20250628 HOLINESS OF MARY IS LIVED OUT IN HER VOCATION
28 June 2025, Saturday, Immaculate Heart of Mary
9 Their descendants shall be known among the nations,
and their offspring in the midst of the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge them,
that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed.
10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
my soul shall exult in my God;
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the earth brings forth its shoots,
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
to spring forth before all the nations.
Hannah also prayed and said,
“My heart exults in the Lord;
my strength is exalted in the Lord.
My mouth derides my enemies,
because I rejoice in thy salvation.
4 The bows of the mighty are broken,
but the feeble gird on strength.
5 Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,
but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger.
The barren has borne seven,
but she who has many children is forlorn.
6 The Lord kills and brings to life;
he brings down to Sheol and raises up.
7 The Lord makes poor and makes rich;
he brings low, he also exalts.
8 He raises up the poor from the dust;
he lifts the needy from the ash heap,
to make them sit with princes
and inherit a seat of honor.
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
and on them he has set the world.
4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered. 7 And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
8 And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; 11 for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!”g
15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it they made known the saying which had been told them concerning this child; 18 and all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
21 And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
22 And when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” 25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 And inspired by the Spirit* he came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the law, 28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,
29 “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace,
according to thy word;
30 for mine eyes have seen thy salvation
31 which thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to thy people Israel.”
33 And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him; 34 and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother,
“Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel,
and for a sign that is spoken against
35 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also),
that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed.”
36 And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanu-el, of the tribe of Asher; she was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years from her virginity, 37 and as a widow till she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 And coming up at that very hour she gave thanks to God, and spoke of him to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.
39 And when they had performed everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.
41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom; 43 and when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, 44 but supposing him to be in the company they went a day’s journey, and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintances; 45 and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions; 47 and all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 And when they saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously.” 49 And he said to them, “How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” 50 And they did not understand the saying which he spoke to them. 51 And he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart.
HOLINESS OF MARY IS LIVED OUT IN HER VOCATION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ISA 61:9-11; 1 SM 2:1, 4-8; OR EPH 1:3-6,11-12; LK 2:4-51]
The greatness of Mary lies in her holiness. In the first reading, we read of how God blessed Israel – and, in a special way, Mary – with the gift of holiness. The prophet announced, “Their race will be famous throughout the nations, their descendants throughout the peoples. All who see them will admit that they are a race whom the Lord has blessed. I exult for joy in the Lord, my soul rejoices in my God, for he has clothed me in the garments of salvation, he has wrapped me in the cloak of integrity.”
Holiness is truly a gift from the Lord, but also a task. This is what St John Paul II wrote in his apostolic letter, At the beginning of the New Millennium when he said, “The rediscovery of the Church as ‘mystery’, or as a people ‘gathered together by the unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit’, was bound to bring with it a rediscovery of the Church’s ‘holiness’. To profess the Church as holy means to point to her as the Bride of Christ, for whom he gave himself precisely in order to make her holy. This as it were objective gift of holiness is offered to all the baptized. But the gift in turn becomes a task, which must shape the whole of Christian life: ‘This is the will of God, your sanctification’ (1 Th 4:3). It is a duty which concerns not only certain Christians: ‘All the Christian faithful, of whatever state or rank, are called to the fullness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity'”. (NMI 30)
So, what is holiness if not to live a life of integrity, which is to be consistent with one’s vocation and calling in life. St Paul, in the second reading wrote, “Before the world was made, he chose us, chose us in Christ, to be holy and spotless, and to live through love in his presence, determining that we should become his adopted sons, through Jesus Christ for his own kind purposes, to make us praise the glory of his grace, his free gift to us in the Beloved, chosen to be, for his greater glory.” Holiness is to live the life that He has called us to live for His loving purposes. When we live according to our vocation, we sanctify our lives, our work, our activities, and ourselves. In his letter to the Ephesians, St Paul exhorted the Christians, “I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love.” (Eph 4:1f) In the case of Mary, she lived out her holiness in the simplicity of everyday life. Mary held no position in society. She was neither a professional nor a leader in her community. She was simply a daughter to her parents, just like many others. She was young and betrothed to Joseph. Her vocation was to be the mother of Jesus. This calling was not, on the surface, something extraordinary or exceptional. She was tasked to be a good mother to Jesus and a faithful spouse to Joseph. Her whole life and vocation were simply to be just that. There was no other calling.
Mary’s holiness is shown in the way she responded to God’s call to be the mother of the Saviour. In her innocence and humility, God chose her to be the mother of the Messiah. She was surprised that she was chosen and wondered how that could be, since she was not yet living with Joseph. But the angel assured her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 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 ancestor David. 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 holy; he will be called Son of God.” (Lk 1:30-32,34f) And in spite of the absurdity of the promise and call, she said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” (Lk 1:38)
Indeed, the holiness of Mary is seen in her self-sacrifice. She always put herself last and never had this sense of self-importance. She was happy to be simply a messenger of the Good News of God. When she heard that Elizabeth was pregnant, her first thought was to go and help her in her old age. She was not dwelling on her call to be the Mother of the Saviour. And going to Elizabeth’s house was also to bring the joy of Jesus to them. For upon reaching her house, “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy’.” (Lk 1:41-44) Mary’s joy was to bring Jesus into the lives of others.
Mary was not just a responsible mother, but a nurturer. She did not simply raise Jesus by her good example of devotion, love, patience and tenderness. Mary was also conscious of her role as a mother who provided not only education, formation and good upbringing, but she also the gift of faith – the faith of her forefathers to our Lord. When Jesus was born, the first thing she did was to offer Him to the Lord in the temple as the first-born, in accordance with the law of Moses. There, they offered a sacrifice as prescribed by the Law of the Lord; “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.” (Lk 2:24) The gospel also tells us that she would bring our Lord to Jerusalem for the yearly festivals, such as the Passover. Mary understood that to be a good mother meant sharing her faith with Jesus. How many of us, as parents, see the importance of imparting our faith to our children? Today, many parents are concerned only with providing a good education, comfortable housing, luxuries, and holidays, but not many are concerned about the friends they mix with, their spiritual formation, or their involvement in the Church.
Mary was also deeply conscious of the need to raise Jesus according to the plan of God. She would have remembered that when she presented Jesus in the Temple, Simeon prophesied that her Son, “is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed – and a sword will pierce your own soul too.” (Lk 2:34f) Mary would have also recalled the time they lost Jesus in the Temple, and how the Lord said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be busy with my Father’s affairs?” So, when He grew up and it was time for Jesus to leave for His ministry, Mary did not hold Him back, even though she was already a widow by then. She willingly let Him go to fulfil the mission God had entrusted to Him. Throughout His ministry, Mary was always supporting Jesus – not in the foreground, but quietly in the background – because she did not want to compromise the effectiveness of our Lord’s ministry. She was content simply to encourage Him: when He was misunderstood, when He was tired, and even when He was condemned.
Most of all, Mary’s holiness is seen in her union with her Son at the foot of the Cross. We can imagine how much she would have grieved in her heart to see her Son so mercilessly and cruelly being tortured and nailed to the Cross. Yet she just stood there with Him – weeping for Him, and joining Him in praying for His enemies – without resentment or hatred. Such is the holiness of Mary, even in the face of tragedy and injustice. Mary displayed her holiness by sharing in Jesus’ suffering on the Cross for the redemption of the world. For us, then, holiness means to carry the sufferings of each day with love and joy – for our own sanctification and for the sanctification of others.
The key to holiness is prayer. This is what St John Paul II also said. “This training in holiness calls for a Christian life distinguished above all in the art of prayer.” (NMI 32) Mary was exemplary in her faith. She was a woman of contemplation and prayer. The gospel always portrays Mary as a woman who kept and pondered everything in her heart. She was not one who reacted impulsively to situations; rather, she took time to reflect deeply on each event that occurred in her life. Holiness, in essence, calls for a discernment of God’s will for us in our lives. We must consciously do everything to fulfil the Word of God.
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
