Mary is not only to be exalted and admired. She must be imitated. She is our model. Mary is the type of the Church; which means that she is what the Church is to be. We have to learn from her how to relate to Christ, how to be His disciples, how to live our Christian lives. We learn from her how to be Church. The most significant feature of Mary’s personality was that she was a receptacle, a pure receptivity. What were Mary’s merits and achievements from the worldly/secular point of view? Riches, erudition, power, beauty, name, fame popularity? No, none of these. In the ultimate analysis, these do not constitute greatness. From the Christian point of view, these are not decisive values, whatever may be their relevance in the world. Allowing God to take hold of our lives, to be in charge of our lives, letting Him fill and permeate into us, letting God be God, this is the ultimate secret of our mortal creaturely lives. We stand before God, as our creator and we are His creatures. He is to be the Master of our lives. In the litany, Mary is called the ‘Seat of Wisdom’. She sensed the ultimate truth of human existence. In this realization, she was always open to God, to receive Christ in her mind, heart and womb. The Pieta represents one of the finest creations of Michael Angelo. A mother holding the dead body of her only son. But she is so serene, peaceful, un-agitated, patient, calm and trusting. ! What a sight ! Pathos at its most intense; faith at its deepest! Mary was not gullible and credulous. She was not unwary, passive and subservient. Her spontaneous willingness to by the side of Elizabeth who was preparing to give birth to John the Baptist, her proactive initiative to help at the Cana wedding, her poignant acceptance of the crucifixion of her only Son Jesus, confirm the sterling qualities of her robust character. Her hymn of praise, the ‘Magnificat’, gives evidence of her strength of character, her fearlessness as it also speaks of her total openness to God and compliance with His will and plan. Devotion, therefore to Mary should transform us into persons who are fully open to God and His plans. There is no room for egoism, stubbornness, ambition, temperament and arbitrariness in the one who seeks to imitate Mary. Only such persons can truly sing like Mary: ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God, my Saviour’. May you all have fruitful novena of Our Lady of Vailankanni beginning from 29th August 2014. Happy Feast In Advance...
Posted on: Thu, 28 Aug 2014 10:19:25 +0000
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