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When the Good News Came (6th October 2007)
The
month of October is known by many catholics as the month of the Rosary.
So it is appropriate for us to reflect on the life of Mary, the first
disciple of Jesus Christ. By the way, Mary in the original language is
called Miriam. St. Jerome tried to explain the meaning of this name
from its original languages at those time. It could mean "lady", and in
some other it could also mean "Star of the Sea". Why star of the Sea?
If fishermen go for fishing, they would go at night to the sea. And
while they were at sea, the only way they would know the direction to
go home is by looking at the star. Mary is that star of the sea.
She always points us to someone, and that someone is Jesus Christ, her
son. In this sessions and the followings, we will learn from Mary about
Jesus Christ, and how to follow him.
Let's read the story of the Annunciation, Luke 1:26-38.
The first question that we need to ask ourselves is "what is the Good
News?". If an angel came to you and tell you that you are going to be
pregnant, you might say "No way!". But Mary's answer is beautiful. She
said, "How shall this be?". There is a hidden "yes" in that question.
It's not a question of doubt. But more it's a yes though she didn't understand how that's going to happen. In the whisper of her heart we could feel her yes to the Good News. This is the Good News:
[31] And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.
[32] He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High;
and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,
[33] and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever;
and of his kingdom there will be no end."
The
Good News is not just a message. The Good News is a person, and that
person's name is Jesus. This Jesus will be great, and this Jesus will
be called the Son of the Most High, the Lord God will give to Jesus the
throne of his father David, and Jesus will reign over the house of
Jacob for ever; and of Jesus's kingdom there will be no end. Jesus is
the Good News!
The question is, Is Jesus a Good News for us?
He
is for me. I was born catholic and I took my faith for granted. I used
to be so impatient that I got angry easily, I got irritated easily, I
yelled and scream and my emotion could blew up anytime. I was a little bit selfish, and thought I was still better than the rest of the people. I thought I am a good boy
though sometimes I became rebellious to my parents. But all those start
to change when I got to know Jesus. I went to a life in the spirit
seminar, and my life started to change. I knew about Jesus, and I
choose to walk with him. And He started to change my life to be more
patient, to be more forgiving, to be more loving. I started to obey my
parents, I started to be able to ask for forgiveness. Jesus is giving
me a new life...And if I were given a choice to choose my old life. I
would definitely say "No". It's not worth the life that Jesus is giving
me now. This is what Jesus said.
I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. (John 10:10b)
Jesus
is the Good News. He came to give us life and have it abundantly. The
life that he is giving is His own very life, God's Life! This is God's
life:
CCC 735 ... the very life of the Holy Trinity, which is to love as "God [has] loved us." This love (the "charity" of 1 Cor 13) is the source of the new life in Christ, made possible because we have received "power" from the Holy Spirit.
God is inviting us to His own life, it's a life of being loved and of loving as God loves. This is the life that He offers us. You might think it's easy, but it's not, it's impossible. Because the call is to love as God loves. And how does God loves us? He left everything, became man, and died. A life of total self-giving. A life of God himself.
It's
not just simply being nice, it's about being for others and not for
self. It's about dying to selfishness, to our ego, to our pride, to
what "I" (ego) want. No, it's not just about being nice once in a
while. It's about being a new creature, a new person with a new life.
This is the life of God, a life of total self-giving and not self-seeking.
And we might cry together with Mary, "How shall this be?", but with Mary, we need to have that hidden yes in this question. There must be a longing for this life. Then the angel say
[35] ..., "The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you;
therefore the child to be born will be called holy,
the Son of God.
[37] For with God nothing will be impossible."
Remember what the CCC 735
said, "made possible because we received power from the Holy Spirit".
This is what the angel said. That life is not ordinary, it's something
impossible. But it is made possible by the Holy Spirit that came upon
us, by his power that overshadow us.
And we have received this power, this Holy Spirit. When? during our
Baptism! That during our baptism the Spirit came down upon us and the
power of the most hight overshadow us, and we became the children of
God.
The word shadow in the bible is always related to the word cloud. And this symbolizes God's Presence. When the Israelites were in the wilderness, the cloud of God overshadowed the tabernacle, the ark of the covenant (Ex 40:34-36). When Moses met God on mount Sinai, the whole mountain was shadowed by the cloud, and God spoke with Moses (Ex 24:15-16). During the transfiguration of Jesus, the voice of the Father came from the cloud (Luke 9:35). The cloud and the shadow symbolizes God's presence.
When
God says that his power will overshadow us, he means that he will be
with us. His presence will accompany us, His spirit will help us. It
will be his work. It is called grace! We receive this grace during our
baptism. When we are baptized we have been given his Spirit that
enables us to be loved and to love as God loves. We, however, often
forget and neglect this grace.
I still remember the time when
I attended a Marriage Encounter mass in my parish. My parents were
there and together with the other couples they renewed their wedding
vows. It's a funny thing, but I know it's essential. If a marriage
lives need to be renewed, so is our Christian lives. Every easter we
renew our baptismal promise. We renew our yes
to Jesus. We remind ourselves of his Spirit that is in us. We recall to
mind that we are now children of God, and our call is to be like our
father, the God who is love. Nothing is impossible with God. He can
create a new creature. We are that new creature, sons of the living God.
[1] See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. (1 John 3:1)
So what should we do? We need to respond like how Mary responds,
[38] And Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word."
Many
thought it's a passive answer. But this is not. This is an active
responds. This is a commitment made by Mary. What does a handmaid mean?
Oxford English Dictionary gives this following definition: "female
personal attendant, servant". Moreover, this is the definition of an attendant:
"someone who waits upon, accompanies, or follows another in order to render service"
Mary said she is the handmaid
of the Lord. What does it mean? She is saying that she is that someone
who waits upon, accompanies, or follows another in order to serve. She
has been waiting upon the Lord, she has been accompanying the Lord, and
following the Lord simply be cause she wants to serve her Lord. Jesus
is her Lord. A mother who serves her son. In her life, she waits upon
Jesus, accompanies Jesus, and follows Jesus even up to the Cross, in
order to serve Jesus. This is her life, this is her commitment, this is
what she said to the angel.
Mary is the model of a perfect
disciple. We are called to be like Mary. We are called to commit our
lives, to wait upon Jesus daily in our works, in our friendships, in
our activities. We are called to accompany the Lord in our prayer,
vigil, fasting, in happy and difficult moments of our lives. We are
called to follow Jesus where ever he goes, even if that means to the
Cross. We are called to be the handmaid just as Mary commits her whole
lives as the Lord's handmaid.
And the beauty of Mary's answer is this: "let it be to me".
She didn't say to God to change the world, she said to God to change
her first. Let what God wants to do, Let God do to her. It's her
humility. She allowed herself to be used. She allowed herself to be
transformed, to be changed. To often, when we are having difficulties,
we ask God to change the situation, rather than asking God to change us
first, to be more patient, to be more understanding. We ask God to
change the people that we are irritated with, not ourselves who are
easily irritated. We ask God to remove those people who make our lives
difficult, not asking God to make us holy. Mary's answer is this: "let
it be to me" according to your word.
God is working today
through his church, through people like you and me. Somehow he needs
people to participate in his loving works. He needs Mary to say her yes. He needs us to say our yes
as well. He needs Mary to give her life. He, somehow, needs us to give
our lives. And this is what He will do if we give our lives to him, to
follow him where ever he goes: He will sanctify them, he will make them
holy. He will form Jesus in us just as the Holy Spirit came upon Mary
and she bears Jesus in her lives. We, through our baptism, bears Jesus
in our lives. God is in us, His name is Emmanuel (God with us). He came
to change us, to transform us, to give us life, life abundantly, the
life of being loved and of loving totally, if only we allow him,
Ecce ancilla Domini. Fiat mihi secundum verbum Tuum.
Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word.
-end-
When Christ was born (13th October 2007)Introduction
The previous week we learned about Mary's respond to God's call. She, putting her self as the handmaid of the Lord, answered Yes Lord. We too should have a heart that's ready to say Yes Lord.
It's not just a one time thing, it's a continuous respond to God. This 'Yes Lord' is a begining of a journey.
Reading
Matthew 1:18-25
Welcoming Jesus
Mary and Joseph represent the world when they were anxiously yet excited at the same time awaits the coming of their son, whom they were told is the saviour of the world. They prepare the best they can do for baby Jesus. It is shown when they journey to Bethlehem, when they go from one house to another, to provide the best place for Jesus to be born.
When the time arrives, Jesus was born, an unspeakable joy must have filled Mary and Joseph's hearts. The first encounter with Jesus in our life will fill our heart with unspeakable joy. This is our first love. This is the start.
The birth of Jesus means an invitation to all people. It's not only for a group of specific people, but it's for all. It is to invite all of us to take part in the work Jesus will be doing. Once we recieve this invitation, we will in return receive salvation.
Some people might not open their hearts just like the inn owners who rejected Joseph and Mary. But other people accepts Jesus and they even go to find Him just as the Magi and the sheperds. What about us? Are we welcoming Him into our life?
Living with Jesus
After we receive the invitation, we are now apart of a family. Here we will build a relationship with Him. We will embark on a lifelong journey with Jesus by our side.
A relationship speaks of unity. Where 2 or more individuals share their lives with each other. In having a relationship with Jesus, it's not just an ordinary relationship. Jesus is the bridegroom and the church is the bride. We are the church so therefore he is our bridegroom. It is a relationship between lovers. The unity is in whole, not only some part. This means Jesus is united in our lives, in all aspect of our lives. He is not an individu standing at the corner. He is with us, in us always.
A relationship comes with 2 things: changes that we are willing to do and getting to know better of the one you're having your relationship.
1. Changes
In a relationship, definitely there will be differences. And with differences, changes needs to be made. When we live our relationship with Jesus, there will be changes that we need to do. This adaptation process builds us. It gives us the chance to learn to be faithful, obedient and totally surrender our lives to Him.
Mary was told by Simeon that a sword will pierce her soul. But Mary showed her faith, she kept it in her heart. She keep it between her and God. She did not physically hear encouragement from God that everything will be ok, that she'll be strong enough to face it. But she had the words given by angel Gabrielle that the Lord is with her. She hold on to these words and it gives her hope. There will be a lot of times when we feel down in life, but have faith for He is always with us through out this journey.
With faith, we will be obedient. Joseph took Mary home, he took her home as his wife, but she remained a virgin until her son was born (Mat 1:24). Obedience means to let go of what we want in order to do the right thing. This sacrifice we are willing to give for those that we love. Mary and Joseph love Jesus, they love God so much, they are willing to sacrifice their will so that the will of God may be done unto them. They are obedient.
At times we think that we are in control of our life. When we are in control, it will be very difficult to be obedient. We will think we know what needs to be done, how it should be done, we think we know better than God. There is a phrase that says, "If God is your co-pilot, exchange seat with Him". God is the creator of the universe. He knows us even when we were still in our mothers' womb. To put your faith in Him also means you surrender totally to Him. Let God take control of your life. Let Him be big in us by us being small in Him.
There will be challenges along the way and all the things that we need to do will seem to be very difficult. Mary and Joseph had to walk for days to Bethlehem, they had to spend nights in uncomfortable place. But they persevere and they push through. What gave them the strength to do sacrifices for Jesus? It's their love for Him. They love Him with all their hearts. When we have Jesus in our heart, we have love, because God is love.
Even so, we are sinful humans. We have weaknesses and fall to sin. There will be times when we are lazy to pray. We fail to be obedient. God will love us still. Because He has loved us first before we love Him. Having the desire to love God is a gift. It's a grace given by God. So even at times when we fail Him, His love will never ends.
2. Know Better
It is at times when we have failed God and yet He showed His tremendous love to us that we get to know Him better. This is the 2nd experience you will encounter in a relationship, we get to know our partner better. In our journey with the Lord, by seeing His love for us, we get to know Him better. We get to know who God is, he is the all loving and forgiving Father. We get to know who God is for us, he is my source of strength, he is my hope. Other than that, even as important is the first one, we get to know who we are for God, I am God's child whom He love. From there, I will be able to know who I am, that I am the handmaid of the Lord.
What We Can Give
So now that we have realized how much God loves us and how much we love God, we would like to give him our offering. What offering can we give? We learn from 4 different character in the passage, the 3 wise men, the shepherds and Mary and Joseph.
The Magi went searching for the saviour. They study the stars and prophecy to know where the saviour of the world will be born. But what's more interesting is that they did no only study the prophecy and stars, they actually travel to search for Him. They took the extra mile to search Jesus.
From the simplicity of the shephers we learn that eventhough we have nothing to offer, actually we do. The shepherds didn't not offer any items. They offer their time. It was late at night, they were suppose to watch over their sheeps, yet they gave their time. Time is one of the most special gift you can give because once you give your time, there's no way of getting it back. The shepherds give not their ability, but availibility.
Mary and Joseph gave their whole life to Jesus. They were the instrument of God's work. They give everything they can offer to God. Their time, their physical being, their heart, a whole of their lives. They are the living sacrifice for God's love.
So what about us? What can we give to the Lord?
-gaz-
When They were at Cana (20th October 2007)
I believe many of us love this story of the miracle at Cana. When I was small and heard of this story, I wished that Jesus would change water into orange juice (I like orange juice). But then as I grew up and reflect more on this story, it is such an amazing story of love and promise. This story tells me of who Jesus is and what he wants to do in my life.
Let's read John 2:1-12.
Let us start from the end. On verse 11 it is mentioned that
This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed in him. (v11)
The word sign is not just mere "wonders". Sign tells something. On the road, sign tells us direction or some other meaning. The first "sign" that Jesus did, tells us something. It tells us of who Jesus is and what his mission is all about.
The Fathers of the Church often compares this story with the story in Genesis chapter 3, the fall of man. In Gen 3, there were Adam and eve, and in this story of wedding at Cana, Fathers of the church saw the second Adam (Jesus) and the second Eve (Mary). In wedding at Cana, Jesus called Mary , "Woman", and in Genesis, Eve was called "woman". In the Genesis, Eve disobeyed God and asked Adam to eat the forbidden fruit. At Cana, the second Eve, Mary, initiated Jesus mission of salvation and told the servants to "obey" whatever Jesus says. In Genesis, Adam brought sin into the world, at Cana, Jesus, the second Adam is to reverse what the first Adam did. What did Jesus do? He changed water into wine. Wine is the symbol of joy and Life. Jesus came to give us life.
For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. (1 Cor 15:22)
If, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. (Rom 5:17)
This is what Jesus said in John 10:10
I came that they may have life, life abundantly.
At Cana, Jesus changed water into wine. Wine, as mentioned previously, is a symbol of Joyful Life. This is the life that Jesus is going to give us. It's a life of abundant. If you take note how many water that have become wine, you will be surprised. It was said six stone water jars, and each holding 20 or 30 gallons. So it's about 120 to 180 gallons. It's about 500 to 700 Litters! In those days weddings are celebrated for the entire weekend or more, so those who came at one day were not many, some commentaries mentioned around 30 peoples. Five hundreds to seven hundreds are more than enough. It's the abundance of God's Life. God gives us life abundantly. More than that, what Jesus gave is not just ordinary wine, it's the "Best" wine. What God offers us is not ordinary lives. It's the Best that we can ever dream of.
What kind of life is this? It's a new life as God's children, it's a life of intimate relationship with God. The begining of the first verse said,
[1] On the third day there was a marriage at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there;
[2] Jesus also was invited to the marriage, with his disciples.
Jesus was invited, with his disciples. It is as if that the disciples are part of Jesus family already. In the last verse (v 12), it was said
[12] After this he went down to Caper'na-um, with his mother and
his brothers and his disciples; and there they stayed for a few days.
Again, the disciples were mentioned with Jesus' brethren and Mother. The disciples have become part of Jesus family. In fact, the disciples are Jesus's true family.
Matt 12:46-50
[46] While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him.
[48] But he replied to the man who told him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?"
[49] And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers!
[50] For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother."
Mary is the most perfect example of a disciple. She started with a yes, "Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be to me according to your word." And she follows Jesus up to the Cross. She shows us what a true disciple is. Someone who waits upon, accompanies, and follows Jesus. She followed Jesus up to the Cross. And at Cana she told us these words of wisdom.
Do whatever he tells you.
She taught us to do whatever Jesus says. She reversed what the first Eve did. I believe there are two keywords in that sentence. The first is "do" and the second is "whatever" or "all". The first is obvious. We need to do what Jesus tells us. In fact we are His family only if we do the will of God. This is what we are called a Christian, to do the will of God.
And I believe the second keyword emphasis the first one: Whatever Jesus tells us. It's not enough just to do half of what Jesus says. It's not enough just to do 90 percent of what Jesus says. It's even not enough just to do 99.99% of what Jesus says. Our call is to do "all" that he tells us. Holiness consists in this, doing the will of the Father.
If you feel that it's impossible, you get the point of Christianity. It's God's work in you! The servants at Cana didn't change the water into wine. Jesus did. They simply did what Jesus told them, to pour the water into the jar and give to the steward. I bet they didn't understand. But they did it. And Jesus changed the water into wine.
God calls us to listen to him daily and to obey him. He doesn't ask us for big things. He asks us to start with little things.
What has the first Adam done? It doesn't look like big sin to eat fruit, right? But what happened was the first Adam wanted "to be like Gods" to know evil and good. They want to be like God without God. They want to define what is right and wrong for themselves (knowing evil and good, look at CCC).
How often that we want to live without God? How often that we feel God is a nuisance? How often that we wish that God doesn't tell us what to do? We often want to do this and that free without God. We do not want God decide what kind of entertaintment we should have, how we should handle money. How often we do not care of our attitudes towards others. We do not want to be told that we are wrong. The point is, like Adam, we want to be the God of our lives.
Jesus is different. He emptied himself, and became man. And not only that, he humbled himself by being obedience to the Cross. He doesn't take Life for himself. He gives it out.
We are called to follow Jesus. We are called to listen to Him. And we are called to do what he tells us to do. We are called to give our lives, to take our cross, and to die. We are called to die to ourselves, to our selfishness, to our desire to be the God of our lives. We are called to surrender, to be vulnerable. We are called to love.
And as we follow Jesus, we will realize, just as the servants realized, that the water has become wine. Our lives has been transformed. It's something new, something beautiful, something abundant. Something out-flowing. We will realize that it is the Joy that we have been looking for. And we will realize only in God that we will be able to find it.
This is God's invitation for us. To drink the best and abundant wine of new life. He offers it for free. What we need to do is simply to come to him, start a relationship with Him, take him into our lives, and follow him. Follow him wherever he goes, do whatever he tells us to do. And if you don't know where to start, you can start by praying faithfully everyday and listening to him in the scriptures.
Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam
Mary, the Cross, and the Eucharist (27th October 2007)by Keenan Tan Mary and the CrossOver the past few weeks, you
have been learning about Mary and her role in salvation history. The
Church recognizes Mary as the perfect disciple. She is full of grace,
ever virgin, mother of God. Today we will see Mary as our lady of sorrow.
Here at Calvary do we see the
glory of our God, his passion, death and, ultimate, resurrection, all
part of the great plan of salvation. Mary fits perfectly into this plan
just as she did in the beginning.
We know that Mary knew that
something like this was coming. In Luke’s gospel, Simeon will tell
Mary that a sword will pierce her own soul. Mary is not a stranger to
sorrow and suffering. She was unmarried when she was carrying Jesus.
She and the Holy Family had to run to Egypt to flee Herod. She lived
through the death of St. Joseph. But yet through all of this what did
Mary do, we are not sure but we get an idea from the Gospels, she “kept
all these things in her heart and reflected on them.”
Speed up 33 years later, we
see Jesus on the cross and the women and the disciple whom Jesus loved
(as described in John’s Gospel). We see Jesus at the hour of his glory.
This is the hour that Mary, in a way, encouraged him to begin at the
wedding at Cana. Mary was a mother who had sent her own son to his death.
Why? It is because she was concerned for others. In this way, she wanted
her son to begin his mission, not for her glory but for the salvation
of mankind. With her simple request, she sounded the long procession
of miracles that were to come. No more hidden life of Jesus, now it
was the time to being the journey, the journey to the cross.
Here at the cross, Jesus makes
preparations. Seeing his mother and the disciple whom he loved, he gives
her to him. He does not call her mother, he calls her “Woman”, “The
Universal Mother”. He tells her to “behold her son.” Then he said
to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple
took her into his home. So one of the questions for today’s session
was how to become a better disciple, a simple answer would be to take
Mary into your home. If we are a disciple whom Jesus loves then can
we really say no to his request. He tells us to behold our mother. No
Catholic is truly complete without inviting his mother into his house,
without taking her into his home. She is not just any lady. She is the
universal mother and mother of men.
What does our Mother do to
help us? Her spiritual motherhood is more than words can ever describe
but we get a very succinct summary by looking at the wedding at Cana
again. She encourages the servants to do whatever he tells them to.
She is a mother who encourages listening, contemplation and openness
to God’s will. Parents are our role models so we must follow Mary
in her ways.
Here Mary is standing at the
foot of the cross, the words of Simeon must be coming up to her, those
words which she has kept in her heart and pondered upon. It is good
to note that Mary did not know God’s plan but she was completely faithful
to his will, relying on his strength. Here she sees the fulfillment
of the sword of sorrow. How deep the cut must have been for her, how
she hard she must have cried see her son, her only son there upon the
cross, broken and beaten.
But it is through her sorrow
that she was so connected to her son. We must recall that Simeon’s
message was not only about Mary’s sorrow but also about the rejection
of Jesus. That is what love is all about. Love is about suffering for
the greater good of the other. In this way, Mary was truly a perfect
disciple because her sufferings where so intimately mixed with her son’s
that she must have felt the love that God wanted to give to the world.
Just in case if you are confused about why suffering comes with love,
it is like a mother going through labor for the birth of her child.
This is something that we must learn also when we accept Mary into our
homes. We must learn to suffering, we must be true disciples that our
lives are obedient to God and that we bear the crosses that come with
that obedience.
Mary has been blessed by God.
When she lost her divine son, she did not lose but won a multitude of
other children, you and me. This way God informs that a faithful servant
will be given more. You and I never lose out when we give to God. We
will always benefit in the end, but it is always about quiet perseverance
in God’s name. We never see Mary throwing a tantrum in the Gospel,
she took everything in and contemplate. We need to take everything in
and contemplate too. We just have to place our faith in the Lord that
everything done in his name will always work out for his glory in his
time.
This is the benefit of fidelity
to God. Faithfulness brings us through the sorrows of the world but
into everlasting life with Christ. So looking at Mary, we want to be
the disciples whom Jesus loves, we need to be at the cross (that is
through the suffering and pain and fear) and to take Mary into our lives
and homes.
Mary and the Eucharist If our Blessed Mother was living
on earth today, her life would revolve around the Blessed Eucharist.
She would love him and serve him as devotedly as she would have in their
home in Nazareth. In this section, we must also call to mind another
term for the Eucharist which is Holy Communion.
Why the term Holy Communion?
As JPII will say in his Theology of the Body, it is because of the communion
of persons that partake of this mystery. We receive Christ into our
bodies in this was we become in communion with God and in that way we
share communion with others. The perfect communion is in the Holy Trinity.
Father, Son and Holy Spirit are in perfect unison with each other, they
give themselves to each other freely, totally, faithfully and fruitfully.
We also find communion between Mary and God. Mary was in perfect communion
with God meaning that she gave herself freely, totally, faithfully and
fruitfully to God. And in this way, it was so fruitful till she brought
Christ into the world.
During her pregnancy, Mary
carried Jesus in her womb for 9 months. I as a man cannot imagine what
it must be like. The bond shared between mother and child must be really
very intimate. Mary literally lived the reality of the Eucharist.
So when we go to receive Holy
Communion, this is the image we must have with us. We must see our Blessed
Mother and remember how she did it. We must be the same! We must freely
accept God, we must give ourselves totally to him, we must be faithful
to his will, and ultimately we will be fruitful by bearing him like
our Lady to the world. This is truly the stage at which we can call
it communion.
The mass celebrates the one
true sacrifice of Calvary, we are brought back in time to that same
sacrifice and we find ourselves at the cross (or away from the cross).
Just as she stood by the cross, Mary stands by the altar. Forever cooperating
with Jesus in his plan of salvation and crushing the head of the serpent.
“Her motherhood is particularly
noted and experienced by the Christian people at the Sacred Banquet
– the liturgical celebration of the mystery of the Redemption –
at which Christ, his true body born of the Virgin Mary, becomes present.
The piety of the Christian people has always very rightly sensed a profound
link between devotion to the Blessed Virgin and worship of the Eucharist:
this is a fact that can be seen in the liturgy of both the West and
the East, in the traditions of the Religious Families, in the modern
movements of spirituality, including those for youth, and in the pastoral
practice of the Marian Shrines. Mary guides the faithful to the Eucharist.”
(Redemptoris Mater, 44)
Mary guides the faithful to
the Eucharist. Mary points not to herself but always to her son and
her son is at the altar during mass. The Eucharist is the new covenant
which God instituted with man. And Mary is the ark of that covenant,
she is the tabernacle of Holy Eucharist. We can never really appreciate
the Eucharist until we see what it meant for our Blessed Mother and
in that way ask her to pray for us so that we can “feel” it like
she did.
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