The church celebrates our Mother Mary as a model of holiness. From the earliest times, the Church has always believed and held our Blessed Virgin Mother in high esteem as the mother of Jesus Christ. Officially, Pope Pius IX proclaimed Mary’s Immaculate Conception in 1854. Basically, highlighting that God preserved Mary from sin because of her unique privilege of being the mother of God’s son.
I have some friends from other religious denominations in Uganda who always ask; Why do you (Catholics) pray to Mary, worship her statues, and put her on the same level as Jesus, yet she is human like us? You don’t need to pray through Mary; pray directly to Jesus Christ, that we need to look towards God alone.
To these comments, my response is and always has been...
Why Mary?
- Mary has a special and unique role in the process of our salvation. Salvation itself is about our individual relationship with the Lord. That relationship is guided by a process that focuses on transforming our lives; it is a striving for holiness. We move from our fallen, sinful nature, and we become transformed into what God wants us to be. The person we can look to for help in achieving that in our lives is Mary, our Blessed Mother.
- Mary is someone we can look to and be inspired by in our efforts to respond to the Lord’s call to us. As believers, we look to the Blessed Virgin Mary, who, as a pure human being, knowingly, willingly, and lovingly was able to say Yes to God’s request throughout her entire life.
- She is one from whom we can learn and imitate, if we are to remain focused on the path to God. From the moment of her conception to the end of her life, our mother Mary was bent on loving God, with nothing held back or reserved.
- Mary models for us a life of holiness that fully trusts in God’s direction and purposefulness.
Recognizing Mary in Ourselves
As we reflect today on Mary’s complete goodness, her freedom from any impurity, we can probably recognize something of Mary in ourselves.
- That we are called to embrace a relationship with God marked with holiness. We, too, can become vessels of holiness, carrying God’s loving presence to others.
- Mary was responsive to God’s call, and her life was one of constant yes to God. She is a model of complete love and obedience. We, too, drawing from her inspiration, can imitate her total devotion, and be generous, be kind as a way of our bid to strive for holiness, as a way to assist ourselves and others to become ardent champions of a transformative spirit in the world.
- In our Blessed Virgin Mary, we have someone to look to in our efforts to respond to the Lord’s call to us. Just as she allowed herself to be touched by God’s grace, we too are invited to allow ourselves to be wrapped in God’s grace so that we can become instruments of spiritual transformation both for us and those around us.
- Mary surrounds us with her intercession and prayer so that we too can become the people God desires us to be.
- Today’s Readings
- Father Fulgen's inspirational homily was recorded live during Mass at the Father Peyton Center this morning. You can view the Mass (and the Rosary at the 30-minute mark) on the Family Rosary YouTube page.
- To join the Rosary and Mass Livestream, visit the Family Rosary YouTube or Facebook page at 11:30 a.m. Eastern, Monday – Friday. Consider inviting others to join, too! (*If you are not a member of Facebook and a signup window appears, simply select the X at the top of the pop-up message and continue to the livestream.)
