Friday, 15 July 2016

MARY, DAUGHTER AND MOTHER OF MERCY

20160716 MARY, DAUGHTER AND MOTHER OF MERCY

1Kings 18:42B:45A
Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel and bowed down to the ground, putting his face between his knees.
43 'Now go up', he told his servant, 'and look out to sea.' He went up and looked. 'There is nothing at all,' he said. Seven times Elijah told him to go back.
44 The seventh time, the servant said, 'Now there is a cloud, small as a man's hand, rising from the sea.' Elijah said, 'Go and say to Ahab, "Harness the chariot and go down before the rain stops you." '
45 And with that the sky grew dark with cloud and storm, and rain fell in torrents.

Gal 4:4-7
4 but when the completion of the time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born a subject of the Law,
5 to redeem the subjects of the Law, so that we could receive adoption as sons.
6 As you are sons, God has sent into our hearts the Spirit of his Son crying, 'Abba, Father';
7 and so you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir, by God's own act.

John 19:25-27
25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala.
26 Seeing his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing near her, Jesus said to his mother, 'Woman, this is your son.'
27 Then to the disciple he said, 'This is your mother.' And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

MARY, DAUGHTER AND MOTHER OF MERCY


We are celebrating the Year of Mercy.  Hence, it is appropriate that on this Solemnity of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, we reflect on Mary who is the daughter of Mercy and also the Mother of Mercy.  What can we learn from Mary about mercy?  Like Mary, we are called to be the Mother of Mercy, that is, the bearer of mercy to others.  How can we be the bearer of God’s mercy unless, like her, we learn to be sons and daughters of mercy?  Hence, from our Blessed Mother, we wish to contemplate on her becoming the Mother of Mercy.
Before Mary became the Mother of Mercy, that is, the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, she was a daughter of Mercy.  She herself was a recipient of the Father’s mercy when she was chosen to be the mother of the Saviour.  Only because she received God’s mercy in her own life, could she become a dispenser of God’s mercy.  She could proclaim God’s mercy with confidence because she had a foretaste of His mercy in choosing her to be the mother of the Saviour.  But she knew that she was chosen not for herself, not for her glory, not for her fulfillment but for the sake of humanity, the salvation of the world.  Thus, accordingly, she could also sing of God’s mercy when she prophesied with confidence that God will show His mercy to the world.  Only because she was a daughter of Mercy, could she then become the Mother of Mercy.
This is true for us.  Unless we have experienced the mercy of God in our lives, we cannot proclaim His mercy to others.   That is why we must first be sons and daughters of Mercy before we can mediate His mercy.  Indeed, many do not know God’s mercy and therefore are not filled with gratitude.  But is it true that we are not as blessed as Mary in receiving the mercy of God?  In truth, all of us have received God’s mercy but we are unaware.  Why is it that we are unaware of God’s mercy?  The main reason is pride. Those of us who are proud and self-sufficient cannot experience God’s mercy because we think that we can do all things by ourselves.  And even when God helps us, we claim the credit instead.  We do not give glory to God and refer all things to Him, as Mary did in the Magnificat.
But, as Mary reminds us, only the humble can receive and recognize His mercy when it is given.  She said, “Holy is his name, and his mercy reaches from age to age for those who fear him.  The hungry he has filled with good things, the rich sent empty away.  He has come to the help of Israel his servant, mindful of his mercy – according to the promise he made to our ancestors – of his mercy to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”  So if we want to embrace the mercy of God and recognize His mercy, we must, like Mary, be humble and recognize our nothingness before God.  Without this awareness of our finiteness and lowliness, we become ungrateful for the blessings that God has given to us, His divine assistance that comes in so many ways, of which we are oblivious and ignorant.
And how has this same mercy given to Mary also been given to us?  In the second reading, St Paul tells us of the mercy of God in choosing us to be His adopted sons and daughters.   We are given the same privilege of Mary and hence we can also be called sons and daughters of Mercy.  “When the appointed time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born a subject of the Law, to redeem the subjects of the Law and to enable us to be adopted as sons.”  Indeed, we are not only the sons and daughters of Mercy; we have been set free from the Law and from slavery to sin.   Like Mary, we know that we are redeemed by grace not because of our merits.  We should therefore be filled with great gratitude that we are now adopted sons and daughters of Mercy, having been redeemed by Christ, the Divine Mercy of the Father.
How, then, can we be channels of God’s mercy to others?  The refrain of our responsorial psalm gives us the clue, “Draw us after you, Virgin Mary; we shall follow in your footsteps.”  How is this to be done?   Firstly, we need to live a just life, a life of honesty and integrity.  The most basic form of mercy is to live a life of justice.  This is what the psalmist says, “Lord, who shall be admitted to your tent and dwell on your holy mountain? He who walks without fault; he who acts with justice and speaks the truth from his heart; he who does not slander with his tongue; he who does no wrong to his brother, who casts no slur on his neighbour.”  This is the most basic form of justice.  Speaking the truth and acting out the truth is what is required of us.  Is our life a just life?  Do we pay our dues?  Do we fulfill our obligations towards our loved ones, not just financially but in terms of personal responsibility?  When we are lazy, irresponsible in our duties, committing adultery, we have also failed in justice.  But worse still is to steal, cheat, manipulate and take advantage not just of people but of the weak, naive and vulnerable.
Beyond living a just life, respecting our brothers and sisters, we need to live a life of charity.  Mercy is expressed in concrete acts of love and service to others.  This is seen in the visit of Mary to Elizabeth when she was pregnant in her old age.  Mary herself was also expecting, but she did not place her interests before Elizabeth.  She was always thinking of the needs of others before herself, placing herself at the service of others instead of glorifying herself.  We saw this also in the Wedding at Cana.  Whilst all were enjoying themselves and were oblivious that the wine was running out, she was attentive and perceptive to the needs of others.  In this case, it was the potential embarrassment of the wedding couple if the wine were to run short.  How many of us would extend our love beyond self to others?  Perhaps, we do extend that love to some extent to family members, but what about those outside the family?  Charity means that we should offer help and assistance to whoever needs our help when we are able to do so, within our means and situation.  Charity means speaking out on behalf of others, especially those of us who are influential.  We must use our positions not to benefit ourselves but for the good of others, especially those who are voiceless and marginalized.  Mary used her position for the service of those in need.
Thirdly, Mary demonstrated mercy by a life of forgiveness.  In the gospel, we read how she stood at the cross of Jesus.  We can imagine the pain that Mary had to go through, watching helplessly her Son being mocked, scourged and nailed to the cross.  Which mother can bear all these?  Surely any mother would have demanded for justice.  Many a mother would have borne resentment against the enemies and even be angry with God for not intervening.  But Mary did not utter any words of anger or resentment against God or her Son’s enemies.  We can be sure that Mary would have joined Jesus on the cross as He uttered the words, “Father forgive them for they knew not what they were doing!”  In this way, she shares intimately the mercy of Christ for His enemies.  If we want to practice mercy, then the best form of mercy is always forgiveness.  We must learn to forgive those who have hurt us and to pray for them as Jesus did.  Forgiving our enemies is showing mercy to ourselves as much as to our enemies, as otherwise both will suffer, like it or not.
Finally, offering mercy is to stand at the foot of the cross with Jesus.  There are many times we cannot do much, like Mary.   We can just stand by the cross and look at those whom we love suffering.  This happens when our loved ones are sick or dying.  It can also happen when we see our loved ones suffering tragedy and personal failures in life.  In such moments, we need to stand by them and give them encouragement by our solidarity.  It will not take away their pain but it will help them to embrace their pains in faith in the light of God’s plan and mercy.  This was what Mary did for Jesus.  By standing at the foot of the cross, Mary gave courage, strength and inspiration to our Lord, for in her, Jesus saw fortitude, perseverance and faith in God.
At the end of the day, what is the secret to carrying out works of mercy?  We need the Spirit of Christ to dwell in our hearts.  St Paul wrote, “…God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts: the Spirit that cries, ‘Abba, Father’…”   We have received the Spirit of Christ, the same Spirit that kept Mary full of grace and faithful to her vocation as the Mother of Mercy.  With Mary, let us ascend Mount Carmel and Mount Calvary too, the symbol of prayer and contemplation so that we too can imbibe in the Spirit of our Lord.  We read that “Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel and bowed down to the earth, putting his face between his knees.”  When we pray with faith like Elijah, then the Lord will show forth His power and answer our prayers because we pray for mercy for those who are in need.  The Lord will rain down His blessings upon us as He did when Elijah prayed for rain.
Secondly, we need to bring Mary home, like St John.  It is significant that Mary did not say a word throughout the whole ministry of Jesus.  She was silent after the Wedding at Cana.   This was because Jesus told her that His time had not yet come.  Only when He is glorified would Mary then assume the role of the Mother of Mercy, not just of the Church but of His body, the members of His Church.  Rightly so, we must now come to Mary, who is the mother of Mercy, of Christ and also His brothers and sisters, His body, the Church.  When we learn to stand at the foot of the cross with Mary, contemplate on His passion and death, we will grow in mercy and compassion like Mary. Only with Mary, can our lives be offered as a libation, following her Son and herself, for the salvation of the world.


Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved

No comments:

Post a Comment