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DEDICATING OURSELVES
TO THE LORD
21 NOVEMBER,
2018, Wednesday, Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Zechariah
2:14-17
Sing, rejoice,
daughter of Zion;
for I am coming
to dwell in the middle of you
– it is the Lord who speaks.
Many nations will join the Lord,
on that day;
they will become his people.
But he will remain among you,
and you will know that the Lord of Hosts has sent me to you.
daughter of Zion;
for I am coming
to dwell in the middle of you
– it is the Lord who speaks.
Many nations will join the Lord,
on that day;
they will become his people.
But he will remain among you,
and you will know that the Lord of Hosts has sent me to you.
But the Lord
will hold Judah
as his portion in the Holy Land,
and again make Jerusalem his very own.
Let all mankind be silent before the Lord!
For he is awaking and is coming from his holy dwelling.
as his portion in the Holy Land,
and again make Jerusalem his very own.
Let all mankind be silent before the Lord!
For he is awaking and is coming from his holy dwelling.
Matthew 12:46-50
46 While he was still
speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood outside,
asking to speak to him.* 48 But he replied to the man
who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brethren?” 49 And stretching out his
hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brethren! 50 For whoever does the will
of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother.”
DEDICATING OURSELVES TO THE LORD
Today, we celebrate the
memorial of the Presentation of our Lady. This feast does not have explicit scriptural
basis and or historical evidence except from the aprocrypha records. It
is celebrated in the Eastern and Orthodox churches with more emphasis than the
West. The Protoevangelium of James records how Anna and Joachim offered
Mary to God in the Temple when she was three years old as a fulfillment of her
promise made to God when Anna was still childless. Though this
feast lacks historical basis, it served to inspire the Christians in Jerusalem
as early as the 6th century to devote their lives to the
service of God. Thus, this feast has both theological and spiritual
meaning.
The most important
theological implication of this feast is to underscore the dogma of the
Immaculate Conception, the sinlessness of Mary. Although the dogma of the
Immaculate Conception was only declared in 1854, the Church since its early days
had always sung praises in honour of Mary’s purity, holiness and devotion to
the Lord. The holiness of Mary is concretely expressed through this feast
in the way Mary, since a child, was consecrated to the service of the
Lord. The intention of the Church in commemorating this feast is to
stress that from the beginning of her life, Mary was dedicated to God.
Dedicating ourselves to
God is an act of grace. Indeed,
all vocation is the grace of God. Whether we are called to priestly
or religious life, married life or any other state of life, it is the work of
grace. Mary’s call to be the future mother of God was also a great act of
grace. This grace given to Mary started at her conception in the womb of
Anna and celebrated in her life since her childhood. She herself became
the Temple of the living God. God’s grace was with her in a marvelous
manner and she was sanctified by the Holy Spirit for the work of
salvation. This is how the first reading from Zechariah could be applied
to Mary. “He will remain among you, and you will know that the Lord of
hosts has sent me to you. But the Lord will hold Judah as his portion in
the Holy Land, and again make Jerusalem his very own.” She was the daughter of
Zion in whom God came to dwell.
As a consequence, through
the special grace of God, Mary from young could dedicate herself completely to
the service of God in response to His will. Whether she made a formal decision to
consecrate her life to God or simply responded to His grace at every moment of
her life, is immaterial. What is important is that under the influence of
the Holy Spirit, she surrendered her life to God as the Lord unfolded to her
His plans for her. This is what the Lord said of Mary in the
gospel. Jesus replied, “‘Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?’ And
stretching out his hand towards his disciples he said, ‘Here are my mother and
my brothers. Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven, he is my brother
and sisters and mother.” The holiness of Mary lies in the fact that
she was ever ready to do the will of God, regardless of the consequences,
challenges and trials ahead of her.
Yet, we must also take
cognizance of the fact that doing God’s will is not something that we see
clearly all at once.
His will is unfolded to us gradually every day of our lives. So when Mary
gave herself to God, it was a statement of intention. It is true for us
also when we make a commitment to join the seminary or a religious
congregation, or even on the day of our ordination and profession. It
remains just a public declaration of a commitment. How this desire to do
His will is only known in the process of searching for His specific will every
moment of our life. But without this primary commitment or
intention to serve God in all things, we will lose focus, just as many do when
they start living out their vocation. The truth is that many forgot the promise
they made at their wedding or ordination.
Hence, God’s grace is
given to us at the start of our lives. It
is important that we cooperate with His grace. Mary was given that
exceptional grace of holiness. But grace requires our human
cooperation. We can be sure that Mary’s parents, Anne and Joachim had
much to play in the life of Mary in her response to grace. They
themselves were people of faith and piety. Without the encouragement, the
support and the prayers of Anne and Joachim, Mary would not have been able to
cooperate so fully with the grace of God given to her. This is why it is
so important for parents and guardians not to shirk their primary
responsibility of helping their children to respond to the grace of God.
Without the parents’ moral and spiritual support, their children would have
been hindered from being totally docile to the grace of God.
At the same time,
because holiness of life is the grace of God, it calls for abandonment to His
will and grace. We
cannot over emphasize our human cooperation and compromise the doctrine of pure
grace. Our cooperation is more of a passive, rather than an active
acceptance of grace. Abandonment to His divine will and grace is
necessary for us to do His will. This is what the Magnificat seeks to
remind us. “My soul glorifies the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God, my
Saviour. He looks on his servant in her nothingness; henceforth all ages
will call me blessed. The Almighty works marvels for me. Holy his name!
His mercy is from age to age, on those who fear him.” It is what the Lord
had done for Mary and not so much what Mary had done for the Lord that is
praised. God is the God of surprises. “He puts forth his arm in
strength and scatters the proud-hearted. He casts the mighty from their
thrones and raises the lowly. He fills the starving with good things,
sends the rich away empty.” He is a God of grace.
Today, as celebrate this
feast, let us ask Mary to teach us to prepare ourselves for our life’s vocation
and mission. She was prepared
from young, learning how to listen to God attentively in contemplation and
living out her life in faith and total trust in God, obeying His holy will in
all things. We too must learn to be like Mary; devout in prayer,
attentive to the Word of God as Jesus commended His mother, and pondering over
them in our hearts as Mary did. This is what the prophet said, “Let all
mankind be silent before the Lord! For he is awakening and is coming from his
holy dwelling.” In this way, we will discover His divine will for
us. Parents and guardians have a grave responsibility to build up the
faith of their children and lead them to discover His will for them, and to commit
their lives to the service of God and their fellowmen.
In a special way, we
also wish to thank God for the many priests and religious, especially those in
contemplative and monastic life, and pray that they grow in holiness and
devotion to their vocation. Like Mary, they have given their lives to the service
of God. We need to pray that priests and religious will be more faithful
to their promises in living a life of simplicity, obedience and chastity.
Instead of living off divine providence and in total trust in His will, we
think as the world thinks. St Paul reminds us, “My speech and my
proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom but with a demonstration
of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might rest not on human
wisdom but on the power of God.” (1 Cor 2:4f)
It is not enough simply
to say that we consecrate our lives to God in the priesthood and religious
life. If we fall into
spiritual worldliness, as the Holy Father, Pope Francis constantly warns
priests and religious about seeking power, glory, wealth, luxury and worldly
entertainment, then we are not true to the grace of God given to us. Most
of all, we need to pray that priests and consecrated people find confidence and
fortitude in answering His call even when they face difficulties and challenges
as they seek to fulfill His will. The temptations and challenges in
saying “yes’ to God are many in every state of life, especially the married,
priestly and religious life. That is why we need to pray for God’s grace
and stay close to the Lord like Mary, so that our whole life can be a praise
and glory to Him.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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