Did
you make any New Year’s resolutions this year? For those who made resolutions,
how many of you made a resolution regarding your physical health? Each New
Year, many of us resolve to get in shape, go to the gym or lose weight. We are
used to making resolutions to improve our physical health. Perhaps this year we
should consider making a resolution to improve our spiritual health. On this the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God,
I suggest that we resolve to improve the relationship we have with Mary.
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Often
people have difficulty with the idea that as followers of Jesus we are called
to have a special relationship with Mary. Perhaps some of you have had to answer questions like
this before, “why do Catholics worship Mary?”, “why pray to Mary when you can
go directly to Jesus?” When it comes to
Our Lady, people encounter difficulties in two areas:
- Catholic beliefs about Mary, such as the Immaculate Conception and Marian titles such as the one we celebrate today, Mary, Mother of God. Some people have difficulties calling Mary this.
- Catholic devotion to Our Lady. There are those who struggle to see why we should have a special relationship with Mary and why we would pray to her.
These
are important concerns that are well-worth addressing. Many non-Catholic
Christians and even some Catholics are a little uncomfortable with the way
Catholics view Mary.
For
this reason, it is important to remind ourselves and others that Mary has no
other mission than to lead us closer to Jesus. At Christmas we are reminded
of this every time we look at the Nativity scene. There we see Mary presenting
her Son to the world. Mary gave birth to Jesus some 2000 ago, bringing Him into
the world. As Catholics, we do not believe that her mission ended there,
however. Still today, she has a critical role in bringing Jesus more and more
into our hearts. There is a very simple test for us to know whether our
devotion to Mary is good and true. If our devotion to Mary is a true one, then
we will find that over time we are led to a deeper relationship with
Jesus. Throughout history there have
been many reported apparitions of Mary, such as in Fatima, Lourdes and Mexico
City. At each of these approved apparition sites, Mary’s mission has always
been to encourage people to better know and follow her Son Jesus. She is never
the center of attention. She is not trying to be a replacement for Jesus. As
Catholics we do not worship Our Lady. Mary’s
mission has always been to leads us closer to Jesus.
More
than this, when Catholics profess certain beliefs about Mary or give her
particular titles in order to defend what we believe about Jesus. This is the case for the Marian title that
we celebrate today, Mary, Mother of God. This title for Mary is very ancient.
Try to imagine that the year is 431 and you are in Ephesus, which is in modern
day Turkey. About 250 bishops have gathered to resolve a very important dispute
that strikes to the core of belief about who Jesus is. The leader of one camp
is Cyril of Alexandria. He is arguing that Jesus Christ is true God and true
Man and that these two natures of Jesus are united in one person. In other
words, the baby that Mary gave birth to is true God and true Man. Because of
this, it is right and proper to call Mary by the title “Theotokos”, which means,
“Mother of God”. Nestorius, on the other hand, does not feel that Mary can be
given this title. Maybe she could be
called “Mother of Christ” but not Mother of God. Though Nestorius would say
that Jesus was true God and true Man, he would emphasize more the disunity
between these two natures of Jesus, rather than the unity. In the end, the
Bishops sided with Cyril. The Council of Ephesus in 431 declared solemnly that
Mary was indeed Theotokos, Mother of God. Giving Mary this title is a clear way
of saying that Jesus is at all times true God and true Man and that these two
natures are united. Therefore, giving Mary the title of Mother of God is actually
a way of defending what we believe about Jesus.
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| "Am I not here, I who am your mother?" (Jolivaresb) |
On a
personal level, Mary is one of the greatest gifts that Jesus gave to His
followers because in Mary He has given us a Mother. Perhaps some of you have been to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe
in Mexico City. The Basilica was built close to the site where Mary appeared to
a poor indigenous man named Juan Diego in the year 1531. Above the main
entrance to the Basilica is a very visible phrase, written in large letters for
all to see: ¿No estoy aquí que soy tu Madre?, “Am I not here, I who am your
Mother”. These words are part of a famous conversation that Our Lady had one
day with Juan Diego. Mary had already appeared to Juan Diego and had made
arrangements to meet him again. Before the meeting, however, his uncle, Juan
Bernardino, fell ill. Juan Diego was
anxious to care for his uncle, so he made the decision to skip his appointment
with Mary avoided the spot where they were to meet. Not surprisingly, Mary
found him anyway. When she caught up with him, she asked him why he was so
worried. After all, she said “am I not here, I who am your Mother”. These words
are put at the front of the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe to remind each
one of us that Mary is our mother. She is always near us. She always cares for
us. We should feel confident going to her whenever we need help. When Jesus was
giving us Mary to be our mother, He gave us the greatest of gifts.
Making
resolutions at New Year’s is, I think, a good thing. It shows that we have hope
for a better future and want to take steps to make this a reality. I can think
of few resolutions that should give us as much hope as resolving to develop a
deeper relationship with Mary this year. We can do this in different ways such
as praying the rosary, reading a book about Mary or just remembering to ask
Mary for help when we need it by saying something like, “Mary, mother of Jesus,
be a mother to me now.” Close to 2000 years ago she gave birth to Jesus, true
God and true Man. Today give her permission to allow Jesus to become more alive
in your heart.
