the ______ first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but
gather the _____ into my barn."
2. "Take my ______ upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." 3. John the Baptist referred to Jesus when he said, "His _________ _____ is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." 4. "but when it has grown it is the greatest of ______ and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its __________." 5."From the ____ _____ learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near." 6. "Every ______ that my heavenly Father has not planted will be _________." 7. "Listen! A ______ went out to sow. And as he sowed, some ______ fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up." |
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| Answers to Last month’s Quiz
X.THE BIRTH AND INFANCY OF JESUS 1) d)28 ; 2) d)3 ; 3) a)Egypt ; 4) c)5 ; 5) c) They were warned by God in a dream not to go back to Herod ; 6) c) David ; 7) d) Jerusalem |
Send Your Answers to: Rules to be followed: Thanks for taking the Quiz! Good Luck! |
A) NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR GOD! HE HEALED MY PARALYSED BODY!
Praise be to Jesus! Thanks be to Jesus!
I, Ram Kirpal Singh (age-40 years), was
totally helpless after an attack of paralysis that I had 4 years ago.
I could neither walk or speak or work with my hands any more. Before this
incident, I was teaching in a school along with my wife. But my paralysis
shattered our career too. She had to leave her job to take care of me.
I took treatment from different hospitals in Bihar, Haridwar and New Delhi
and nothing was effective. At AIIMS, I was operated twice, once on my
neck and the other on my spine. But the operations too failed completely.
We stayed for about a year with our relatives at Khanpur and later shifted
to a rented house at Badarpur, New Delhi.
One of the neighbours had pity on us and showed
us the right way. She told us about Jeevan Dham, St.Anthony’s School,
Sec-9, Faridabad, the healing prayer service held there every Sunday and
the wonders God is working amidst the believers. Although I did not believe
her at first, later my wife agreed and she came here one Sunday to see
for herself what was the truth. She heard the testimonies given by the
people and listened to the Word of God carefully. She believed after observing
everything and got the water blessed for me in a bottle. After coming
back home, she narrated to me everything that she had seen and heard here
and gave the blessed water to drink. Within few moments, to my surprise
I felt as if a wave of strength was running down my spine and throughout
my whole body. I could move my hands and wrist a little bit and my legs
too were moving with little difficulty. My wife realized that only prayers
could thus heal me and not medicines. My faith in God strengthened and
I made up my mind to meet the lady (who leads the prayer group) at her
residence.
My wife and our neighbour then fixed the
date and all of us went there one morning. They helped me sit on a stool.
We saw the lady and few sisters praying for a girl who was dumb out of
shock gazing at the statue of Jesus. All started praising and within minutes,
the girl started weeping and praying to God in distress. The sisters told
that she did not speak anything during the past four-five days because
she had lost all her invaluable certificates by mistake. Witnessing such
a miracle, my wife went closer to the lady and requested for prayers for
me. After knowing about my present and past condition, the lady commanded
me in the name of Jesus to stand up. All wondered how could that be possible
but when she repeated again, I felt as if I could do it and I stood up
mustering all my strength. All present there started praising God. Now,
the lady told me to take few steps forward and to go close to the altar.
Miraculously, I took my step forward slowly and then started walking without
anyone’s help. Everyone could see the joy on my face and the tears
of joy in my wife’s eyes and all of them praised God.
Even after spending over one lakh
rupees on treatment and operation for three years, no medicine could give
strength to my weak and numb nerves. All the doctors had tried their best.
Only a miracle through prayers could have healed me. Moreover, after trying
for some time I spoke ‘Alleluia’ clearly. The stiffness of
my tongue disappeared after praising God, who lives amidst us and through
his mercy delivers us from all bondages and ailments. I praise Him from
the depth of my heart and I am indebted to Him for all His favours to
me.
Ram Kirpal Singh, New Delhi
"I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord". (Psalms 40:1-4)
B) GOD STRENGTHENED THEIR LEGS AND THEY LEFT THEIR WALKING STICKS! PRAISE THE LORD!
E-mail us your petitions to: justcallanthony@yahoo.com |
IMPORTANT TIMINGS DAILY MORNING PRAYER :  On
Weekdays from 9:00a.m. to 11:00p.m. 24-HOUR Adoration is going on
everyday ROUND-THE-CLOCK for over the last 1 year. You too can join
us in prayer anytime. HOLY MASS : On Fridays: morning 10:00 a.m. On Sundays: evening 6:30 p.m. |
WELCOME TO JEEVAN DHAM Are you … worried & burdened? Are you … depressed? Are you … sick or weak? Do you … feel the absence of peace & love in your life? Are you … grappling with a lot of problems in your life? Then visit this place chosen by God & see for yourselves all the incredible miracles happening here.This place is ‘JEEVAN DHAM’. Believe in God and attend the prayer session held every Sunday at St.Anthony’s School (ground), Sec-9, Faridabad from morning 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. organized with the grace of Almighty God by ‘Jeevan Dham’- H.no.696/ Sec-22, Faridabad. Obtain invaluable graces & heavenly blessings & witness the miraculous healings performed by Him. |
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WELCOME TO JEEVAN DHAM!
Scriptural references in DIVYA JYOTI are from the New Revised Standard Version (© Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers)1989 |
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Edited
and Published by Anthony. JEEVANDHAM, 696/22. Faridabad -121005,
Haryana, INDIA
Ph: 91-0129-2231126, 9350128560 |
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