Keep
your eyes open!...
May 3, 2026
(Luk 1:46-49) And
Mary said: My soul doth magnify the Lord. And my spirit hath rejoiced
in God my Saviour. Because he hath regarded the humility of his
handmaid: for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me
blessed. Because he that is mighty hath done great things to me: and
holy is his name.
SUBSTACK: May: The
Month of Mary, Our Mother (Sacerdotus)
ACIAFIRCA: Here�s Why the Month of May is Dedicated to the Virgin Mary
FRIDAY MEMO from Bishop Boyea: Welcome to the month of May!
During this month, it is good to reflect on the Blessed Virgin
Mary. Blessed Columba Marmion (1858 � 1923) notes: �The Word not
only predestined Mary to be his mother according to His Humanity � but
He associated her in His mysteries.� (Christ the Life of the Soul,
p. 345) Mary is the prime model for living our lives, to make
sure that our lives are associated with the mysteries of Christ,
especially his passion and death. Mary experiences the complete
fruitlessness of her life. This is her only child, and this child
is now childless himself and is dying. Mary�s natural maternal
instincts must revolt at this. She is without progeny. Yet
even here she is fully sharing in the great mystery of Jesus
Christ. Jesus, on the Cross, has experienced the abandonment of
the Father. The Father did not will that the cup pass him by but
that he drink to the dregs this human experience of death and
alienation. Jesus lets Mary share that fully.
We, too, are meant to share in this aspect of the passion of our
Lord. The passion and death of Jesus are to be a part of our
day-to-day life, something that will develop in us Christ�s compassion,
which is the mark of all his followers. There is so much
suffering in our world. There is so much alienation. There
is so much pain. We should be tapping into our own loss regularly
so that sharing in the Cross is not just notional but is in fact very
real.
Now, of course, we know this is not the end. Jesus does not
ignore his mother. Jesus gives his mother to us as the mother of
all his new brothers and sisters. Fruitfulness, both for Jesus
and for Mary and for all of us, has been redefined. It is the
complete abandonment of ourselves to God�s holy will that allows us to
become a new creation.
Mary is now the Mother of the body of Christ, a progeny beyond anyone�s
imagination, a progeny born in the blood and water flowing from the
side of Christ and given breath by the Holy Spirit. Discipleship
is not just about me following Jesus but about all of us together
following Jesus. Our life must be a clear sign that we belong to
a band of disciples. We are never on our own as his followers
because our Lord wants us always linked to his mother and to the other
disciples.
Finally, let us watch Mary gathering with the disciples in the Upper
Room, awaiting the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:14) Mary is the teacher
of prayer and the teacher of openness to the Holy Spirit. In a
sense this is the most important role she can play. Here, she is
a real source of confidence for us, the real mother of the
Church. During this month, �Mary, our Mother, pray for us.�
A MOMENT WITH MARY: �The Church neglects one of the duties enjoined upon her when she does not praise Mary� (II)
Mary is not only seen as the New Eve, but also as the New Ark or Ark of
the New Covenant. This is at least partly based on obvious
parallels between the Visitation scenes in Luke 1 and 2 Samuel 6.
As Dr. Andrew Swafford explains, �Such a parallel would be
enormously significant since the Ark was the holiest object in all of
Israel. It is holy because it bore the very presence of
God. The Ark . . . held the Ten Commandments, a
jar that held the manna, and Aaron�s high priestly rod (Hebrews
9:4). Likewise, Mary bears Jesus who is the Word of God
Incarnate, the bread of life, and eternal high priest.�
What are these parallels? First, there is very similar language
in 2 Sam. 6:9 and Luke 1:43, respectively: �How can the ark of
the Lord come to me?� and �How does this happen to me, that the mother
of my Lord should come to me?� If this were a one-off, then perhaps it
could be chalked up to a coincidence. But the parallels
persist. Compare �As the ark of the Lord was entering .
. . King David leaping and dancing before the Lord� (2
Sam. 6:16) and �For at that moment the sound of your greeting
reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy� (Luke
1:44). Yet another parallel is found between 2 Sam. 6:11
and Luke 1:56: �The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom
the Gittite for three months� and �Mary remained with her about three
months.�
Additionally, there appears to be another parallel between Mary and the
Ark when comparing Luke 1:35 and Exodus 40:34�38. In the former,
Mary is �overshadowed� by the power of the Most High. In the
latter, the glory of the Lord (shekinah) overshadowed the Ark of the
Covenant.
Much more could be said about the firm foundation of Marian doctrine
and piety in Sacred Scripture and patristic sources, but this should
suffice to show that Catholics are anything but �unbiblical� when it
comes to recognizing Mary�s blessedness.
Nevertheless, let me just add an additional observation. To be
united spiritually means something specific that is often
overlooked. While people tend to think of �spiritual� as
something ethereal or intangible and unspecified, we ought to recall
that we are spiritual beings because spirits possess an intellect and a
will. Thus, spiritual union is found in shared knowledge and
shared love.
One thing is for certain: Jesus loves his blessed Mother Mary
deeply. In union with his Sacred Heart, we, too, must love her
deeply.
WORD ON FIRE: Mary a Biblical and Patristic Perspective
Ladder of
Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 7- "On Joy-Making Mourning"
9. Keep a firm
hold of the blessed gladdening sorrow of holy compunction, and do
not stop working at it until it raises you high above the things
of this world, and presents you pure to Christ.
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