This coming Thursday, December 8th, we, as Church, will be observing the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of our Blessed Mother. For all Catholics, there is as serious a responsibility to participate at Mass for this occasion as there is to come to Mass each weekend. Masses for this special Holy Day of Obligation are scheduled as follows: on Wed., Dec. 7th, at St. Mary Parish at 7:00 p.m.; on Thurs., Dec. 8th, at St. Mary Parish at 9:00 a.m. (with the School Community); also on Thurs., Dec. 8th, at Resurrection Parish at 7:00 p.m.
In our society, coming to Mass on Obligatory Holy Days that fall on weekdays is hard for the following reasons: 1) Many of us belong to groups that have activities or meetings on weekday evenings. We feel a serious sense of responsibility to participate in these regularly-scheduled gatherings. 2) Also, in our area, we are the only Christian tradition that observes this Solemnity on December 8th. While this special observance is the Patronal Feast of our country, its occurrence reminds us that we live in a non-Catholic culture.
Our determination to shake ourselves loose from what we might otherwise be doing to come to Mass will arouse the curiosity and perhaps even the interest of a number of non-Catholic persons, including non-Catholic Christians. Here are some talking points for sharing with non-Catholic persons why observing this occasion is important for us: 1) In regard to ourselves, we can feel overwhelmed at times by that which we have to face. Mary was overwhelmed by that which she was asked to do, namely to be the Mother of God’s only-begotten Son. She gave expression to her natural concern as to how she was to do what the Lord was counting on her to do. 2) This Feast challenges us to take to heart the Biblical message that whenever the Lord calls us to do that which seems to be impossible, He always equips us for that which He asks of us. 3) Mary’s response to the Angel Gabriel serves as a model for us, namely that we be open each day to all that the Lord would give to us and do in and through us. In this way, we are allowing the Lord to accomplish in and through us far more than we can ever envision or imagine.
By gathering for Mass to celebrate this special occasion and by sharing why we come to Mass at this time, we are witnessing to the Faith of the Catholic Church, or to put it another way, we are evangelizing. To evangelize is to sow seeds. A sower is responsible to sow seeds to the best of her/his ability. The Lord brings about a harvest from that which is sown. We are not responsible to make converts to the Lord and to His Church. The work of leading persons to want to share with us the Faith we celebrate belongs to the Lord.
The need within all persons for which this Solemnity offers strength and hope is that of being overwhelmed at times by that which is expected of us. Let’s pray for an awareness of someone who may be daunted by that which he/she has to face. By inviting that person to come to Mass with us, we will be doing one of the greatest favors that we can do for that individual.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Fr. Nelson Beaver – Pastor