‘What are you doing with the graces God is giving you?’
— Bishop Michael Martin
CHARLOTTE — Live life like the Blessed Mother did.
That was Bishop Michael Martin’s challenge to the people who started their New Year with him at St. Patrick Cathedral for Mass on the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.
Jan. 1 a holy day with a special significance for Catholics in western North Carolina because Mary, Mother of God is the patroness of the Diocese of Charlotte.
The bishop’s homily focused on Mary’s special role of bringing Christ into the world and how today’s believers should emulate her.
Like Mary, all people are called to bring God into the world, Bishop Martin preached. Mary brought God into the world literally by giving birth to Christ, but all people – whether or not they are parents – have the sacred calling to bring Christ into the world through their daily actions, he said.
“We don’t look at Mary, the Mother of God, as some image that is distant or different from our calling – just the opposite,” Bishop Martin said. “Mary shows us how we too can give birth to God in 2026 … That is our call, our mission, our purpose – everything else pales in comparison. We’ve got to keep reminding ourselves of what we’re really here to do: to be Christ-bearers in the world. If we weren’t created for that, then what were we created for?”
He offered three ways people can begin to focus on their role as Christ’s messengers in the world. First, he said, prepare.
“We have to prepare and till the soil as Mary did,” he said. “Her gift of immaculate conception was not a one-time dynamic. She constantly worked to allow that grace that was given to her to be able to bring God into the world…What are you doing with the graces God is giving you? How are we allowing God’s goodness and love to till the soil of our lives?”
At that point in the homily, a child in the congregation started to cry, and Bishop Martin used the loud wails to illustrate his point.
“Preparation is work, like crying children,” he said. “You always have to work at it. Ask: how do I keep this little guy happy? It’s also work to bring Christ into the world. It requires prayer. It requires an attitude of openness and a dedication to discipline. We have to say no to ourselves and yes to the Lord.”
Second, the bishop encouraged people to be like Mary and resolve to say “yes” to God every day.
“Mary said yes when God called her – she didn’t hesitate, she didn’t say, ‘Let me get back to you,’” the bishop said. “We have to say yes more readily to God’s desire to use us to make Christ present in the world. We have to say yes even when it’s inconvenient…even when it means we might be looked at very differently because of it.”
Lastly, Bishop Martin urged people to learn to reflect on God’s role in their lives just as Mary is described doing in the day’s reading from Luke’s Gospel. He suggested keeping a journal about God’s work in our lives or talking about it with others.
“The more we prepare, say yes, and the more we ponder God’s work in our world, the more ready we are to be like Mary, the mother of God, to make Christ born into the world, and the more sacred our world becomes,” he said.
As they walked outside after Mass, St. Patrick parishioners Ken and Sara Edel said the bishop’s homily inspired and motivated them to want to follow Mary’s example.
“It’s a great way to start the New Year,” Ken Edel said.
— Christina Lee Knauss
