Mary Mother of the Church
One
Today is the feast of Our Lady, Mother of the Church, the Monday after Pentecost, the birthday of the Church. In Acts of the Apostles, we read of the Apostles speaking everyone’s language with one message:
“When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in his own language.” Acts 2:1-6
This is the first time since the tower of Babel that all of humanity is united now in language, due to the gift of the Spirit which now constitutes and animates the Church. This is why the Church is Catholic, meaning universal, and only in the Church can mankind be one.
Two
To understand the miracle of Pentecost, we must understand the miracles of the Bible. Miracles are not God’s sentences; miracles are God’s exclamation points. He works miracles to put emphasis on a particular message. We see this especially in the book of Exodus. When God parted the Red Sea, He didn’t say “Look how powerful I am. I can hold back water and make it flow back with a snap of my fingers!” He didn’t use this miracle as an occasion to randomly show his power. Rather, He used this sign so that His message would be believed. And that message was if Israel follows God’s path, they will be freed and saved from destruction.
The miracles of Pentecost are a demonstration of God’s previous message of repentance and salvation. “Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly that God has made both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Acts 2:36 What a wonderful message; If I repent, I will be freed and saved by Jesus, and will be accepted into heaven! But I must repent, for I am guilty of sin. Next, Mary together with the disciples, prays for union with God which comes in the Spirit of God, unifying and empowering the Church.
Holy Spirit open my ears to hear your message and my eyes to see the visible reality of your Church.
Three
The Gospel message applies to every language, and every person. I cannot stress this enough. You see we can sometimes forget that everyone needs the Gospel. I too often assume that someone who exteriorly seems to be living a good life and seems balanced, and perhaps even may have some semi spirituality, doesn’t need Jesus explicitly. How wrong I am! The proclamation of the Gospel means that Jesus has come to set the world on fire with love. He has come to save us and bring us back to Himself. AND WE ALL NEED A SAVIOR! We cannot save ourselves. Thus, He wants our cooperation. And an essential part of His message is that none of us are cooperating with him. The world is cold and in need of a flame. Not one of us can be fulfilled, happy, or ok on our own power. Every person needs His words. Every person needs a relationship with Him.
We are all called to share Him with others. Now in one sense it will be in different languages, not all of us have the same culture, temperament, or experience. But the message is always the same, and it speaks all languages: “Come Follow me.”
Four
To respond to our call to share Jesus with others, He gives us His Mother. As Mother of the Church, she assists us in the call to evangelize. Now the word evangelization scares many people, and for good reason. We think of things like walking up to strangers and asking them deep personal questions or proclaiming to mobs through a megaphone. But these modern interpretations of the word are extreme, perhaps even abhorrent forms of the original meaning of the word. The cultures and languages between the First and Twenty First Centuries are very different. Marketing and consumerism have taken over the public sector and made almost all public relationships transactional versus relational. Remember, we are all called to make disciples of all nations, we are all called to share the Gospel, but the process is intensely personal, but not private. Faith must be shared or it will die. But how do I share it? Well, there are as many ways as there are languages; but I suggest starting, as Jesus did, with your family and friends. And don’t worry, the message of the Gospel is always attractive. It speaks all languages and crosses all barriers. If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing poorly. And remember that by your baptism and confirmation, the Holy Spirit is with you. And as this Feast Day reminds us, so is our Mother. This divine power will open doors we can’t open. Have courage, and be patient, the Lord makes all things new.
Five
This Movement is about Pentecost. It is about setting the world on fire for the love of Jesus through Mary. After all, Mary was there with the Apostles at Pentecost. And the Church, in Her great wisdom, celebrates the feast of Mary the Mother of the Church to connect bringing others to Jesus, and celebrating her maternal role. This Movement is a movement that takes inspiration from others like St. Dominic, St. Louis DeMontfort, Bl. Pauline Jericot, St. John Paul II, etc. but is also a movement for our times. People of today are not attracted by strangers asking personal questions or megaphone tirades, but are very attracted to friendship, to genuine care and attention. I will listen to you if I know you care about me.
Come Holy Spirit, living in Mary, you are the model for friendship and love. Help us to love others enough to courageously befriend them and bring them to Jesus. Amen.