[media presentation below] GospelThink Tuesday, December 12, Our Lady of Guadalupe LUKE 1:39-47 Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth Prayerthoughts a. Mary was aware of her cousin Elizabeth’s need. There are people in my own acquaintance and in the world in which I live who are in need. Am I doing enough to help them? b. As Elizabeth could see in Mary, there are a number of people around me who truly show the presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives. If it is appropriate, perhaps I should tell them by a card or the like how much of an inspiration they are. c. Great things happen to me often, and many times I do not thank the Lord enough for them. I should thank the Lord for the gifts that I received just yesterday for example. (This is the “task” of this meditation.) d. There are many indications that the Lord is very much at work in our world. I should spend some time making myself more aware of these things, and again thank the Lord for his presence in our world. e. Elizabeth acknowledged that Mary truly believed. My faith should be strong and it should affect everything that I do. How can I better show my faith in God? f. Mary proclaimed the greatness of God. In my words and thoughts, do I proclaim myself in pride? g. My prayerthoughts…   Today, I will take the time to carry out letter c. Some Thoughts on the liturgy  MARY’S EXAMPLE TO THE POOR  + The story from Revelation (11:19—12:1-6,10) sanctifies an ancient myth in which the good guys win           – as the child is snatched up to heaven and the woman taken to a special place                      – Michael and the good angels fight the dragon and drive him to hell           – a lot of symbolism connected with the story, of course                      – but the obvious idea here as we celebrate Our Lady of Guadalupe is the symbol of Mary—the woman—giving birth to Jesus who was snatched up to God  + In this symbolism, Mary is presented as a great woman           – and the Church throughout the ages has pursued that thought                      – indeed, one must be great to be the mother of the Savior           – but with this feast, only recently has Our Lady of Guadalupe become the patroness of the Americas                      – giving credence to the apparition of Mary to Juan Diego                                – and by extension, the apparition of Mary to the poorest of the poor                                          – saying in effect that the very poor can be holy and must be holy as well  + A couple of things to think about with this feast           1 – the whole thought of greatness was far from Mary’s mind                      – and she properly places the stress on God with her Magnificat                                – saying that if there is any greatness, it belongs to God                      – the application here as has been made before is against pride                                – we do things that are good and praiseworthy                                          – but we must give the praise to God who gives all grace to do things well           2 – the stress on the poor—Our Lady of Guadalupe is connected in a special way with the poor                      – actually Mary herself is among the poor of the world in her life                      – the application might be that we must raise our awareness of the poor                                – contributing some time and money to the poor of our community                                          – looking on the fact that there are poor in every county in our land and that we can give significant help to them if we want to                                          – recognizing that we are not poor, generally speaking, even though we might joke about it                                                     – and part of the challenge of the Gospel is the call to poverty                                                               – not so much in giving up our money, as in the fact that we may be too comfortable, and too complacent with our money  + Our Lady of Guadalupe is a feast especially for the poor which should call to mind some serious thinking on our part. MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: “Sorry” — Justin Bieber FORGIVENESS WITH NO ‘BUT’S’ The Gospel LUKE 6:36-38 Jesus said, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out in you.”

Gospelthink: I give you a straightforward directive here: forgive others. Is there anyone that I should forgive and have not?

“You gotta go and get angry at all of my honesty. You know I try but I don’t do too well with apologies. I hope I don’t run out of time. Could someone call the referee ‘cause I just need one more shot at forgiveness. I know you know that I made those mistakes maybe once or twice. And by once or twice I mean maybe a couple a hundred times. So let me redeem myself tonight. ‘Cause I just need one more shot at second chances. Is it too late now to say ‘Sorry’? Yeah I know that I let you down. I’ll take every single piece of the blame if you want me too, but you know that there is no innocent one in this game for two. I’ll go and then you go out and spill the truth. Can we both say the words, say ‘Forget this’?”

Justin Bieber’s song “Sorry” is a statement of what might be called a general statement asking for forgiveness, but it is also a statement of fact about what usually happens with forgiveness between couples (or between groups of people). The person in the song understands that he must say that he is sorry for what happened, and he does that, but he also realizes that the other in the relationship is guilty of some negative actions as well. Consequently, he asks her to recognize her need to ask for forgiveness. One might call the forgiveness “two-sided,” that is, the man in the relationship feels that both must ask forgiveness of each other. Jesus’ directive to forgive others is only “one-sided.” He only tells us to forgive–period. It does not matter what the other in a relationship has done or will do. It is what makes Jesus’ words so difficult to hear. Yes, the other has probably wronged us; yes, what we did may have been the result of retaliation; yes, both are probably at fault–“there is no innocent one in this game for two”–the man in the relationship says. But that is not the concern of Jesus. His concern is that we forgive, no matter what. In reality, what Justin Bieber sings is the “problem” with forgiveness. We want to be forgiven, but we want the other in the relationship to understand that he/she must recognize that they are not innocent either, that is, that he/she must ask for forgiveness as well. We want what might be called “conditional forgiveness”–I will forgive if you ask for it also. Justin Bieber’s song is an important song to study because it is the usual way of acting as one deals with the necessity to say “I’m sorry.” We want the other to say it as well. But Jesus gives the rule that is the only way to real forgiveness: forgive with no strings attached. It matters not whether the other is “not innocent”; it only matters that I understand completely that I must ask for forgiveness.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, in my relationships, I know that I fail, and therefore must ask for forgiveness. Give me the grace to understand that my asking for forgiveness without condition is the secret to having You forgive me. Be with me, I pray.

— +++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: Forgiveness is important for both people in a relationship, but one must forgive as if he/she is the only one who has done wrong.DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. In the Gospel passage, those who do not judge and who ask for forgiveness and who give to others will be rewarded by God. Christians obviously are concerned about “God’s judgment.” Do most people believe that God is “kind” in judgment? Yes or no and why? 2. In your opinion, do most Christians stay away from judging others? Ask forgiveness? Give to others? Do all three? Yes or no and why? 3. Text analysis: “Get angry at my honesty.” What is the meaning of the phrase? 4. Text analysis: “No innocent one in this game for two.” Is the statement true most of the time? 5. Text analysis: “Can we both say ‘Forget this’?” Why is it so difficult to forget mistakes? 6. In your opinion, do most Christians forgive the way Jesus directs us? Yes or no and why? 7. What does the song “Sorry” teach young people?