20180521
MARY, MOTHER OF THE CHURCH
21 MAY, 2018, Monday, Mary, Mother of
the Church
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: White.
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First reading
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James 3:13-18 ©
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Show wisdom and avoid ambition
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If there are any wise or learned men among you, let them show it
by their good lives, with humility and wisdom in their actions. But if at heart
you have the bitterness of jealousy, or a self-seeking ambition, never make any
claims for yourself or cover up the truth with lies – principles of this
kind are not the wisdom that comes down from above: they are only earthly,
animal and devilish. Wherever you find jealousy and ambition, you find
disharmony, and wicked things of every kind being done; whereas the wisdom that
comes down from above is essentially something pure; it also makes for peace,
and is kindly and considerate; it is full of compassion and shows itself by
doing good; nor is there any trace of partiality or hypocrisy in it.
Peacemakers, when they work for peace, sow the seeds which will bear fruit in
holiness.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 18(19):8-10,15 ©
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The precepts of the Lord gladden the heart.
The law of the Lord is perfect,
it revives the soul.
The rule of the Lord is to be trusted,
it gives wisdom to the simple.
The precepts of the Lord gladden the heart.
The precepts of the Lord are right,
they gladden the heart.
The command of the Lord is clear,
it gives light to the eyes.
The precepts of the Lord gladden the heart.
The fear of the Lord is holy,
abiding for ever.
The decrees of the Lord are truth
and all of them just.
The precepts of the Lord gladden the heart.
May the spoken words of my mouth,
the thoughts of my heart,
win favour in your sight, O Lord,
my rescuer, my rock!
The precepts of the Lord gladden the heart.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Happy are you, holy Virgin Mary, and most worthy of all praise,
for from you arose the sun of justice, Christ our God.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 9:14-29 ©
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Help the little faith I have!
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When Jesus, with Peter, James and John came down from the mountain
and rejoined the disciples, they saw a large crowd round them and some scribes
arguing with them. The moment they saw him the whole crowd were struck with
amazement and ran to greet him. ‘What are you arguing about with them?’ he
asked. A man answered him from the crowd, ‘Master, I have brought my son to
you; there is a spirit of dumbness in him, and when it takes hold of him it
throws him to the ground, and he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and
goes rigid. And I asked your disciples to cast it out and they were unable to.’
‘You faithless generation’ he said to them in reply. ‘How much longer must I be
with you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him to me.’ They
brought the boy to him, and as soon as the spirit saw Jesus it threw the boy
into convulsions, and he fell to the ground and lay writhing there, foaming at
the mouth. Jesus asked the father, ‘How long has this been happening to him?’
‘From childhood,’ he replied ‘and it has often thrown him into the fire and
into the water, in order to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have pity
on us and help us.’ ‘If you can?’ retorted Jesus. ‘Everything is possible for
anyone who has faith.’ Immediately the father of the boy cried out, ‘I do have
faith. Help the little faith I have!’ And when Jesus saw how many people were
pressing round him, he rebuked the unclean spirit. ‘Deaf and dumb spirit,’ he
said ‘I command you: come out of him and never enter him again.’ Then throwing
the boy into violent convulsions it came out shouting, and the boy lay there so
like a corpse that most of them said, ‘He is dead.’ But Jesus took him by the
hand and helped him up, and he was able to stand. When he had gone indoors his
disciples asked him privately, ‘Why were we unable to cast it out?’ ‘This is
the kind’ he answered ‘that can only be driven out by prayer.’
MARY, MOTHER OF THE CHURCH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ACTS 1:12-14; JN 19:25-34 ]
Yesterday, on
the Feast of Pentecost, we celebrated the birthday of the Church. It was on Pentecost
that the Holy Spirit gathered peoples from every nation together and convoked
them into the New People of God as they all shared in the One Spirit of
Christ. “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the
members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For
in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body – Jews or Greeks, slaves
or free – and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.” (1 Cor 12:12-14)
Significantly,
just before the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Church, we read that Mary was
with them in prayer. “All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer,
together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his
brothers.” Not even the names of the apostles were mentioned
except Mary, the mother of Jesus. It is certainly important that Mary was
with the Church right from the start before the Church was born at
Pentecost. Mary was supporting the Church in prayer as they prepared
themselves for the Holy Spirit. It is for this reason that this
feast in honour of Mary, the Mother of the Church is fittingly celebrated by the
universal Church immediately after the feast of Pentecost, to show the link
between Mary and the Church.
This feast
locates the place of Mary in the New Testament and perhaps the most ecumenical
title that Roman Catholics, Orthodox, Anglicans and Protestants could agree on. The biblical
basis for this title of Mary, the Mother of the Church is linked with the
patristic understanding of Mary as the New Eve. When Mary gathered
the early Church together in prayer, her maternal care for the Church was manifested.
It can be said to be a fulfilment of the protoevangelium in the book of
Genesis. “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your
offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his
heel.” (Gn 3:15) She became the mother of all the living at the
foot of the cross of Jesus, her Son, when Jesus conquered sin and death by His
death and resurrection.
Furthermore,
in John’s gospel, the evangelist proposed Mary taking an active role once the
Lord came to His glory at the passion and the resurrection. “When Jesus saw his
mother and the disciple there whom he loved he said to his mother, ‘Woman,
behold, your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother.’ And from
that hour the disciple took her into his home.” We must take note of the
word “Woman” used by John, which is pregnant with meaning. By using the
word, “woman” he was alluding to Genesis 3:15 which
describes the mother of the messiah as the “woman” whose offspring would
conquer the Devil. At the cross, Mary became the mother of the Church as
Jesus handed His Spirit to the Church upon His death. “Then he bowed his
head and gave up his spirit.” (Jn 19:30)
Again, St
John deliberately brought Mary into the picture when Jesus’ ministry began. She was at the
wedding at Cana in Galilee with her son. When she was told that the wine
had run out, she told the Lord, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to
her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet
come.” (Jn 2:3f) In other words, the Lord was saying to Mary
that her role of being active in the Church had not yet come. She had to
wait until He had reached His hour of glory at His death and
resurrection. Accordingly, at the foot of the Cross, when the hour had come,
He gave Mary, the Woman, to His beloved disciple, who represents all disciples,
as His mother; and to Mary, all disciples were to be her children. “And
from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.” (Jn 19:27)
From that moment, Mary became the Mother of the Church because Christ entrusted
the Church to her.
Another
biblical basis for Mary’s motherhood is her virginity. It is also
interesting to take note that against the views of those who claim that Mary
had other children other than Jesus, it would be strange that Jesus had to
entrust Mary to John when His other brothers would naturally have taken care of
Mary if they were her children. The truth is that Mary had no other children
other than Jesus. Being the mother of Jesus, she was also the mother of
His body, the Church, as well. It was appropriate and fitting that Mary
remained a virgin so that she could truly be the mother of all the living and
especially of the Church, which is the Body of her Son.
In the light
of what we said, it is therefore appropriate for the Church to come under the
maternal guidance and protection of our Blessed Mother. The fathers of the
Church have always recognized Mary’s role in the Church. St. Augustine
said that Mary is the mother of the members of Christ, because with charity she
cooperated in the rebirth of the faithful into the Church. Pope St. Leo
the Great said that the birth of the Head is also the birth of the body, thus
indicating that Mary is at once Mother of Christ, the Son of God, and mother of
the members of His Mystical Body, which is the Church. Hence,
Blessed Paul VI invoked her under this title when he adjourned the Vatican
Council in 1964.
In calling
Mary, the mother of the Church, it calls for our reflection on the
understanding of Mary with reference to the Church and conversely, to
understand the Church from a mariological perspective. By understanding Mary and
the Church in relationship to each other, we will avoid over extolling Mary by
putting her on the same level as Christ because she is with the Church on one
hand; and on the other hand, forgetting that the Church, like Mary, is called
to share the life of God through grace. Mary as a member of the redeemed
Church puts her one with the Church as the recipient of God’s mercy and
grace. Like Mary, we are raised up as sons and daughters of God through
grace to share in His divine life.
In truth,
Mariology and ecclesiology mutually enrich each other. Indeed, Mary represents the
highest possibility of the Church in living out the life of Christ. When
we include Mary with the Church, we see in her the greater part and the
principal part of the Church. As Mother of the Church, Mary stands on our
side as our sister and mother, one who shares fully our human
nature. Above all, Mary as mother shows us what it means to live in
grace and by grace. Mary by her Immaculate Conception shows us what the
grace of God can do for us in our Christian life. By her virginity, she
teaches us how to devote ourselves entirely to the service of Christ and His
Church. By singularly being devoted to Christ, we will be united with Him
in doing His will and in love. By her suffering with Jesus on the
cross, she teaches us how we too can share in the salvific work of Christ
through our sufferings, especially unjust sufferings and forgiveness of all our
enemies. By her Assumption, she shows us how we can be glorified with the
Lord by living our lives in identification with her Son, both in life and in
death.
However, if
Mary is identified with us as Church perfectly, it is because she is first and
foremost identified with Christ. Like Mary, we are called to be totally
identified with Christ. Jesus said of His mother, “My mother and my brethren
are those who hear the word of God and do it.” (Lk 8:21)
Mary is the one who instructed us, ““Do whatever he tells you.” (Jn 2:5)
So perfect is Mary’s union with the Lord that on Calvary, Mary shared in the
priesthood of Christ by uniting herself with His sufferings. The
Church too is called to share in Christ’s priesthood as well by sharing in
Christ’s saving work for the salvation of the world.
Finally,
Mary’s virginal motherhood was totally dependent on God, not on man. So too the Church was born
through the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit. Just as Mary
conceived Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit at the incarnation, so too at
Pentecost, the same Holy Spirit brought the Church into existence. We too
must cling on to God’s grace alone if we are to accomplish His mission and be
united with Him in doing His will and find salvation.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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