Mary, Model of Hope for the Church

(Sharing at the Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help on 25 June 2011)

In this sharing on Mary as model of hope for the Church, we are reminded in the first letter of Peter to “Reverence the Lord Christ in your hearts and always have your answer ready for people who ask you the reason for the hope that you all have.” (1 Pet 3:15) In listening to the angel's message, the Virgin first directs her hope to the kingdom without end, which Jesus had been sent to establish. (John Paul II, Mary: Model of Faith, Hope and Charity)

Standing at the foot of the Cross, Mary’s Heart was united to the sufferings of the Heart of Jesus. Her Heart was mystically pierced by the same sword that pierced Jesus’ Heart. This was the most painful time for Mary; yet, by standing at the foot of the Cross, Mary revealed the strength and integrity of her Heart, the undivided love for God and hope for humanity, and the faithfulness to her mission. Standing at the foot of the Cross, she showed us that her Heart, being immaculate and never touched by either darkness or sin, could not be touched by evil in the darkest and most painful hour of the Passion and death of her Son. Mary kept her interior freedom as a child of God because she did not allow herself to be overcome by fear, despair or hatred, always the servant of the Lord and His plan. At the side of her Son, she is the most perfect image of freedom and of the liberation of humanity and of the universe. (Mother Adela, Mary, Model of Faith, Hope and Charity for the Third Millennium; John Paul II, Redemptoris Mater).

Three pillars sustained Mary's Heart at the foot of the Cross: her unshakeable faith, her unfailing hope, and her profound sacrificial love. (Mother Adela, Mary, Model of Faith, Hope and Charity for the Third Millennium)

Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ's promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit. (CCC 1817)

It is on Calvary that we contemplate how far these virtues can move our hearts to be faithful to Christ in the most difficult moments. If we nourish these virtues we will be capable of doing what our Mother did at Calvary: stand at the foot of the Cross. From Mary we learn to live in faith, hope and love at the foot of our own crosses. (Mother Adela, Mary, Model of Faith, Hope and Charity for the Third Millennium)

These three virtues are necessary to stem the tide of crises we face in difficult times: a crisis of faith, a crisis of hope and a crisis of love. They come from the direct influence of Satan in the world and in hearts. If there is a denial of the existence of God and His truth, there certainly will be a denial of His promises of eternal life and the eternal consequences for those who live in grace or in sin. (Mother Adela, Mary, Model of Faith, Hope and Charity for the Third Millennium)

The greatest manifestation of the crisis of hope is the minimizing or even a forgetting of the realities of eternal life, leading many to live only for the pleasures of this world; to develop a materialistic way of life; to seek self-fulfillment only in the things of this world; and to avoid any kind of suffering which interferes with the idol and obsession of happiness. (Mother Adela, Mary, Model of Faith, Hope and Charity for the Third Millennium)

Mary not only teaches us to stand firm in the midst of the storm by the power of the three virtues but she comes to defend us with her maternal presence and leads us through the desert of tribulation. Just as the column of cloud during the day and the column of fire during the night preceded the Israelites in the desert to show them the way and never left its place in front of the people (Ex 13, 21-22), Virgin Mary, as the “New Column” described in the dream of St. John Bosco, goes before us in these times of confusion and battle, leading us safely to the Heart of her Son and to His Church. She is also the Mother of Hope for the Church. (Mother Adela, Mary, Model of Faith, Hope and Charity for the Third Millennium)

Our true fulfillment is in loving, which requires our self-denial and the taking up of our cross and following the Lord. The Beatitudes invite us and teach us the way to oppose the invitations of this world and to obtain abundant life now and in eternity. (Mother Adela, Mary, Model of Faith, Hope and Charity for the Third Millennium)

Like Mary at the foot of the cross, let us empty ourselves of all that is passing, and not be afraid to suffer what is needed for our purification. To repair for the crisis of hope and for the materialistic attitude of our contemporary age, we should pray and meditate on the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary. By contemplating the eternal rewards promised for our fidelity to the will of God, even in the midst of suffering, we are called – and receive the graces – to grow in “hope against all hope.” (Mother Adela, Mary, Model of Faith, Hope and Charity for the Third Millennium; 2 Cor 4:16-18).

References:

Catechism of the Catholic Church

John Paul II, Mary: Model of Faith, Hope and Charity: http://www.ewtn.com/library/papaldoc/jp2bvm61.htm

John Paul II, Redemptoris Mater

Mother Adela, SCTJM Foundress, Mary, Model of Faith, Hope and Charity for the Third Millennium: http://www.piercedhearts.org/mother_adela/mary_faith_hope_charity.htm

Mary, Model of Faith

(Sharing at the Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help on 18 June 2011)

Today my sharing will be on Mary, the model of faith.

All of us are very familiar with the word FAITH, that we use it often in our prayers, in our conversations with our friends, in sharing of our experiences of life and in many other situations. I am sure we all believe in the gift of faith.       

Faith is one of the most fundamental aspects of our Christian life. We believe that the Blessed Virgin Mary is the perfect model of our faith.

So what is the gift of faith?

Faith involves entrusting oneself, abandoning oneself to God, the willingness to submit to His will and the obedience in faith. Mary as the perfect model reflects this very well. She abandoned herself to God with total trust and in obedience in faith when she responded “Yes” to God.

To better understand what this means in practice, we can look at the life of Mary, whose acceptance of God’s invitation to be the mother of His Son is a great witness for us. By examining the dialogue that took place at the Annunciation, we can gain deeper insight about what it means to have faith.

Mary’s ‘Yes’ to God

Mary’s journey with God was one of deep faith and great trust. She had a grace-filled openness to the mystery of God in her life.

We are familiar with Luke’s account of the Incarnation when the angel appeared to Mary and announced, “The Lord is with you.” ( Lk 1: 28) However, before Mary responded to God, the Scriptures remind us that Mary was confused and frightened, and was deeply disturbed by the angel’s greeting. As Mary was fully human she too experienced fear and doubts, similar to how anyone of us would also encounter in our lives. 

She struggled to say “Yes” to the Lord! And She “pondered” these words in her heart. Pondering is not simply a question of “thinking” or of trying to master the realities of faith or mysteries of life. It is not a question of trying to control these realities or mysteries or reduce them to something our minds can handle. Rather, it is a question of letting the realities of faith be with us, to enter into us and reveal themselves to us. It is allowing ourselves to be molded by them, to allow God’s will to become our will.  It is fostering both an attitude and atmosphere of trust and openness in our lives. 

It was through her dialogue with the angel, where she asks, ”How can this be? I have no knowledge of man” (Lk1:34) And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow you. And behold, your cousin Elisabeth, she too also conceived a son in her old age, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible.” “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” (Lk1:38)With these words Mary was more assured and her fear transcended and she was able to submit herself to the will of God. 

Mary took a leap in faith. She had to let go of her plans and say “Yes” to a life of faith. In spite of her awareness of her own unworthiness and littleness, she had to say “Yes” to become the mother of God and also all that it would entail. She was asked to let go of her plans and let God take over her life. She was totally unaware what was to happen in the future, the struggles or difficulties; however she totally trusted God and that He will take care of all things as she surrendered in faith.

Mary's fiat (“let it be done, as you have said” (Lk 1:38)) demonstrates her complete obedience to God and to His will for her. In fact it was by means of her fiat, her obedient faith, that “the mystery of the Incarnation was accomplished” in accordance with God's plan.

Similarly, sometimes in our lives too, when God comes to invite us to make changes in our lives, to explore the inner part of our lives which we have been very comfortable with, we too can feel perplexed or confused just as Mary did. It is in those circumstances that we too can engage in dialogue with God and with others around us. May we too, walk in faith by allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us just as he did for Mary.

We may not know what the outcome will be, however we can take the leap of faith and TRUST that God will take care of us just as He did for our Blessed Mother.

Mary, Model of Virtue –Charity towards Neighbour

(Sharing at the Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help on 4 June 2011)

Dear brothers and sisters,

Today, we shall touch on Mary’s virtue of charity towards neighbour. Mary hastened into the hill country to visit Elizabeth.  (Luke 1:39-45)  Consider how Mary thought nothing of herself; indeed her needs were secondary to those of her cousin Elizabeth. 

We next look at Mary at a wedding feast at Cana. (John 2: 1-9)  When the wine was gone, she said to Jesus, “They have no more wine.”  When Jesus replied that His time has not yet come, His mother proceeded to instruct the servants to do whatever He tells them. At this wedding, Jesus listening to His mother and thereupon changing the water into wine opened the disciples’ hearts to faith, thanks to the intervention of Mary, the first among believers.

I would now like to share on the life of Archbishop Oscar Romero of San Salvador, who emulated the Virgin Mary’s virtue of charity towards neighbour. He fought for justice, the rights of the poor and the persecuted church against the “powers there be” in San Salvador. 

Oscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdamez was born on 15^th August 1917 in Ciudad Barrios. Romero went to a public school for three years after which he was privately tutored until he was thirteen. He grew up being his father’s apprentice in carpentry and excelled; his father had wanted him to be skilled in a trade since studies in San Salvador did not guarantee employment.

Romero was ordained in Rome on 4^th April 1942. He worked at San Miguel for over 20 years. He promoted various apostolic groups, started an Alcoholics Anonymous group, helped in the construction of San Miguel’s cathedral and supported devotion to the Virgin of the Peace. In 1967, he was chosen to be Secretary of the Bishop Conference for El Salvador. He was known as fairly conservative while editing for the archdiocesan newspaper Orientacion, defending the traditional Magisterium of the Catholic Church.

In 1970, he was appointed auxiliary bishop to the San Salvador Archbishop. He became Bishop of the Diocese of Santiago de Maria in December 1975. On 23^rd February 1977, he was appointed Archbishop of San Salvador, to the surprise, dismay and even incredulity of many priests who were aligned with Marxism. They feared that his conservativeness would negatively affect liberation theology’s commitment to the poor.

On 12^th March, a progressive Jesuit priest and personal friend Rutilio Grande, who had been creating self-reliance groups among the poor, was assassinated.  His death profoundly affected Romero who later stated, “…If they have killed him for doing what he did, then I too have to walk the same path”. Romero urged the government to investigate but was ignored.  Furthermore, the censored press remained silent.

Eventually, Romero revealed a radicalism that had not been evident earlier.  He spoke out against poverty, social injustice, assassinations and torture.  Consequently, Romero began to be noticed internationally. In Feb, 1980, he was given an honorary doctorate by the Catholic University of Leuven. On his visit to Europe to receive this honour, he met Pope John Paul II and told him that it was problematic to support the Salvadoran government because it legitimised terror and assassinations.

In 1979, the Revolutionary Government Junta came to power amidst human rights abuses by paramilitary right-wing groups and the government. Romero criticised the United States for giving the government military aid. He warned President Jimmy Carter that the increased US aid would sharpen the injustice and the repression inflicted on the organised people, struggling often for their basic human rights.

In Archbishop Romero’s words: “In less than 3 years, more than 50 priests have been attacked, threatened and slandered. Six of them are martyrs, having been assassinated; various others have been tortured, and others expelled from the country. Religious women have also been the object of persecutions. The archdiocesan radio station, Catholic educational institutions and Christian religious institutions have been constantly attacked, menaced, threatened with bombs. Various parish convents have been sacked.”

Romero was shot on 24^th March 1980 while celebrating Mass at a small chapel located in a hospital, one day after a sermon where he had called on Salvadoran soldiers, as Christians, to obey God’s higher order and to stop carrying out the government’s repression and violations of basic human rights. An audio-recording of the Mass showed him shot while elevating the chalice at the end of the Eucharistic rite.

On 21^st December 2010, the United Nations General Assembly officially recognised the important work and values of Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero.