Posted by The WORD in other words (2009) by Sister Angelita Roferos, SSpS – Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro
September 8 – Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
It is quite disturbing from a woman’s angle that of the 42 female ancestors of Jesus Matthew picks three whose names are smeared with sexual scandals: Tamar (Gen 38), Rahab (Jos 2) and Bathsheba (2Sam 11). It takes sometime to reconcile with Matthew’s seeming chauvinistic bias.
A deeper reflection, however, brings us to the divine economy of salvation which is inclusive of the whole humankind… that Jesus is the Savior of all. Jesus himself openly declared his “bias” towards sinners: “I did not come to call the righteous but the sinners (Mt 9:13b).
A further reflection will surely clash with the age-old principle “The end does not justify the means.” By violating the above principle the actions of these three women perpetuated God’s eternal plan for the Savior’s human lineage, like for example, Tamar’s playing prostitute to deceive her father-in-law Judah. The divine is indeed above human reasoning. God can write straight on crooked lines.
The fourth woman that Matthew mentions is Ruth (Bk of Ruth), an ideal character; only that she was a pagan and pagans were outcasts in the Jewish society. In mentioning this lady Matthew might be pointing out that God’s love and mercy is all-embracing…that the Kingdom of God is not a monopoly of one religion.
The fifth woman in today’s gospel is Mary, an inconspicuous maiden of Nazareth. Hailed from the Anawim or remnant of Israel, Mary must have been among those whom society would hardly notice. Matthew, in fact, does not make a fuss about her. His focus is more on Joseph. But God chooses the lowly, the unknown of this world to confound the powerful.
Mary’s role in salvation history was already prophesied by Isaiah and by Micah (Mic 5,14) and was realized in her Fiat (Lk 1,38). Her Magnificat (Lk 1:46-55) is her profound acknowledgment of her lowliness and of God’s mighty action in her life.
As we celebrate Mama Mary’s birthday today we also think of a man – Arnold Janssen. Raised in a farm environment in Goch, Germany by simple but pious parents, Arnold was by no means a spectacular personality. Short and small in stature. No good looks. No dazzling brilliance in school. A monotone. But a zealous, prayerful, and hardworking priest. Divine Providence chose him to be the founder of three religious congregations: the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) which he founded on September 8, 1875, the Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit (SSpS), December 8, 1889 and the Servants of the Holy Spirit of Perpetual Adoration (SSpSAP) which is popularly known as Pink Sisters, December 8, 1896. All three congregations were established in Steyl, Holland.
When Fr. Janssen was bombarded with criticisms and pessimistic remarks even by his colleagues about his religious foundations, all he said was: “If it is God’s will, it will flourish; but if it fails, we will just strike our breasts and say we are not worthy of it.” Today the three congregations are spread far and wide: Europe, the Americas, Oceania, and Asia.
Beatified on October 19, 1975 and canonized on October 5, 2003, St. Arnold Janssen was a man with a global vision, a mind ahead of his time, and a heart ablazed for the mission…a hard-headed man who bowed only to the will of God. His motto: “May the Holy Triune God live in our hearts and in the hearts of all people!”
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