May Jesus Christ be praised and may his holy Mother pray for
us.
On Sunday we celebrated the feast of the Holy Family and we
looked to St. Joseph as a model of fatherhood.
Today we celebrate the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of
God, and we look to her as a model of motherhood.
On other days, we celebrate a particular grace or a
particular privilege given to the Blessed Virgin Mary, such as her Immaculate
Conception or her Assumption into heaven.
Today we celebrate her vocation and her most exalted title. The Blessed Virgin Mary is the mother of
Jesus Christ. She is the Mother of God. As we learned about fatherhood from St.
Joseph, we learn about motherhood from the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Mary listens carefully.
Mary is first a woman who hears the Word. When the voice of the Angel brought the
invitation of the Lord to the Virgin Mary, she listened carefully to the words
of the Angel, and she responded freely and joyfully. She accepted the gift of motherhood. She recognized the gift of her vocation. She rejoiced that through her the promise of
God would be fulfilled. This too is the
work of the mother in the family. She is
one who listens to the Word of the Lord and the words of her family. She is called to assist in forming Christ in
her family so that the promises of God will be fulfilled in them.
Mary serves obediently.
After the Annunciation, Mary travels in haste to visit her cousin
Elizabeth. Mary’s encounter with the
Lord and the gift of motherhood inspired her to service. This too, dear brothers and sisters, is part
of the work of motherhood. A mother
thinks more about the needs of her family and the needs of others than she
thinks about her own needs.
Mary suffers compassionately.
At the foot of the cross of the Savior of the world, the mother of the
Savior suffered intensely. Though she
bore no physical wounds, the heart of Mary was pierced by the sword of sorrow
as her Son suffered for all of us. She
suffers with her child, as every mother does.
The suffering in the heart of a mother is known to the Blessed Virgin
Mary. The suffering in the heart of
every mother is shared with the Blessed Virgin Mary. The suffering heart of the Mother of God
joins with every mother in her suffering.
Mary listens, she serves, and she suffers. But the most important thing that we celebrate
today is that Mary bore the Son of God.
The eternal Word of God dwelt in her womb. From the moment that she said “I am the
handmaid of the Lord” and she conceived the Lord Jesus, heaven was no longer
up, because the king of heaven was within her.
The Word became flesh in her womb.
Mary became the first tabernacle.
She is the bearer of the promise and the presence of the Holy One. And that too is the role of the mother in the
family. She is the bearer of the promise
and she is called to be the bearer of the presence of the image and likeness of
God. The mother then, my dear brothers
and sisters, is worthy of reverence.
As we offer the gift of our reverence and veneration to the
Mother of God this day, we thank the Blessed Virgin Mary for listening
carefully to our prayers. We rejoice in
her maternal service and her presence with us in our times of suffering. And we pray that she, who carried the Son of
God in her womb, will carry each of us to the kingdom of her Son. Amen.
Preached at Our Lady of Lourdes
Catholic Church, Monroe, NC
