THE FEAST OF ST. MARY, MOTHER OF OUR LORD
5 August Anno + Domini 2009 (Observed)
"The Most Blessed of All Womenâ€
Luke 1:39-55
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
St. Mary is the most blessed of all women. The angel Gabriel addresses her as "full of Grace." For the Lord is with her, indeed the Lord is in her. Grace took up residence inside her, wore her flesh, came out in blood and water that He might bleed and die to make us clean. The promise to Abraham is fulfilled in the Son of Mary. Isaac gets off the Altar so that Jesus can get on it. That bloody, squalling Baby, set for the rising and falling of many in Israel, and for breaking the heart of His mother, is laid upon her breast out-of-doors in Bethlehem. He wears the face that Job prophesied he'd see. His chubby little feet bring Good News from God, the News that they will be pierced and bear the scars into eternity. His fat little hands, whose touch shall bring health, turn water into wine, multiply the loaves, they, too, shall be bitten by the nail that they might deliver absolution. He is God. He is with us, one of us, for us. He shall die, but He shall rise and ascend to pave the way for us into heaven. He is Emmanuel.
St. Mary the Virgin is honored by God above all others. She is honored by the shame of pregnancy before wedlock and the ridicule of her people. For so they also persecuted the prophets, for so too they shall mock her Son. The kingdom of God is not the kingdom of the world where Herod and Caesar rule. The Theology of the Cross means suffering and shame before glory and honor. The wisdom of God is foolishness to man. Thus, St. Mary, most blessed of women, poor peasant girl of distant royal heritage, bears the Messiah and is honored through shame. She witnesses firsthand the fullness of time and her own redemption in her own flesh and blood.
God has greatly honored her. So then must we too honor her. We honor her first by thanking God and rejoicing in the wonderful example that she is of His mercy. We praise her, as Christ praised those who had faith, for latching onto and using His gifts. God uses Mary, with her weaknesses and her piety, with her shame and honor, to strengthen our faith. In her He demonstrates His compassion for us, the lowly. Secondly, we honor Mary by imitating her. We cling to the faith and hope that she held, believing as she believed. We learn from her example about vocation and suffering in this life. And we learn about praise and worship. For Mary teaches us to sing.
Her song rises forth from the twin attributes of God: mercy, which is God refraining from our just punishment, and grace, which is God's undeserved kindness and generosity toward us. She is poor. She has a road of troubles up ahead. But she is full of joy and peace, for God has spared her the tortures of Hell and delivered salvation unto her in her Son. The hearts He breaks were breaking already. They were breaking with lust, greed, and malice. And left on her own, Mary would have known greater and more terrible heartache, heartache in fact which would not end. But she was not left alone. The Seed of Eve was born to crush the seed of the snake and to buy her back from its devilish clutches. Christ broke her heart, pierced her soul, in order to reform her, recreate her, renew her, revive her, and eventually, resurrect her. It is this Spirit-given confidence, this life-giving faith that drives her, and our, song - the great Magnificat.
And so it is that by the Grace of God in Christ Jesus, by that terrible and most wonderful sacrifice, by the power of His resurrection and triumph over the grave, that St. Mary is most certainly immaculate, pure, and undefiled forever. Not because she was so honored as to nurse Him from her breasts, but because she heard the Word of God and, impossible though it was, she believed it. Her soul rejoices in God her Savior - in God, her Son.
And so it is with all His saints, even you. For you come now to receive the very Body and Blood of the same Son born of Mary. It is just as impossible for Him to unite His Body and Blood to simple bread and wine as it was for Him to come down from heaven and be Incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary. And yet, you hear the Word of God and believe it. And by the power of the Word made Flesh received, you are certainly immaculate, pure, and undefiled. You are blessed, for your soul rejoices in God your Savior - in Mary's Beloved Son, your Lord. In His Holy and Precious Name. Amen.
Now the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, unto life everlasting. Amen.