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.
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
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ 1 KINGS
18:42B-45A; GALATIANS 4:4-7; JOHN 19:25-27 ]
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
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