The Holy Spirit has descended and the Church is created.
The heights of the relationship between God and humankind on earth are complete with the Ascension of Christ into heaven and his sending of the Holy Spirit to breathe life into his Church, the body through which he calls us to have full communion with God.
And in the past we have descended from that lofty height straight into the pattern of ordinary time, but now we celebrate Mary as the Mother of the Church. And it is fitting that we should do this today, immediately after the establishment of the Church, for Mary is the greatest example of devotion to God that we could possibly have.
Her freely chosen actions of obedience, faith, hope, love and charity not only fulfilled God’s plan for humanity but demonstrate the perfect example as to how we can live a life with God. Her humble acceptance of the Father’s will, her devotion to her son and her response to the Holy Spirit show us the way to live our lives.
And we are called to live those lives through Christ’s Church. Whatever we might think of it, it was created for the purpose of bringing us to Christ and Jesus needs us to be close to him through the sacraments that he so freely wishes to give us.
And sometimes to achieve that we need a humble heart, one that breaks through all the interpretation of the Church and its actions, and simply focuses on Christ in the sacraments that he bestows. And who better to witness to a humble heart? Who better to show that pain and suffering is no barrier to loving Christ? Who better as a model on how to live with love for Christ and others in our hearts?
And so Mary is the true model for us to live a life in and through Christ’s Church and she is rightly called the Mother of the Church. On this day let us give thanks for all she has done to enable the Church to be established, to grow and to witness to just how a life with the grace of God can lead us to a place of heavenly reward when we love God and serve others.
Gospel John 19:25-34 ©
Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. 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.
Jesus knew that everything had been completed, and to fulfil the scripture perfectly he said:
‘I am thirsty’.
A jar full of vinegar stood there, so putting a sponge soaked in the vinegar on a hyssop stick they held it up to his mouth. After Jesus had taken the vinegar he said, ‘It is accomplished’; and bowing his head he gave up his spirit.
It was Preparation Day, and to prevent the bodies remaining on the cross during the Sabbath – since that Sabbath was a day of special solemnity – the Jews asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken away. Consequently the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with him and then of the other. When they came to Jesus, they found he was already dead, and so instead of breaking his legs one of the soldiers pierced his side with a lance; and immediately there came out blood and water.