Noah's Ark
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In the first reading from Mass today we are reminded of the way God saved humanity from the flood through Noah’s ark. Everything in the Old Testament was a preparation for something that completes it in the New. St. Peter tells us the waters of the flood prefigured the waters of Baptism that purify us from original sin. What does Noah’s ark prefigure? Well, in the approved apparition of Jesus and Mary in San Nicolas Argentina on December 30, 1989, Jesus said: “Formerly, the world was saved by the ark of Noah. Today the Ark is My Mother. Through her, souls will be saved, because she will lead them to me. He who rejects My Mother rejects Me! Many are letting the grace of God pass by in these days.”[1]
Mary is the fulfillment of Noah’s Ark. Mary Ark where we are to find refuge from the flood of evil that is swamping the world today.
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Why do we need Mary? Why is she so important?
At Fatima God revealed that His plan to save the world at this moment in history is by means of devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The Heart of Mary is the New Ark by which we will saved from the flood. The word “devotion” simply means consecration – in this case, consecration to the Heart of Mary.
But to really grasp this we must understand that consecration is the process of the Holy Spirit forming Jesus within us. The purpose of life is to share in the life of God. To become like God, as scripture tells us in 1 John 3:2. It is the Holy Spirit who brings God’s life into our soul.
Think of the Consecration of the Eucharist.
The bell is rung at the prayer of the epiclesis
The priest asks God the Father to send the Holy Spirit to transform the bread and wine into Jesus.
Consecration is the Holy Spirit bringing Jesus into the bread and wine, transforming the bread and wine into Jesus.
The Holy Spirit does something similar to us – the Holy Spirit consecrates us, the Holy Spirit brings Jesus into our soul to transform us to be like God.
How does the Holy Spirit do this? Through Mary. How do we know? Because the first time the Holy Spirit brought Jesus into the world he did so in union with Mary. The Holy Spirit and Mary formed Jesus in her womb. The Womb of Mary is the Ark. Just as the Holy Spirit and Mary formed Jesus in her womb. The Holy Spirit and Mary will form Jesus in you.
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Devotion comes from the Latin word which means to consecrate
Devotion to Mary simply means consecration to Mary. By consecration to Mary we make an unconditional gift of ourselves to Her so that the Holy Spirit and Mary may form Jesus within you. But consecration does not end there, it begins there. Devotion to Mary is to live in imitation of Jesus’ relationship with Mary from His infancy to childhood, from adolescence to adulthood, all the way to His death and Resurrection. So, like Jesus, our devotion or consecration to Mary is a lived relationship with her that passes through many stages of growth and maturity until Christ is fully formed in us.
Jesus was the 1st Person to Consecrate Himself to Mary
What was the very first thing the Son of God did to save the world?
He entrusted himself entirely to Mary,
to be a helpless embryo in her womb
a little child in her care.
Is it possible to depend upon on another person more than this?
As His mother, what did Mary do for Jesus?
Everything…
By the power of the Holy Spirit, Mary conceived and gave birth to Jesus,
She nourished him, protected and provided for him,
educated and formed him,
intuited and prompted the beginning of his public ministry at Cana
stood by him at the Cross and laid him in the tomb.
As Christians, what will the Holy Spirit and Mary do for us?
Everything…
The Holy Spirit and Mary conceive and give birth to the life of Jesus in us through Baptism;
they watch over, protect and provide for us;
they educate and form us in the likeness of Christ.
They want to inspire and carry forth all that we do
They walk with us as we carry our cross and support us at the moment of death: “pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.”
Then what should we do if we want to live in imitation of Jesus?
Begin by walking on water, preaching to the multitudes, raising the dead…
Begin the way Jesus did
Entrust or consecrate oneself entirely to Mary to be her little son or daughter.
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The Apostle John was the 2nd Person to Consecrate Himself to Mary
John 19:26-27 “Seeing his mother and the disciple he loved standing near her, Jesus said to his mother, 'Woman, this is your son. Then to the disciple he said, 'This is your mother.’ And from that moment the disciple made a place for her in his home.”
The original Greek text, “elaben ho mathetes auten eis ta idia,” suggests a deeper meaning:
the beloved disciple took Mary not just into his physical home
but into his interior life, into his soul.[2]
By consecration to Mary
we accept Mary as our spiritual mother
we take Mary into our Home and into our soul
we begin to live a relationship with her as her children
we experience her powerful maternal care.
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Let me share with you a great way to take Mary into your home and soul and really develop a relationship with her.
The miraculous icon of the Black Madonna is kept at in the fortress church of Czestochowa. Each morning the townspeople come to the Church to say good-morning when they unveil the icon and each evening they come and say goodnight before they close the icon for the day. Because of this physical reminder and the personal action they do each day they actually feel very close to Mary. We don’t feel so close to her because as the saying goes – out of sight, out of mind. But if we can do something each day that reminds us that Mary is a real living person, she is with us, to watch over us, to guide and protect us, then we well begin to experience her presence and care more and more and then she will become queen of our hearts, queen of our homes and queen of Peace!
So get yourself a nice big image of Mary. Place it in a prominent position in your home. Greet her each morning with a prayer and say good night to her with a prayer. The Rosary is perfect, the Hail Holy Queen is wonderful, but even just a word from your heart to her each morning and night is all your mother wants!
[1] From October 13, 1983 to February 11, 1990, Jesus and Mary appeared in San Nicolas, Argentina. This apparition has become fully approved by the Church.
[2] Ignace de la Potterie, Mary in the Mystery of the Covenant, Alba House, 1992, P.225-228