Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,
Indeed, the Blessed Virgin Mary is inseparably linked to the priesthood, by her maternal action and presence. This was evidenced by Pope John Paul II’s wish for the International Encounter of Priests, held in approaching the third millennium, to be profoundly Marian in character, as pointed out by the Archbishop, Primate of Mexico, now Norberto Cardinal Rivera Carrera.
Last year, in his General Audience before the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in the context of the Year for Priests, Pope Benedict XVI spoke on the connexion between Our Lady and the priesthood. He said that this link is deeply rooted in the Mystery of the Incarnation. Mary is truly at the heart of this mystery because by her ‘yes’, God is able to enter the world as man, thus putting into motion God’s plan of salvation. It is through Mary that God the Son was able to give the gift of Himself on the Cross to become Bread for the life of the world. Throughout the centuries, this salvific sacrifice of Christ is made present in an unbloody manner on the altar by the priest, whose ‘yes’ to God’s call enable Christ to continue His saving action in the world today.
Indeed, the Blessed Virgin Mary is inseparably linked to the priesthood, by her maternal action and presence. This was evidenced by Pope John Paul II’s wish for the International Encounter of Priests, held in approaching the third millennium, to be profoundly Marian in character, as pointed out by the Archbishop, Primate of Mexico, now Norberto Cardinal Rivera Carrera.
Last year, in his General Audience before the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in the context of the Year for Priests, Pope Benedict XVI spoke on the connexion between Our Lady and the priesthood. He said that this link is deeply rooted in the Mystery of the Incarnation. Mary is truly at the heart of this mystery because by her ‘yes’, God is able to enter the world as man, thus putting into motion God’s plan of salvation. It is through Mary that God the Son was able to give the gift of Himself on the Cross to become Bread for the life of the world. Throughout the centuries, this salvific sacrifice of Christ is made present in an unbloody manner on the altar by the priest, whose ‘yes’ to God’s call enable Christ to continue His saving action in the world today.
In the text The Blessed Virgin Mary in the Life and Ministry of the Priest at the Conference of Monsignor Norberto Rivera in 1997, Cardinal Rivera highlighted how the priesthood parallels the Blessed Virgin Mary in many ways.
In the light of the Incarnation, Mary listened to the Word and welcomed it, and the Word became Incarnate in her. Today, priests all over the world are celebrating more than 2000 years of the Word Incarnate in her womb. The seminarian and the priest reflect her listening and welcoming attitude towards the Word when they show due appreciation and love for the Sacred Scriptures and the Liturgy.
In the light of the Incarnation, Mary listened to the Word and welcomed it, and the Word became Incarnate in her. Today, priests all over the world are celebrating more than 2000 years of the Word Incarnate in her womb. The seminarian and the priest reflect her listening and welcoming attitude towards the Word when they show due appreciation and love for the Sacred Scriptures and the Liturgy.
Mary, the Virgin Mother, engendered on earth the Son of God without contact with man, but by being overshadowed by the Holy Spirit. In carrying out her motherhood at the foot of the cross, Mary is placed by God’s will at the “service” of her children, and even more, of all men. This motherhood, or fruitfulness, is the hidden fruit of the “Virgin mother” in the priestly soul – by “listening to the Word and welcoming it with faith in his heart”, the priest “engenders life and places himself at the service of life”. His celibacy, i.e. virginity consecrated to God, in imitation of Mary, the Virgin of Nazareth, is the source of this special motherhood in the Holy Spirit.
Mary is also teacher of the spiritual life for every Christian. She is above all the model of worship that makes one’s own life into an offering to God. By her “yes”, Mary showed us how to be converted into obedience to the Father’s will towards and amid one’s own sanctification, and in a special way for priests.
Mary, the “offering Virgin”, offered the Child Jesus to the Lord in the Temple at Jerusalem. At Calvary, Mary, with ardent charity and unshakable faith, stood by Christ engendered by her as He offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice, offering herself as well to the Eternal Father. In consecrating the bread and wine, Body and Blood of the Lord, during the Eucharistic celebration, the priest paralleled Mary’s offering of the Child Jesus in the Temple, and having consummated the redemption at the foot of the cross, the priest returns it to the Father as an expiatory offering for our sins.
Thus we have seen how Mary is linked to the priesthood from the theological point of view. Next week, we will see her connexion with the priesthood in the pastoral dimension, why our Blessed Mother loves every priest in a special way, and briefly on what all these parallels teach us.
Amen.
Mary, the “offering Virgin”, offered the Child Jesus to the Lord in the Temple at Jerusalem. At Calvary, Mary, with ardent charity and unshakable faith, stood by Christ engendered by her as He offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice, offering herself as well to the Eternal Father. In consecrating the bread and wine, Body and Blood of the Lord, during the Eucharistic celebration, the priest paralleled Mary’s offering of the Child Jesus in the Temple, and having consummated the redemption at the foot of the cross, the priest returns it to the Father as an expiatory offering for our sins.
Thus we have seen how Mary is linked to the priesthood from the theological point of view. Next week, we will see her connexion with the priesthood in the pastoral dimension, why our Blessed Mother loves every priest in a special way, and briefly on what all these parallels teach us.
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment