Aug 5 – Memorial for Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome
First raised at the order of Pope Liberius in the mid-fourth century, the Liberian Basilica was rebuilt by Pope Sixtus III shortly after the Council of Ephesus affirmed Mary’s title as Mother of God in 431. Re-dedicated at that time to the Mother of God, St. Mary Major is the largest church in the world honouring God through Mary.
St. Mary Major is one of the four Roman basilicas known as patriarchal cathedrals in memory of the first centres of the Church. This basilica represents the See of Antioch, where Mary is supposed to have spent most of her life.
– http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/SaintOfDay/default.asp?id=1098.
Lev 25:1, 8-17
Mt 14:1-12
This is to be a jubilee for you; each of you is to return to his ancestral home…
One of the privileges of renting a house instead of owning one is having a fresh start at a new place more frequently. But one of the things that I hate is packing. Every time I pack, I wish I could just leave everything behind and start totally new in a new place. I think that as people, we like bringing old things into our new lives, even if these are just excess baggage. That is probably ok when it comes to moving houses, but carrying excess baggage, or unnecessary baggages of debt, guilt and shame, as we renew our lives in the Lord, may not always be helpful.
Whenever I go for the Sacrament of Reconciliation, I am always glad to hear the priest say that I should just begin again in my efforts to be holy. No feeling of guilt or shame should encumber me any further, because if I was truly repentant, God has reset the slate for me.
In the Bible, I can’t count how many references there are to being as good as new. We need new wineskins for new wine, we can’t use the old wineskins. New life, new name – Abram became Abraham. And of course, being reborn again. I think God is doing this because when we hold on to the old, we have the tendency to hold on to both the good and bad. Our hold tends to be so strong that God may have thought it’s a lot easier to just start from a clean slate.
Another thought is that perhaps, starting with a clean slate provides a better situation to grow in faith. Perhaps, we are holding on to things that make us feel secure, and resetting gives us nothing to hold on to, only to God. It’s also an opportunity to allow God to teach us again. It’s always difficult to unlearn things. But being in an ‘unlearned state’ is pretty unnerving and uncomfortable.
One of the visuals that I usually have when talking to God is that of me and him, in a drawing room, planning out my life. I would have in my hand a pencil, and in the beginning, I will let God guide me in drawing the blueprint. But somewhere in the process, I become impatient, or I would end up thinking I already know where it’s going. And that’s when I mess up. Of course, I could get an eraser and erase the parts I insisted on drawing on my own, but we all know that that would have left pencil marks. And this is where I imagine God smiling, and handing me a fresh sheet of paper, and telling me, ‘Let’s begin again.’
Brothers and sisters, guess what? I know one day I’ll mess up again. And I know God will be there handing me another sheet, giving me another chance to reset.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Stephanie Villa)
Prayer: Dear Lord, please help me be ready for the resets you want me to have.
Thanksgiving: Thank you, God, for helping me start afresh.
OXYGEN 
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