December 25, 2022. I jokingly said, “Baby Jesus, can You please give us a baby?” as my husband and I lined up for the blessing of the Infant Jesus after the Mass. Then I grinned, “Kidding. But if You want to take it seriously, You’re welcome.”

I just had a pregnancy test the day before—my birthday—and it came out negative. We had three miscarriages, so we were keen on knowing if we were pregnant as soon as possible. Next morning, I woke up nauseous. I took a pregnancy test just because—and two faint positive lines showed! We’re pregnant! A BHCG test confirmed our miracle. Praise God!

With our history and reproductive-immune conditions, we fight in faith every day for our baby’s safety. But every time worry creeps in, we recall how God answered our prayer. We rest secure in the faithfulness of the One who gave us our child. He has done it with Elizabeth and Mary, He will do it again to us. For nothing is impossible—and no one is invisible—with Him. Maymay Salvosa Trinidad (christiane.trinidad@gmail.com)

Reflect:

The God whom we worship today is the same God who was faithful to Elizabeth and Mary. And He will remain unchanged forever. Ask for your miracle with confidence in His goodness. God listens, and He loves you.

Jesus, help me to trust You more. Amen

Saint Alipius, pray for us.

First Reading | Revelation 11:19; 12:1-6, 10

Mary’s assumption into heaven is a source of hope for us to receive this grace at the end of time. Mary receives at her time of death what was promised to all through the resurrection of Jesus. She has this privilege and grace as the Mother of God. What she has received, we will also receive; but she got it "earlier" than us. There is no need to be jealous or to think that God has favorites. He just recognized Mary’s role in salvation history as the bearer of the Christ Child to the world. 

¹⁹ God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple. ^12:1  A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. ²  She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth. ³ Then another sign appeared in the sky; it was a huge red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadems. ⁴  Its tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky and hurled them down to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman about to give birth, to devour her child when she gave birth. ⁵  She gave birth to a son, a male child, destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod. Her child was caught up to God and his throne. ⁶ The woman herself fled into the desert where she had a place prepared by God. ¹⁰ Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have salvation and power come, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Anointed One.” 

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 45:10, 11, 12, 16

R: The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold. 

¹⁰ The queen takes her place at your right hand in gold of Ophir. (R) ¹¹ Hear, O daughter, and see; turn your ear, forget your people and your father’s house. (R) ¹² So shall the king desire your beauty; for he is your lord. (R) ¹⁶ They are borne in with gladness and joy; they enter the palace of the king. (R) 

Second Reading | 1 Corinthians 15:20-27

Saint Paul tells us that Christ is the first fruit of the resurrection from the dead, the first to travel this path. Mary is the second one to receive the fullness of salvation. She now resides in heaven with the Lord. We will follow them as we receive the grace of the resurrection from the dead at the end of our earthly pilgrimage and be purified of sin. Let us always pray for this day of glory to come. 

²⁰ Brothers and sisters: Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹ For since death came through man, the resurrection of the dead came also through man. ²² For just as in Adam all die, so too in Christ shall all be brought to life, ²³ but each one in proper order: Christ the firstfruits; then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ; ²⁴ then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to his God and Father, when he has destroyed every sovereignty and every authority and power. ²⁵ For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death, ²⁷ for “he subjected everything under his feet.” 

Gospel | Luke 1:39-56

The Visitation reminds us of Mary’s selflessness: she puts the needs of her cousin Elizabeth before her own. This characterizes Mary’s life and leads Elizabeth to exclaim that Mary is blessed above all women. Let us imitate her example and be drawn more deeply into the love of God. Service is at the heart of loving a person. Let us always find ways to be of service to those around us. 

Gospel Acclamation

Mary is taken up to heaven; a chorus of angels exults. 

³⁹ Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, 40 where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, ⁴² cried out in a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. ⁴³ And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴ For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵ Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” ⁴⁶ And Mary said: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; ⁴⁷ my spirit rejoices in God my savior. ⁴⁸ For he has looked upon his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: ⁴⁹ the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name. ⁵⁰ He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation. ⁵¹ He has shown strength of his arm, and has scattered the proud in their conceit. ⁵² He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and has lifted up the lowly. ⁵³ He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. ⁵⁴ He has come to the help of his servant Israel for he has remembered his promise of mercy, ⁵⁵ the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children forever.” ⁵⁶ Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home. 

Read the Bible in one year! Read ECCLESIASTES 1 - 4 today.

Matter Matters

Since the earliest centuries of Christianity, the flesh or the human body has occupied an important place. Look at this quote from the Catechism of the Catholic Church (no. 1015): “‘The flesh is the hinge of salvation’ (Tertullian). We believe in God who is creator of the flesh; we believe in the Word made flesh in order to redeem the flesh; we believe in the resurrection of the flesh, the fulfillment of both the creation and the redemption of the flesh.” In that single sentence from the CCC, the word flesh appears six times. 

To say that Catholicism is a bodily religion is an understatement. The central mystery of our faith is the Incarnation—the Son of God taking on human flesh. We call the Church the Body of Christ. The source and summit of the Christian life is the Eucharist, the Body of Christ. 

Sadly, for many Catholics, holiness means escaping from the body and releasing the soul from the bondage of materiality. That is neither Christian nor biblical because God is the creator of both the material and spiritual realm. Yes, the soul separates from the body at the moment of death and the body eventually decays. But the separation is only temporary. At the end times, the same body will be reunited with the soul at that definitive moment of universal judgment. A prefiguration of this body/soul reunion is seen in Jesus’ resurrection. 

When Jesus rose from the dead, He rose with a glorified body. When He ascended into heaven, He brought with Him the same earthly body because everything that Jesus assumed, He redeemed. What happened to Jesus at the resurrection will be the same for every man and woman.

It is not true that Catholicism demonizes the body. The world demonizes the body by trivializing it. When we trivialize the body, it is as good as demonizing the body. Far from demonizing it, Catholicism actually divinizes the body.

Assumed body and soul into heaven, Mary’s assumption points to the fact that the body is not an impediment to salvation and holiness. The body is actually an indispensable instrument for attaining holiness and a participant in the ultimate victory of God’s faithful children. That is why it matters how we treat and what we do with our bodies. Fr. Joel O. Jason

Reflection Question:

God is Creator of everything. The body matters. Matter matters.

We offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, our spiritual worship to You, O Lord. Amen.

Today, I pray for: ______________________________________