Jan. 1, 2008: Solemnity of Blessed Virgin Mary - the Mother of God
A couple of years ago when I was still a seminarian, I received training during summer to be a hospital chaplain at Baptist Montclair Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama. As part of the training, several of us chaplains were given a tour of the hospital. One area that impressed upon me was the maternity ward for the premature born babies—i.e. neo-natal care unit. We could see incubators with tiny little babies sleeping. Most had lots of tubes hooked up to them. The nurse showed us in the incubator tiny babies surrounded by rolled up towels. She explained that this gives the babies the feeling of being in their mama’s womb, and it’s very comforting to them. Nearby was an empty incubator with a young mother sitting on a rocking chair. Waist up, she was wrapped in a large towel as if she just came out of a shower. Inside the towel wrap was her infant son laying his face on his mother’s heart. The nurse explained that they encourage the mothers to spend time with their premature infants in this way. For one thing the infant feels the warmth of the mother’s skin like he would in her womb. More importantly, the infant hears his mother’s heart beating. Hearing his mother’s heart, the baby receives encouragement to hang on and to survive. In a real tangible way, the infant experiences his mother’s desire for her son to live. The nurse explained that this greatly increases the likelihood of premature babies surviving.
Is it too difficult for us, then, to understand the reason why God in his wisdom has given us Blessed Virgin as our mother? Many of us are premature in our understanding and our relationship with Heavenly Father, Jesus His Son, and the Holy Spirit. Many of us have intellectual grasp of the scriptures, the Church teachings, and moral requirements of being Catholic. Yet, we are easily discouraged and disillusioned in our faith when we see weakness of our clergy and the way the parishioners behave uncharitably. You can ask the young people in college why they no longer go to church or have joined another denomination. And you’ll hear them say how they get nothing out of mass or how they are distracted by worldly pursuits. These are signs of premature faith. St. Paul addressed this issue in his letter to the Corinthians: “Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly?” (1 Corinthians 3:1-3) Many of us are like those premature infants in the maternity ward of faith. And for this reason, Jesus has entrusted to us Virgin Mary as our own mother, much like that mother in the maternity ward who had her infant son wrapped close to her heart. When we utter simple words of “Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee,” we are close to her heart, feeling her warmth as our mother and hear her heart beating, urging us to hang on and to go further and deeper with our faith. In this way, Mother Mary is not placed higher than Our Heavenly Father, or her Son, or the Holy Spirit. She is the womb in which we receive love and nourishment before our birth as fully mature child of the Heavenly Father.
I have one favorite penance I give out during reconciliation; I ask the person to visualize Blessed Mother in their mind and utter one word toward her, ‘mom.’ So I ask you as a way of honoring her on her feast day, to utter that one word in your silent prayer after receiving her Son Jesus in the communion.
Is it too difficult for us, then, to understand the reason why God in his wisdom has given us Blessed Virgin as our mother? Many of us are premature in our understanding and our relationship with Heavenly Father, Jesus His Son, and the Holy Spirit. Many of us have intellectual grasp of the scriptures, the Church teachings, and moral requirements of being Catholic. Yet, we are easily discouraged and disillusioned in our faith when we see weakness of our clergy and the way the parishioners behave uncharitably. You can ask the young people in college why they no longer go to church or have joined another denomination. And you’ll hear them say how they get nothing out of mass or how they are distracted by worldly pursuits. These are signs of premature faith. St. Paul addressed this issue in his letter to the Corinthians: “Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly?” (1 Corinthians 3:1-3) Many of us are like those premature infants in the maternity ward of faith. And for this reason, Jesus has entrusted to us Virgin Mary as our own mother, much like that mother in the maternity ward who had her infant son wrapped close to her heart. When we utter simple words of “Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee,” we are close to her heart, feeling her warmth as our mother and hear her heart beating, urging us to hang on and to go further and deeper with our faith. In this way, Mother Mary is not placed higher than Our Heavenly Father, or her Son, or the Holy Spirit. She is the womb in which we receive love and nourishment before our birth as fully mature child of the Heavenly Father.
I have one favorite penance I give out during reconciliation; I ask the person to visualize Blessed Mother in their mind and utter one word toward her, ‘mom.’ So I ask you as a way of honoring her on her feast day, to utter that one word in your silent prayer after receiving her Son Jesus in the communion.
