Mary, Mother of God

“Mary treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart”

January 1st, start of new year, start of new level of human life - the Incarnation, Emmanuel, God is with us. Thanks to Mary's 'be it done to me according to your word.'

Today, we celebrate the twin virtues of gratitude and hope.

Gratitude is, as Marcus Tullius Cicero said,  “not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the other.”

Mary lived hope as she moved from Bethlehem, to the Temple, to Egypt, to Nazareth and then the wedding feast at Cana where she triggered the public life of her son, Jesus.

Hope is a virtue, and an attitude to our performance. A team, with hope in their heart can turn a 2-0 after 90' to a 2-3 victory after added time is all used up.

When a door through which I was working through life was closed shut, Hope has helped me knock a hole in the wall and build a new one.  Thanks to hope - sustained by pride and ' I will never give up' - life has been entertains and fun.

The 3rd century Greek poet Theocritus wrote, ‘Dum spiro spero,’ 'while I live there is hope', 

Hope that I might do some good, has kept me celebrating  Mass, here on Sundays. By all accounts, my hope has not been without its fruits.