by Friar Mario
messengersaintanthony.com
MAY IS that time of the year in which piety is especially directed to Our Blessed Lady; it is the occasion for a tribute of faith and love to the Queen of Heaven.
In his 1965 Encyclical Mense Maio (the Month of May), which focuses on the Mother of God, Pope Paul VI wrote, “During this month Christians, both in church and in the privacy of the home, offer up to Mary from their hearts an especially fervent and loving homage of prayer and veneration. In this month, too, the benefits of God’s mercy come down to us from her throne in greater abundance”.
Many painters and sculptors have represented and continue to represent the Madonna holding the Baby Jesus very tightly and closely to herself. She seems to be afraid that somebody will try to take him away from her, or even just try to touch him. In my opinion, these artists have not understood Mary’s fundamental attitude, which is that of offering, of giving, and not of possessing.
Personally, I find Donatello’s bronze statue of the Virgin Mary, which can be admired on the High Altar of the Basilica of Saint Anthony, much more insightful. Mary has been captured in the act of standing up from her throne, reaching out in front of herself. She is holding the Baby Jesus like a paten, as an offering, and the smiling Baby seems to want to escape from his mother’s arms, almost as if he were looking for an infinite number of other hands and arms to receive him. I would even go so far as to say that in both the Madonna and the Child one can note a kind of impatience: the impatience of wanting to give something immediately.
Mary brought her son into the world but, unlike most mothers, she did not have any pretensions about wanting to keep him for herself. She gave her son to the world, to humankind. She knew full well that her son did not belong to her, but was destined to belong to others. Her son was a gift from God for all of us. The Gospels present Mary of Nazareth as a silent person who prefers to remain in the background, almost hidden, as it were.
Mary is the woman who does not step into the limelight. Her presence is a teaching of discretion and giving: it is the Word that must speak and be heard, not her. We should not be upset by this: the monstrance that bears the Word is splendid inasmuch as it is wrought from the same rare material of silence, and this silence of Mary expresses fullness, not lack of ability.
In front of that masterpiece of God which is the Virgin Mary, the correct stance for us should be that of contemplation, of openness and of silence. Devotion to Mary is really authentic if it makes us look at our inner selves, if it produces meditation on our faith which is nurtured above all by God’s love, rather than by apparitions and miracles. After all, even Mary had to find answers for the many doubts in her life without any special assistance.
Luke the Evangelist ends his version of the Annunciation with the phrase “Then, the Angel left her.” This is certainly not a happy ending. If anything it is a difficult and binding beginning. Mary was left alone, with no further extraordinary communication or reassuring message which removed her doubts. She had to make her journey with the help of her own faith, and not with the special assistance of an angel. Even in her life, as in our lives, her doubts and questions grew. She had to draw light from the darkest moments, and did not find easy ready-made answers. The angel had finished speaking, and from that moment on Mary would have to question the events of her life in order to try and understand. The same is true for all of us.
Showing posts with label Mama Mary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mama Mary. Show all posts
Friday, May 29, 2009
Friday, January 2, 2009
“Mother of God and our Mother”
The humility of my holy Mother Mary! She is not to be seen amid the palms of Jerusalem, nor at the hour of the great miracles--except at that first one at Cana. But she doesn't escape from the contempt at Golgotha; there she stands, juxta crucem Jesu, the Mother of Jesus, beside his Cross. (The Way, 507)
This has always been the true belief of Christians. Against those who denied it, the Council of Ephesus proclaimed that ‘if anyone should deny that the Emmanuel is truly God, and that therefore the most Blessed Virgin is the Mother of God, since she gave birth according to the flesh to the incarnate Word of God, let him be anathema’.
The Blessed Trinity, in choosing Mary as the Mother of Christ, a Man like us, has brought each one of us under the shelter of her maternal cloak. She is the Mother of God and our Mother.
The divine Motherhood of Mary is the source of all the perfections and privileges with which she is endowed. Because of it, she was conceived immaculate and is full of grace; because of it, she is ever virgin, she was taken up body and soul to heaven and has been crowned Queen of all creation, above the angels and saints. Greater than she, none but God. ‘The Blessed Virgin from the fact that she is the Mother of God has a certain infinite dignity which comes from the infinite good, which is God.’ There is no danger of exaggerating. We can never hope to fathom this inexpressible mystery; nor will we ever be able to give sufficient thanks to our Mother for bringing us into such intimacy with the Blessed Trinity.
We were sinners and enemies of God. Redemption has not only freed us from sin and reconciled us with Our Lord. It has also made us into children of God and has given us a Mother, the very Mother who gave birth to the Word when he took human nature. Could there ever be a greater, more generous, outpouring of love? (Friends of God, 275-275) [Top]
http://www.opusdei.ph/art.php?p=12605
This has always been the true belief of Christians. Against those who denied it, the Council of Ephesus proclaimed that ‘if anyone should deny that the Emmanuel is truly God, and that therefore the most Blessed Virgin is the Mother of God, since she gave birth according to the flesh to the incarnate Word of God, let him be anathema’.
The Blessed Trinity, in choosing Mary as the Mother of Christ, a Man like us, has brought each one of us under the shelter of her maternal cloak. She is the Mother of God and our Mother.
The divine Motherhood of Mary is the source of all the perfections and privileges with which she is endowed. Because of it, she was conceived immaculate and is full of grace; because of it, she is ever virgin, she was taken up body and soul to heaven and has been crowned Queen of all creation, above the angels and saints. Greater than she, none but God. ‘The Blessed Virgin from the fact that she is the Mother of God has a certain infinite dignity which comes from the infinite good, which is God.’ There is no danger of exaggerating. We can never hope to fathom this inexpressible mystery; nor will we ever be able to give sufficient thanks to our Mother for bringing us into such intimacy with the Blessed Trinity.
We were sinners and enemies of God. Redemption has not only freed us from sin and reconciled us with Our Lord. It has also made us into children of God and has given us a Mother, the very Mother who gave birth to the Word when he took human nature. Could there ever be a greater, more generous, outpouring of love? (Friends of God, 275-275) [Top]
http://www.opusdei.ph/art.php?p=12605
Monday, December 8, 2008
Feast of the Immaculate Concepcion
Mary Immaculate
“You are all-beautiful, my beloved,
and there is no blemish in you.”
(Song of Songs 4:7)
Mary was conceived without original sin. This is the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.
But did not Paul say that “all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23)? Yes, but this is precisely what shows how special Mary is. She is the only human being after the fall who was the one exception.
Mary would bear the Son of God, and God is perfectly holy. It could not be that an imperfect vessel would bear a perfect God. So according to God’s eternal plan, God did not allow Mary to be conceived with any stain of sin.
God wants those that He intends to use to be clean and pure instruments. Such purity was to be from the time of their conception.
Manoah’s wife, who would give birth to Samson, was told “to be careful to take no wine or strong drink and to eat nothing unclean.” (Jgs 13:4). This was because Samson was “to be consecrated to God from the womb” and would “begin the deliverance of Israel from the power of the Philistines” (Jgs 13:5).
Jeremiah, one of the great prophets of Israel, was told by God: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you.” (Jer 1:5).
Zechariah was told by the angel Gabriel that his wife Elizabeth would bear a son. John the Baptist became the precursor of Christ. Zechariah was told that John would “be great in the sight of the Lord. He will drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb, and he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.” (Lk 1:15-16).
Being a deliverer of Israel, a prophet to the nations, a restorer of Israel’s children to the Lordall these were mighty works of God, for which He raised pure instruments.
But Mary was the greatest instrument of all according to God’s plan. She would be the mother of the Savior, the mother of God Himself. As such, she needed to be a perfectly pure instrument.
But others would still insist that what the Bible says is perfectly true, that “all have sinned” (Rom 3:23a). The only exception is Jesus, “who did not know sin” (2 Cor 5:21). As such, then Mary was subject to original sin as well. Let us follow this trend of thought.
All of us indeed have sinned. We are born with original sin, the sin of our first parents. But through the blood shed for us by Jesus on the cross, our sin has been expiated. We “are justified freely by his grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as an expiation, through faith, by his blood, to prove his righteousness because of the forgiveness of sins previously committed” (Rom 3:24-25). We have sinned, but in and through Jesus we are cleansed, if we accept his saving death on the cross by faith.
Now God is not governed by time and space. God transcends time and space. So what God did was to extend to Mary his grace of expiation from sin, won on the cross, but applied backward to the time of Mary’s conception. Thus Mary, like everyone else, was redeemed by the blood of Jesus, but rather than being freed from sin already incurred, she was preserved from original sin.
Can God do that? Of course He can! There is nothing impossible for God! (Lk 1:37).
Indeed notice that with her Magnificat, Mary says her spirit rejoices in God her savior (Lk 1:47). She did not say she will rejoice, but that she already rejoices. But Jesus the Savior was still to be born, and still had to go to the cross to win salvation for all. Thus for Mary, Jesus had already saved her, even before he physically went to the cross. The prophecy of Isaiah rightfully applies to her: “I rejoice heartily in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul; for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation, ….. like a bride bedecked with her jewels.” (Is 61:10).
So Mary was conceived without sin.
We also need to see the Immaculate Conception in view of salvation history. When our first parents sinned, there was the first promise of a Redeemer. The Lord God told the devil that there would be enmity between him and the woman and between their offsprings, and that the offspring of the woman would strike him a mortal blow (Gen 3:15). It is a fight between the woman and the serpent. Now the woman is Mary, and so it is a fight between Mary and the devil. If the woman had original sin, then she would be subject to the power of the devil and would not be able to defeat him. So she needed to be free from sin.
And so in the fullness of time, God brought Mary into the world, and then revealed to her His plan. The angel Gabriel addressed her with the words “Hail, favored one!” (Lk 1:28). Another way to put the greeting is “Hail, fully graced.” Mary was full of grace! One who is fully graced cannot have the stain of sin.
And of course, God intended for Mary to bear His own Son. She was to become the mother of God. As the mother of the Holy One, she had to be unstained.
Consider also that there were other humans not covered by Paul’s assertion that all had sinned. These were Adam and Eve. They were born unstained, created in the image and likeness of God Himself (Gen 1:27). When God looked at what He had created, He “found it very good” (Gen 1:31). God being Who He is, what He creates is perfect. God cannot create something in His image and likeness that is stained in some way.
So Adam and Eve started out with no sin, because there was no sin as yet in the world. Now Mary is the new Eve. If Eve was created sinless, then how much more Mary who would become the mother of God?
And so Mary was conceived without sin. It was not that she had original sin and was freed from it, but rather that God preserved her from original sin, from the very beginning. She was still redeemed by Jesus, but in God’s mysterious ways, experienced this redemption from sin even before the actual physical event of Jesus’ crucifixion and death on the cross.
For reflection
1. We are all proud of our mothers and think they are the best moms in the world. Think about how your mom has been a blessing to you. Thank God for her.
2. Think about your Mother Mary, who was pure and immaculate and full of grace. How proud of her are you?
(Taken from the forthcoming new book of Frank Padilla entitled “40 More Days with Mary”)
“You are all-beautiful, my beloved,
and there is no blemish in you.”
(Song of Songs 4:7)
Mary was conceived without original sin. This is the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.
But did not Paul say that “all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23)? Yes, but this is precisely what shows how special Mary is. She is the only human being after the fall who was the one exception.
Mary would bear the Son of God, and God is perfectly holy. It could not be that an imperfect vessel would bear a perfect God. So according to God’s eternal plan, God did not allow Mary to be conceived with any stain of sin.
God wants those that He intends to use to be clean and pure instruments. Such purity was to be from the time of their conception.
Manoah’s wife, who would give birth to Samson, was told “to be careful to take no wine or strong drink and to eat nothing unclean.” (Jgs 13:4). This was because Samson was “to be consecrated to God from the womb” and would “begin the deliverance of Israel from the power of the Philistines” (Jgs 13:5).
Jeremiah, one of the great prophets of Israel, was told by God: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you.” (Jer 1:5).
Zechariah was told by the angel Gabriel that his wife Elizabeth would bear a son. John the Baptist became the precursor of Christ. Zechariah was told that John would “be great in the sight of the Lord. He will drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb, and he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.” (Lk 1:15-16).
Being a deliverer of Israel, a prophet to the nations, a restorer of Israel’s children to the Lordall these were mighty works of God, for which He raised pure instruments.
But Mary was the greatest instrument of all according to God’s plan. She would be the mother of the Savior, the mother of God Himself. As such, she needed to be a perfectly pure instrument.
But others would still insist that what the Bible says is perfectly true, that “all have sinned” (Rom 3:23a). The only exception is Jesus, “who did not know sin” (2 Cor 5:21). As such, then Mary was subject to original sin as well. Let us follow this trend of thought.
All of us indeed have sinned. We are born with original sin, the sin of our first parents. But through the blood shed for us by Jesus on the cross, our sin has been expiated. We “are justified freely by his grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as an expiation, through faith, by his blood, to prove his righteousness because of the forgiveness of sins previously committed” (Rom 3:24-25). We have sinned, but in and through Jesus we are cleansed, if we accept his saving death on the cross by faith.
Now God is not governed by time and space. God transcends time and space. So what God did was to extend to Mary his grace of expiation from sin, won on the cross, but applied backward to the time of Mary’s conception. Thus Mary, like everyone else, was redeemed by the blood of Jesus, but rather than being freed from sin already incurred, she was preserved from original sin.
Can God do that? Of course He can! There is nothing impossible for God! (Lk 1:37).
Indeed notice that with her Magnificat, Mary says her spirit rejoices in God her savior (Lk 1:47). She did not say she will rejoice, but that she already rejoices. But Jesus the Savior was still to be born, and still had to go to the cross to win salvation for all. Thus for Mary, Jesus had already saved her, even before he physically went to the cross. The prophecy of Isaiah rightfully applies to her: “I rejoice heartily in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul; for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation, ….. like a bride bedecked with her jewels.” (Is 61:10).
So Mary was conceived without sin.
We also need to see the Immaculate Conception in view of salvation history. When our first parents sinned, there was the first promise of a Redeemer. The Lord God told the devil that there would be enmity between him and the woman and between their offsprings, and that the offspring of the woman would strike him a mortal blow (Gen 3:15). It is a fight between the woman and the serpent. Now the woman is Mary, and so it is a fight between Mary and the devil. If the woman had original sin, then she would be subject to the power of the devil and would not be able to defeat him. So she needed to be free from sin.
And so in the fullness of time, God brought Mary into the world, and then revealed to her His plan. The angel Gabriel addressed her with the words “Hail, favored one!” (Lk 1:28). Another way to put the greeting is “Hail, fully graced.” Mary was full of grace! One who is fully graced cannot have the stain of sin.
And of course, God intended for Mary to bear His own Son. She was to become the mother of God. As the mother of the Holy One, she had to be unstained.
Consider also that there were other humans not covered by Paul’s assertion that all had sinned. These were Adam and Eve. They were born unstained, created in the image and likeness of God Himself (Gen 1:27). When God looked at what He had created, He “found it very good” (Gen 1:31). God being Who He is, what He creates is perfect. God cannot create something in His image and likeness that is stained in some way.
So Adam and Eve started out with no sin, because there was no sin as yet in the world. Now Mary is the new Eve. If Eve was created sinless, then how much more Mary who would become the mother of God?
And so Mary was conceived without sin. It was not that she had original sin and was freed from it, but rather that God preserved her from original sin, from the very beginning. She was still redeemed by Jesus, but in God’s mysterious ways, experienced this redemption from sin even before the actual physical event of Jesus’ crucifixion and death on the cross.
For reflection
1. We are all proud of our mothers and think they are the best moms in the world. Think about how your mom has been a blessing to you. Thank God for her.
2. Think about your Mother Mary, who was pure and immaculate and full of grace. How proud of her are you?
(Taken from the forthcoming new book of Frank Padilla entitled “40 More Days with Mary”)
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