Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God 01 January 2016

• As we come to the close of one year and the beginning of another, it is customary in our culture to make resolutions – to try to amend our sinful ways and to set goals that will help us become better people. • With this in mind, it seems so fitting that our minds should turn to Our Lady, especially under her title of Mother of God, a title that reminds us so very presciently of the special dignity she possesses as the Mother of Christ. • Mary is no mother! From her virginal womb came forth not only a Son, but God Himself! And as the Mother of God, she is also the mother of us all in the order of grace. • And as the mother of us all, she desires to help us to amend our sinful ways and to find ways to grow in holiness. When we call upon her in prayer, with faith and loving devotion, she hastens to our aid with the very grace of God. • As we begin a new year, I’d like to propose to you 3 resolutions that I invite you to make your own as a means of honoring our Lord, His Immaculate Mother, and for growing in holiness. • The first resolution is to commit to one hour of each week. As we begin this new year, our parish has now been offering 33 hours of Eucharistic Adoration each week for 4 years. • We also have a Hour Holy that we offer for vocations to the priesthood and religious life every Wednesday evening at 5 p.m. • Of course it is not essential that you make a holy hour here at St. Ann’s; you can go to Adoration anywhere it is offered, and we’re fortunate to have many options in Charlotte. I simply want you to go! • When we behold the Host in Eucharistic Adoration, we behold God Himself, humbly present in the Bread of Angels. We can scarcely imagine the graces that are poured upon us simply by being in His holy presence! • While there are many benefits to Eucharistic Adoration, what is most important is that it renders God glory and honor, and it helps us to fall more deeply in love with Him. • So if you do not already go to Adoration, as part of your new year’s resolutions, I invite you to start going for an hour each week. Sign up for one of our hours of Adoration, or do so at another parish. Just make it a part of your life. • Recognizing that New Year’s Day falls this year on the 1st Friday of January, the second resolution I invite you to make your own is to observe the 9 First Fridays Devotion. • The 9 First Fridays devotion were borne out of the apparitions of Jesus to St. in the 17th century, which are immortalized in our stained glass window. • There are 2 requirements for completing this devotion: 1) Receive Holy on 9 consecutive 1st Fridays of the month, and 2) to receive these Holy Communions in honor and in reparation to our Lord’s . • This devotion reminds us that our Lord desires us to make reparation for sin – both our own and those of others. When our Lord gave St. Margaret Mary this devotion to the 9 First Fridays, He made 12 promises to those who complete this devotion. Jesus said:

1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life. 2. I will give peace in their families. 3. I will console them in all their troubles. 4. I will be their refuge in life and especially in death. 5. I will abundantly bless all their undertakings. 6. Sinners shall find in my Heart the source and an infinite ocean of mercy. 7. Tepid souls shall become fervent. 8. Fervent souls shall rise speedily to great perfection. 9. I will bless those places wherein the image of my Sacred Heart shall be exposed and venerated. 10. I will give to priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts. 11. Persons who propagate this devotion shall have their names eternally written in my Heart. 12. In the excess of the mercy of my heart, I promise you that my all powerful love will grant to all those who will receive Communion on the First Fridays, for nine consecutive months, the grace of final repentance: they will not die in my displeasure, nor without receiving the sacraments; and my Heart will be their secure refuge in that last hour.

• Over the course of my priesthood, there have been several occasions when I’ve been called to the deathbed of a fallen away Catholic who hasn’t practiced their faith in years, but who made the 9 First Fridays at some point in their youth. • I’m firmly convinced that it was the grace of this devotion that brought about their deathbed conversion and enabled them to receive the Sacraments before dying. So I cannot urge you enough to do this yourself! • The last resolution I invite you to make your own is to practice the 5 , which came from an apparition of the Virgin Mary to Sr. Lucia in 1925. • Sr. Lucia was one of the 3 children of Fatima who received the apparitions of Our Lady in 1917. Our Lady asked for this devotion as a means of making reparation for the sins committed against her. • The requirements for the 1st Saturday devotion are: going to confession within a few days before or after the 1st Saturday, receiving Holy Communion on the 1st Saturday, praying 5 decades of the on the 1st Saturday, and spending at least 15 minutes in meditation on the mysteries of the Rosary (in addition to simply reciting it). • All of this be done for 5 consecutive 1st Saturdays of the month with the intention of making reparation for the offenses committed against the . • For those who complete the 5 First Saturdays, Mary promised that she will assist them at the hour of death with the graces necessary for the salvation of their souls. • As Christians we must always keep the goal of Heaven ever before us. We must remember that we are but strangers and sojourners here on earth, and that our true citizenship is in Heaven. • But because of our sinfulness, getting to Heaven is not easy, and we all need help! Both our Lord and Our Lady desire to help us! All that it requires of us is the faith and the willingness to make a little time for them. • My brothers and sisters, go to Adoration. Make the 9 First Fridays and 5 First Saturdays devotions. Do them to honor our Lord and His Mother, and do them to help procure your salvation. • May our Lord’s graces be upon us and our Lady’s prayers be with us as we begin this new year.