I have a proposal for a common New Year’s Resolution: Let’s resolve to do our part to make it Mary’s millennium.

Remember, today is not only the first day of 2001, it’s also the first day of the third millennium of Christian history. We are privileged to be alive at this moment! Think of it: another day like this one will not occur for 1,000 years (presuming that Jesus will not come again in the meantime!).

Now what do I mean when I say we should resolve to do our part to make it Mary’s millennium? I mean that we should resolve to shape our lives according to her philosophy, a philosophy which was expressed perfectly in these two lines which she spoke 2,000 years ago: "Be it done unto me according to your word" [Luke 1: 38], and "Do whatever he tells you" [John 2: 5].

That’s the philosophy which will change the present culture of death into the new civilization of life—if it’s embraced and lived by enough individuals like you and me! And it will set the world on the right course for the third millennium.

Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Well, it’s anything but simple—and the last 100 years of human history prove that conclusively! Based on a revelation which was supposedly given to Pope Leo XIII about 100 years ago, some have called the 20^th century, "Satan’s century"—in the sense that the devil was allowed to wreak more havoc than usual in the last 100 years. And the statistics make it hard to argue against this idea. For example, more innocent blood was shed in the 1900’s than in any previous century of recorded history. Two world wars, the Holocaust, abortion, euthanasia, the destruction of human embryos in certain reproductive technologies—these are just some examples of the people-destroying evils of the last 10 decades.

Of course, we need to be clear about it: Satan may have been allowed to tempt human beings a bit more in the last hundred years, but he can’t make people do anything! He needed human cooperation to accomplish his evil objectives, and unfortunately he found many who were willing to be duped by his false promises. And he’s still finding them, as we speak.

Which is why we must do our part to change the trend and make it Mary’s millennium! Because if we live our lives according to her philosophy, we will allow Jesus Christ to win the victory in our historical circumstance. He’s already won the victory in eternity, but he wants to manifest that victory now!—in our families, in our culture and in our world. However, he can only do that if we are obedient to him.

And that’s the key to it all—obedience. Obedience is at the heart of Mary’s philosophy as expressed in those two sayings: "Be it done unto me according to your word," and "Do whatever he (i.e., Jesus) tells you."

Obedience to God, unfortunately, has not been very popular in the last hundred years. And therein lies the root of the problem, I would say. But there is hope for change—if we are willing to let it begin with us.

So what does this involve in practical terms? What must we do on a personal level to live by Mary’s philosophy and make it her millennium?

First of all, we must be willing to have an ongoing conversion of heart—the kind of conversion Fr. John spoke about at Christmas. Mary tells us to do whatever Jesus tells us, and the first thing Jesus tells us in Gospel of Mark is to "Repent, and believe in the gospel [Mark 1: 15]." (On that note, how about making a resolution today to go to confession more often—and to examine your conscience every day?)

Living by Mary’s philosophy also means that we will strive to know our faith. Mary said, "Be it done unto me according to your word." If we’re going to follow that example and build our lives on the truth of God’s word, we need to know what that word teaches! God’s word came to Mary through the angel Gabriel. How does the Lord’s word come to us in 2001? It comes to us through Sacred Scripture and the authoritative teachings of the Catholic Church. So it’s clear: If we’re going to do our part to make it Mary’s millennium, we cannot be casual, cafeteria Catholics—we must be committed, knowledgeable Catholics!

And making it Mary’s millennium will involve prayer and the Eucharist; that also needs to be mentioned. Nothing of lasting value can be achieved without prayer and the grace which flows from the Blessed Sacrament. And besides, God’s word (which we must obey according to Mary) tells us explicitly to "pray always"[1 Thess. 5: 16]; and Jesus tells us in John 6 that unless we eat his flesh and drink his blood we will have no real life within us.

Many people want to know how to make the world a better place. This is how: make it Mary’s millennium! Shape your life—and every dimension of your life—according to God’s word, and do what Jesus tells you! It’s as simple (and as difficult) as that.

And, by the way, the proof that obedience to God is the key to a better society and a better world is found right here in the new stained glass of our Church. That scene is the wedding at Cana, where a newly married couple faced a terrible social problem: not enough supplies for the celebration. The wine had run out. And how was the social problem fixed? Mary went up to the stewards and said those words which I’ve quoted so often this morning: "[Gentlemen] do whatever Jesus tells you." They did, and the problem was solved.

Those stewards, whose names we will never know on this side of the grave, are a shining example for us 2000 years later—because they obeyed! A thousand years from now, may our obedience to Jesus through Mary be an example for those who are entering the fourth millennium. May people in the year 3001 look back on us and say, "You know, at the end of 20^th century, the world was in terrible state! It was headed in the wrong direction. But those Christians changed that, by finally obeying Jesus Christ and taking his word seriously."