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May - The Month of Mary (a reflection by Willy Effinger)
In Holy Scripture we read that we must praise the Lord our God in His holy ones: the martyrs, the apostles, the prophets, the fathers of the Church, etc. How much more, then, must we give honour to the one who bore the Christ Child? Mary was the one who nursed and cared for Him, educated and loved Him, searched and feared for Him, pained and sorrowed for and with Him. As a matter of fact, she even spiritually died with Him, for Holy Scripture tells us that “a sword would pierce her heart too”.
The Bible also calls us to honour our father and mother. When we give honour to our Heavenly Mother Mary, we also give honour to the Son who came forth from her by the power of the Holy Spirit. Mankind was doomed to die after the horrible fall in the Garden of Eden. We would have had no chance to escape darkness, sin and death if it had not been for the Father who, in His great mercy, had prepared a woman fit to bear His Son, the Conqueror of sin and death. The Son is indeed light itself, the One who brings life everlasting by conquering darkness; He brings light and warmth, love and peace to all who desire it.
Yet, this woman needed to say YES before anything could happen. She had to give her own self, her all, her total fiat to this miraculous yet stunning announcement. With her humble submission to the Father’s plan, mankind was able to rise from death to life, to become part of the Living Flesh, no more to die. Jesus Christ became for us, by the power of God, our wisdom and justice, our holiness and redemption. Mary became our Mother through Jesus. “Son, here is your Mother”. These words were spoken in pain and agony like a real suffering Brother; for our iniquities, He bore death for us. Not long before the Crucifixion, He had told His disciples to eat and drink, for this was truly His Body and His Blood. Yes, Jesus is truly our Brother and yes therefore, Mary is truly our Mother. From her was born our wisdom, justice, holiness, redemption and justification.
I would like to close with an excerpt from an exhortation on Mary by St. Sophronices as recorded in the Office of Readings: “Truly, you are blessed among women, for you have changed Eve’s curse into a blessing and Adam, who hitherto lay under a curse, has been blessed because of you. Truly, you are blessed among women. Through you the Father’s blessing has shone forth on mankind, setting them free of their ancient curse. Truly, you are blessed among women, because through you, your forebears have found salvation, for you were to give birth to the Saviour who was to win them salvation. Truly, you are blessed among women, because, though a woman by nature, you will become, in reality, God’s Mother. He whom you are to bear is truly God made flesh, then rightly do we call you God’s Mother. For you have truly given birth to God. Enclosed within your womb is God Himself. He make His abode in you and comes forth from you like a bridegroom, winning joy for all and bestowing God’s light on all.”
Mother of God, pray for us, your children!
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