*
OUR OWN BEST SELF
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily is, “Our Own Best Self.”
The thought that hits me for this feast of the Immaculate Conception is that Mary models for us our own best self.
Priests, when it comes to this feast of the Immaculate Conception, often quote the words of the English poet, William Wordsworth, about Mary, “Woman, above all women glorified, / Our tainted nature’s solitary boast.”
Translation: when we are at our best, we boast about our best.
Unfortunately, the opposite is also true. When we are at our worst, we talk about the faults and failings of others. Sometimes, we also tear down those who are good or those who are successful.
Mary was the best – and we celebrate that today.
We are called to be our best – and when we are – we are doing God’s Will – being whom God hopes we will be. That’s a quick summary of this message in today’s second reading. [Cf. Ephesians 1: 11-12.]
FAMOUS PEOPLE
Before I came to Annapolis, I worked for 8 ½ years out of a parish in western Ohio, Lima. It’s about an hour’s drive from the Indiana border. About 30 weeks of the year I would be somewhere else than in Lima – many times, in tiny towns – preaching with another Redemptorist for a week in places we had never heard of: Galion, Bucyrus, Edgerton, Paulding, Napoleon, Kalida – all towns in Ohio.
And often in these tiny towns there would be a sign announcing a famous person from that town. For example, we saw a sign in Holgate, Ohio, “Birthplace of Joe E. Brown” or “Birthplace of Neil Armstrong, Wapokoneta, Ohio.” We saw signs mentioning Thomas Edison in Milan, Ohio and Annie Oakley in Greenville, Ohio. Or people would mention a pro football or baseball player from that town – sometimes someone I heard of, sometimes someone I never heard of.
Translation: people are proud of home town heroes.
Phyllis Diller was from Lima, Ohio.
MARY
Today we celebrate the feast of one of our’s: Mary.
Mary, a young girl, was chosen by God to be the mother of Jesus – our Lord and our Savior – and so God so set her free from original sin from her conception.
The town of Nazareth celebrates Mary. This planet – at least we Catholics – and so many others - celebrate her as well. We celebrate that God was thinking ahead – when preparing our world for his Son – in choosing Mary – to be the Mother of God.
The Catholic Church’s teaching is we are good - but we have instincts to both good and evil within us. Keep an eye on oneself for a month – and we’d see this truth. Turn the pages of scriptures and you’ll hear about this truth.
The Catholic Church’s teaching is that Mary was conceived without original sin – because she was to be the Mother of Jesus.
That’s what this feast – this Feast of the Immaculate Conception – is about.
Early Church Fathers like Irenaeus and Ambrose suggested this. The idea slowly developed and it was a title and a feast by 1476. [Type “Paintings – Immaculate Conception” into the Google search engine and you’ll see artists in the late middle ages and into modern times painting pictures of Mary under this title.] The teaching by the Church wasn’t declared a dogma till 1854.
This morning I was thinking that this teaching about Mary is an extremely logical idea. Now, when I have time, I need to do some research to see if anyone connected this dogma declared in 1854 with the Enlightenment – a movement that started in the middle of the 17th or the beginning of the 18th centuries and continues into our time.
Translation: When a couple are pregnant they start planning for the future. They want to do everything they can do to make life just right for the future child within the mom’s womb. This teaching is telling us that God did this for Mary – when she was in her mother’s womb – that Mary be just right to be the mother of his Son – Jesus, the Son of God.
OUR OWN BEST SELF
The title of my homily is, “Our Own Best Self.”
Today’s first reading tells us part of the story of Adam and Eve as it’s told in the Book of Genesis. Those stories in the beginning chapters of Genesis are early theologians trying to help us figure out how life started, where evil comes from, and where is God in all this.
These stories tell us two great teachings: first of all, God created us, so we and everything he created are good; and secondly, so where does evil come from? Evil comes because we have freedom of choice. Evil comes from bad choices. And the story tells us that Adam and Eve were the originators of sin.
Today’s gospel story from Luke is a parallel story to today’s first reading. Mary is being given a choice. She too answers questions like Adam did. Unlike Adam and Eve, Mary chooses the right fruit – the fruit of her womb, Jesus.
CONCLUSION
This feast challenges us to be our Own Best Self.
The title of my homily is, “Our Own Best Self.”
The thought that hits me for this feast of the Immaculate Conception is that Mary models for us our own best self.
Priests, when it comes to this feast of the Immaculate Conception, often quote the words of the English poet, William Wordsworth, about Mary, “Woman, above all women glorified, / Our tainted nature’s solitary boast.”
Translation: when we are at our best, we boast about our best.
Unfortunately, the opposite is also true. When we are at our worst, we talk about the faults and failings of others. Sometimes, we also tear down those who are good or those who are successful.
Mary was the best – and we celebrate that today.
We are called to be our best – and when we are – we are doing God’s Will – being whom God hopes we will be. That’s a quick summary of this message in today’s second reading. [Cf. Ephesians 1: 11-12.]
FAMOUS PEOPLE
Before I came to Annapolis, I worked for 8 ½ years out of a parish in western Ohio, Lima. It’s about an hour’s drive from the Indiana border. About 30 weeks of the year I would be somewhere else than in Lima – many times, in tiny towns – preaching with another Redemptorist for a week in places we had never heard of: Galion, Bucyrus, Edgerton, Paulding, Napoleon, Kalida – all towns in Ohio.
And often in these tiny towns there would be a sign announcing a famous person from that town. For example, we saw a sign in Holgate, Ohio, “Birthplace of Joe E. Brown” or “Birthplace of Neil Armstrong, Wapokoneta, Ohio.” We saw signs mentioning Thomas Edison in Milan, Ohio and Annie Oakley in Greenville, Ohio. Or people would mention a pro football or baseball player from that town – sometimes someone I heard of, sometimes someone I never heard of.
Translation: people are proud of home town heroes.
Phyllis Diller was from Lima, Ohio.
MARY
Today we celebrate the feast of one of our’s: Mary.
Mary, a young girl, was chosen by God to be the mother of Jesus – our Lord and our Savior – and so God so set her free from original sin from her conception.
The town of Nazareth celebrates Mary. This planet – at least we Catholics – and so many others - celebrate her as well. We celebrate that God was thinking ahead – when preparing our world for his Son – in choosing Mary – to be the Mother of God.
The Catholic Church’s teaching is we are good - but we have instincts to both good and evil within us. Keep an eye on oneself for a month – and we’d see this truth. Turn the pages of scriptures and you’ll hear about this truth.
The Catholic Church’s teaching is that Mary was conceived without original sin – because she was to be the Mother of Jesus.
That’s what this feast – this Feast of the Immaculate Conception – is about.
Early Church Fathers like Irenaeus and Ambrose suggested this. The idea slowly developed and it was a title and a feast by 1476. [Type “Paintings – Immaculate Conception” into the Google search engine and you’ll see artists in the late middle ages and into modern times painting pictures of Mary under this title.] The teaching by the Church wasn’t declared a dogma till 1854.
This morning I was thinking that this teaching about Mary is an extremely logical idea. Now, when I have time, I need to do some research to see if anyone connected this dogma declared in 1854 with the Enlightenment – a movement that started in the middle of the 17th or the beginning of the 18th centuries and continues into our time.
Translation: When a couple are pregnant they start planning for the future. They want to do everything they can do to make life just right for the future child within the mom’s womb. This teaching is telling us that God did this for Mary – when she was in her mother’s womb – that Mary be just right to be the mother of his Son – Jesus, the Son of God.
OUR OWN BEST SELF
The title of my homily is, “Our Own Best Self.”
Today’s first reading tells us part of the story of Adam and Eve as it’s told in the Book of Genesis. Those stories in the beginning chapters of Genesis are early theologians trying to help us figure out how life started, where evil comes from, and where is God in all this.
These stories tell us two great teachings: first of all, God created us, so we and everything he created are good; and secondly, so where does evil come from? Evil comes because we have freedom of choice. Evil comes from bad choices. And the story tells us that Adam and Eve were the originators of sin.
Today’s gospel story from Luke is a parallel story to today’s first reading. Mary is being given a choice. She too answers questions like Adam did. Unlike Adam and Eve, Mary chooses the right fruit – the fruit of her womb, Jesus.
CONCLUSION
This feast challenges us to be our Own Best Self.
This feast challenges us to be like Mary.
This feast challenges us to choose Jesus – and like Mary, to bring him to our world.
Each day we have choices to make.
Good choices make us our own best self. Bad choices make us our own worst enemy.
Each day forbidden fruit stares us in the face. We find a lost wallet on the sidewalk. We can keep it or try to find its owner.
Each day we can see a neighbor or a stranger who needs our help. We come upon someone trying to open a door with their hands full. We can walk over and help them or we can be blind.
Each day we can say “Yes” or “No” to sin and grace.
Like Mary, let us choose to be our own best self. Amen.
* Diego Velazquez [1597-1660]
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