YES D-E-A-R-G-O-D

The Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary
08 September 2011


Let us celebrate the birth of the Virgin Mary; let us worship her son, Christ the Lord.

First reading Micah 5:1-4
The Lord says this:
But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
the least of the clans of Judah,
out of you will be born for me
the one who is to rule over Israel;
his origin goes back to the distant past,
to the days of old.
The Lord is therefore going to abandon them
till the time when she who is to give birth gives birth.
Then the remnant of his brothers will come back
to the sons of Israel.
He will stand and feed his flock
with the power of the Lord,
with the majesty of the name of his God.
They will live secure, for from then on he will extend his power
to the ends of the land.
He himself will be peace.

Psalm or canticle: Psalm 12:6-7

Gospel Matthew 1:1-16,18-23
A genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham:
Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah, Tamar being their mother,
Perez was the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
Ram was the father of Amminadab,
Amminadab the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
Salmon was the father of Boaz, Rahab being his mother,
Boaz was the father of Obed, Ruth being his mother,
Obed was the father of Jesse;
and Jesse was the father of King David.
David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,
Solomon was the father of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa,
Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of Joram,
Joram the father of Azariah,
Azariah was the father of Jotham,
Jotham the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,
Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of Amon,
Amon the father of Josiah;
and Josiah was the father of Jechoniah and his brothers.
Then the deportation to Babylon took place.
After the deportation to Babylon:
Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud,
Abiud the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of Azor,
Azor was the father of Zadok,
Zadok the father of Achim,
Achim the father of Eliud,
Eliud was the father of Eleazar,
Eleazar the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob;
and Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary;
of her was born Jesus who is called Christ.
This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph; being a man of honour and wanting to spare her publicity, decided to divorce her informally. He had made up his mind to do this when the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.’ Now all this took place to fulfil the words spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and they will call him Emmanuel,
a name which means ‘God-is-with-us.’

Reflection
By Gharri Tulabut

There was a time when I felt very unimportant. I did not come from a rich or influential family. I was just an average guy. And most of all (or should I say worst of all) I am a polio survivor, a person with disability.

So I started searching what my life’s mission could possibly be.

In my search of things to muddle up just to discover answers, my first unwilling victim was my own given name. I never did like my name. I don’t think it is even in the Bible. I am already halfway through my one year Bible reading but I haven’t encountered the name “Edgardo” yet. So I thought could there something about this name which I really disliked? So I googled it and sure enough, there was no single meaning for it. Rather, the result was divided into two – ED (and its variations, Eddie, Edward) which means wealthy, and GAR (and its variations GARY, GERRY, GERALD) which means spear (something to do with being a warrior, knight or soldier). Therefore, “Edgardo” could possibly mean “a wealthy warrior”. Hmm, maybe I am bound to eradicate poverty in the Philippines. But before doing that, I think I should start first with myself and with my family. So, to live up to the meaning of my name, I joined a group that promotes financial literacy to Filipinos, attended wealth seminars, and started investing in the stock market. And now, I am also on my way to having my own business.

I believe the Blessed Virgin Mary also used to be unimportant. She lived a simple life. She did not come from a rich or influential family. In fact, I am sure she never had great lineage or ancestry. Why am I sure about that? Well, today we celebrate Mama Mary’s birthday, yet the Gospel reading is about the ancestry of St. Joseph. Why? Because nothing has been written about the ancestry of Mama Mary (St. Joachim and St. Anne were only mentioned in other early Christian writings). That is how unimportant she was then.

But that was before she said yes to the angel and accepted her mission on earth. We all know that after her Yes to God, she became the most important woman in our salvation history.

Like Mama Mary, we also have to say yes to God for our mission on earth, whatever that will be. Sometimes, we do not know it yet, but we just have to say yes to Him and trust Him just like when Mama Mary said yes and did not know what was in store for her. We do not even need to be important persons or come from an important family of great influence or legacy. Rather, we can start to make our own legacy if we just say yes to God’s mission for us. And I do not have any doubts that each of us has his or her own purpose. I believe we all have our own missions if we only say yes to God. In fact, I believe there is a purpose even with my handicap. Though it took a little longer before I discovered it, it only took a forwarded email for me to find out what it was.

You see, I subscribed to this internet program which sends inspiring messages. All of the messages always make sense. But there was this one that struck me the most, made the most sense, and justified my mission. And it came at a time when those “why’s” and “why me’s” are about to attack my usually peaceful mind. The message says: "What is your weakness? Your handicap? Your limitation? Don’t be too hard on yourself. You’ll be surprised that your weakness will be the source of strength for others around you."

Now I know my mission.

Oh, by the way, my search for meaning did not stop at the “Wealthy Warrior” discovery. One time, I tried to look for an anagram of my name and I found an online anagram generator. So I immediately typed these seven letters: E… D… G… A… R… D… O. Then, I pressed enter.

Lo, and behold what I discovered! The anagram of my name which I used to hate is DEAR GOD or GOD DEAR. (To think I thought it wasn’t in the Bible)

So what could this discovery mean? Maybe like Mama Mary, who became an instrument in bringing Jesus on earth, I also have to be an instrument in bringing Jesus to the people… if that is the way I can live by the hidden meaning of my name… which is the Greatest Name of all!

Dear God, even if I do not know what is in store for me, like Mama Mary, I say yes to You.

Mama Mary, my inspiration for purity and obedience, Happy Birthday!!!Amen.