"A New Season"
"Identity" (Relational Truth: part
14)
As children of Mary we are formed
in her Heart which is the center and source of her interior life. Mary
desires to extend to her spiritual children a share in her rich, deep interior
life. Like her, she wants us to be always 'heart' oriented. Mary's Heart is
possessed by God completely. It is the Heart of one who trusts God totally and
loves God fully. Mary's Heart is Immaculate: It is totally pure, holy, free of
sin and fully consecrated to--set apart and belonging completely to--God.
At the Annunciation Mary's Heart became both
the "first home" of the Lamb of God in the world, and also the sanctuary of the
Holy Spirit ( see Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Vol.
I. Missal, p. 233). Mary desires to extend these two mysteries of her Heart to
her spiritual children. By her intercession she helps us to receive Jesus into
the "home" of our hearts, and to receive the presence of the Holy Spirit into
our inmost being. Mary desires the Lamb to grow within each of us
mystically, and to have him share the mysteries of his life, death and
resurrection with us by allowing these mysteries to continue now in our
humanity. Mary, herself, desires to extend the mysteries of her own life to
her children who are formed in her Immaculate Heart.
The mystery of the Annunciation is
oriented towards the eradication of sin. Mary desires to reproduce and
continue her faith within each of us. In addition, she desires to unite us
to her perpetual "yes" to God so we will always accept God's saving will for
our lives. Mary's "yes" at the Annunciation was the beginning of the New
Covenant of Love: The work of reconciliation between God and humanity. Faith is
a covenant, and so real faith involves the heart, love, relationship and union.
Hidden in the Annunciation is the
reality of the cross. Mary's "yes" united her to the Suffering Servant, the
Lamb of God. Hence, the Heart of Mary that we are formed in is both an
Immaculate Heart and a pierced heart. The Holy Spirit and Mary work together to
form us into holy, victim lambs--those who are dedicated to the saving mission
of Jesus in the world.
At the Annunciation Mary was invited to be a
most active participant in "the drama" of sin. She became united with the Lamb
and linked to his destiny forever. True children of Mary are, like her, to be
associated with the "hour" of the offering of the Lamb--the "hour of supreme
love"--on the altar of the cross. Mary invites each of us to make our own
permanent consent to God, to unite our faith and consent to hers and to allow
the Lamb to dwell in our hearts in order to impact the world.
Questions:
1) Is
there a mystery in the life of Mary that I identify with most?
2) Am
I aware of good fruit borne from my being united to the perpetual "yes" of Mary
to God?
Scriptures:
Any scripture from the text; Sir. 4:12-14; Luke 2:35; 2 Cr.
1:18-19
