Happy Birthday, Mama Mary

Today, we celebrate the birth of the Holy Mother of God, Mary Immaculate.

From the earliest of time, we read from Genesis 3:15, God as he cursed the snake, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel." And all of Israel from then on waited for the birth of this man who will destroy the serpent – and of course, waiting for the woman to give birth to this promised savior.

At the appointed time, the woman who was to be the Mother of the Savior was born to her parents, Joachim and Anne. She was named Mary. Also in the appointed time, the woman was visited by an angel, whose announcement she lovingly accepted. And also in the appointed time, the woman, gave birth to a son, who was named Jesus. The rest, as they say is history – salvation history.

The birth of Mary brings us to reflect on our own birth and the life.

I would like to believe, as the Good Book attests to, that each of us is born for a specific purpose. In fact, the Good Book attests too, that God has called us even before we are born – we are dedicated to a unique and special role. Not that we are predetermined fatally, but that our birth is with purpose and it is our choice to fulfill that or otherwise.

It is pretty difficult to recognize and take hold of this purpose that God has for us, in the most concrete. This is evidenced by the difficulty many encounter in choosing a career, a profession, a state in life.

A little help from our enlightened peers might help. Frederick Buechner, an ordained Presbyterian minister once said, the place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.

Our quest for our purpose, or calling, if you want has two dimensions then – where we find our deepest gladness and the world’s deep hunger.

Our purpose in life which maybe manifested in a career, profession or state in life is first of all where we find our deepest gladness. The advice of many parents is proper – kung saan ka masaya, suportahan ta ka. Jesus said in the Gospel, where your heart is, there your treasure will be. In an increasingly financially difficult world, in an increasingly commercialized and secularized world, in a world where more and more the norm is material progress, this comes as a great challenge – does our choice of profession bring us deep personal joy, fulfillment and peace? Joy is not simply cheer. Fulfillment is not simply accomplishment. Peace is not simply security. Financial progress, career heights, a fat bank account, and accumulated wealth do not always bring deep, true, lingering gladness. The first measure then of our purpose in life is deep personal joy, fulfillment and peace.

Second, our purpose in life which maybe manifested in a career, profession or state in life is to be based, on the world’s deep hunger. Our purpose in life is not only for our selves, but also in response to the world’s deep hunger. Cliché as it may be, still it is true, no person is an island, no person stands alone, each person’s joy is my joy, each person’s grief is my own. Our pursuit for purpose, and for deep gladness should also take into consideration the world’s deepest need. The problem arises when in pursuit of personal happiness, a person closes his or her eyes to the suffering of other people. Worse, when in pursuit of personal happiness, a person causes the suffering of other people, even myriads of peoples. We are reminded, that our purpose in life is tied not only in our personal happiness, but in our contribution also to alleviating the poverty of the world, of quenching the deepest thirst of peoples, of filling the hungers of peoples.

The place God calls us to is the place where our deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.

May our commemoration of the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary bless us.