Chapter Two:
The Way of Life
How appropriate that
we begin our reflection of Article 9 of our Rule during the month of Our Lady
of Sorrows. You’ll remember that the
Seven Sorrows are
·
The prophecy of Simeon. (St. Luke
2:34, 35)
·
The flight into Egypt. (St. Matthew
2:13, 14)
·
The loss of the Child Jesus in the
temple. (St. Luke 2: 43-45)
·
The meeting of Jesus and Mary on the
Way of the Cross.
·
The Crucifixion.
·
The taking down of the Body of Jesus
from the Cross.
·
The
burial of Jesus.
Also, our Franciscan Crown Rosary
celebrates the Seven Joys of Mary, which are
·
The
Pentecost or Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and Mary
·
The Coronation of the Virgin
in Heaven
Why, you might ask,
would we mention these two popular devotions to Mary in this reflection. We all know the decades of the Rosary pretty
well. They recall for our meditation the
important elements of Jesus life and Ministry, only the last two decades dealing
specifically with Mary. The Seven Joys
and Sorrows encourage us to reflect on Mary’s experience as she was “…open to
His every word and call.” Through these
experiences of Mary’s life, we come to better understand how her whole life was
one of understanding and submission to God’s Will. The Catechism helps us understand this idea
when it states,
2674 Mary gave her
consent in faith at the Annunciation and maintained it without hesitation at
the foot of the Cross. Ever since, her motherhood has extended to the brothers
and sisters of her Son "who still journey on earth surrounded by dangers and
difficulties." Jesus, the only mediator, is the way of our
prayer; Mary, his mother and ours, is wholly transparent to him: she
"shows the way" (hodigitria), and is herself "the
Sign" of the way, according to the traditional iconography of East and
West.
2617 Mary's prayer
is revealed to us at the dawning of the fullness of time. Before the
incarnation of the Son of God, and before the outpouring of the Holy Spirit,
her prayer cooperates in a unique way with the Father's plan of loving
kindness: at the Annunciation, for Christ's conception; at Pentecost, for the
formation of the Church, his Body. In the faith of his humble handmaid, the Gift
of God found the acceptance he had awaited from the beginning of time. She whom
the Almighty made "full of grace" responds by offering her whole
being: "Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be [done] to me
according to your word." "Fiat": this is Christian prayer: to be
wholly God's, because he is wholly ours.
Mary becomes our
Mother because we continue to journey as a sister or brother of Jesus. It was fitting that our Seraphic Father chose
her as “…protectress and advocate of his family.” And, we who follow St. Francis surely as much as he did “…embrace her with indescribable love.” We might ask, “What does this indescribable love look like?” Our General Constitutions give us an idea in
Article 16:
1. Rule 9 Mary,
Mother of Jesus, is the model of listening to the Word and of faithfulness to
vocation; we, like Francis, see all the gospel virtues realized in her. The
brothers and sisters should cultivate intense love for the most holy virgin,
imitation, prayer, and filial abandonment.
They should manifest their own devotion with expressions of genuine
faith, in forms accepted by the Church.
2. Mary is the model of fruitful and faithful
love for the entire ecclesial community.
Secular Franciscans and their fraternities should seek to live the
experience of Francis, who made the Virgin the guide of his activity. With her, like the disciples at Pentecost,
they should welcome the Spirit to create a community of love.
“Listening to the Word” “Gospel virtues” We are reminded of our slogan: “Gospel to Life and Life to Gospel.” That’s the way we are supposed to live. And, Mary shows us the way.
The Gospel reveals
to us how Mary prays and intercedes in faith. At Cana, the mother of Jesus asks
her son for the needs of a wedding feast; this is the sign of another feast -
that of the wedding of the Lamb where he gives his body and blood at the
request of the Church, his Bride. It is at the hour of the New Covenant, at the
foot of the cross, that Mary is heard as the Woman, the new Eve, the true
"Mother of all the living." (CCC 2618)
The Virgin Mary most
perfectly embodies the obedience of faith. By faith Mary welcomes the tidings
and promise brought by the angel Gabriel, believing that "with God nothing
will be impossible" and so giving her assent: "Behold I am the
handmaid of the Lord; let it be [done] to me according to your word." Elizabeth
greeted her: "Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment
of what was spoken to her from the Lord." It is for this faith that all
generations have called Mary blessed. (CCC 148)
At the announcement
that she would give birth to "the Son of the Most High" without
knowing man, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Mary responded with the obedience
of faith, certain that "with God nothing will be impossible":
"Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be [done] to me according
to your word." Thus, giving her consent to God's word, Mary becomes the
mother of Jesus. Espousing the divine will for salvation wholeheartedly,
without a single sin to restrain her, she gave herself entirely to the person
and to the work of her Son; she did so in order to serve the mystery of
redemption with him and dependent on him, by God's grace… (CCC 494)
Mary is the perfect model for us to follow
Jesus. As we follow Francis to learn how
to follow Jesus in Gospel living, we find that Mary has already walked the path
before us. The Seven Joys and Seven
Sorrows clearly show both sides of living the Gospel life. In our devotion to her, we come to understand
how both extreme joy and suffering are part and parcel of our life as
Christians.
You can’t have one without the other.
The Resurrection is preceded by the Cross.
In following Mary,
our lesson continues as we recognize her complete assent to God’s will through
her understanding, acceptance and obedience to the message of the
Annunciation. Her fiat demonstrates her immense faith in what God promises and her
willingness to give herself over to His Will—totally and completely.
As St. Irenaeus
says, "Being obedient she became the cause of salvation for herself and
for the whole human race." Hence not a few of the early Fathers gladly
assert….: "The knot of Eve's disobedience was untied by Mary's obedience:
what the virgin Eve bound through her disbelief, Mary loosened by her
faith." Comparing her with Eve, they call Mary "the Mother of the
living" and frequently claim: "Death through Eve, life through
Mary." (CCC 494)
By her complete
adherence to the Father's will, to his Son's redemptive work, and to every
prompting of the Holy Spirit, the Virgin Mary is the Church's model of faith
and charity. Thus, she is a "preeminent and . . . wholly unique member of
the Church"; indeed, she is the "exemplary realization" (typus)
of the Church. (CCC 967)
We can do no less as
we follow St. Francis—complete and unencumbered faith in God’s Will and a fiat of our own to unreservedly follow
the Gospel message.
[Mary’s] role in
relation to the Church and to all humanity goes still further. "In a
wholly singular way she cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope, and burning
charity in the Savior's work of restoring supernatural life to souls. For this
reason, she is a mother to us in the order of grace." (CCC 968)
OK. So, now that we
understand how completely Mary followed Jesus in accepting God’s Will in her
life, how do we, who are far from the unstained soul that she is, accomplish
this goal?
The Secular Franciscans should express
their ardent love for her by imitating her complete self-giving …
Oh, that’s not so bad—just completely give ourselves
over to God—and by the way:
…
by praying earnestly and confidently.
Yes, through earnest
and confident prayer, we can understand better the Gospel sprit that we are to
live out in our lives. Through continual
study of the Gospel and prayer about what we have learned, we can live by the
principle of complete self-giving. As we
better understand how St. Francis followed our Lord, and as we attempt to
follow in his footsteps, we more completely and follow the exemplar of Mary’s
life as summarized in the Seven Joys and Sorrows.
We pray the Rosary daily—not that “quick to get it over with” recitation; but, rather, a reverent, contemplative,
and meaningful method outlined by Pope St. Paul VI and Pope St. John Paul II.
The centre of gravity in the Hail Mary, the hinge as
it were which joins its two parts, is the name of Jesus. Sometimes, in
hurried recitation, this centre of gravity can be overlooked, and with it the
connection to the mystery of Christ being contemplated. Yet it is precisely the
emphasis given to the name of Jesus and to his mystery that is the sign of a
meaningful and fruitful recitation of the Rosary. Pope Paul VI drew attention,
in his Apostolic Exhortation Marialis Cultus, to the custom
in certain regions of highlighting the name of Christ by the addition of a
clause referring to the mystery being contemplated. This is a praiseworthy
custom, especially during public recitation. It gives forceful expression to
our faith in Christ, directed to the different moments of the Redeemer's life. It
is at once a profession of faith and an aid in
concentrating our meditation, since it facilitates the process of assimilation
to the mystery of Christ inherent in the repetition of the Hail Mary. When we
repeat the name of Jesus – the only name given to us by which we may hope for
salvation (cf. Acts 4:12) – in close association with the name of
his Blessed Mother, almost as if it were done at her suggestion, we set out on
a path of assimilation meant to help us enter more deeply into the life of
Christ. (Rosarium Virginis Mariae, The Rosary of the Virgin Mary; Pope St.
John Paul II)
Both Popes encourage us to take time to reflect upon each of the
mysteries—to contemplate the story being told during the mystery through
recitation of Scripture—to allow a time of silence that will enhance our
contemplation—to carefully and thoughtfully understand how this glimpse of the Jesus’
life can impact our own life. The
hurried, rapid fire, mindless recitation really undermines the entire idea of
prayer that the Rosary is intended to be.
Yes, we should PRAY the Rosary, not SAY it!
As we continue to pray
earnestly and confidently, we include the Seven Joys and Seven Sorrows of
Mary, the Magnificat, Hail Holy Queen, Stabat mater, Consecration to Mary, and
a whole host of other Marian Prayers.
Finally, as Franciscans, because Mary was
“…embraced by St. Francis with indescribable love” we consider consecrating ourselves
to Mary. A good way to prepare for this
consecration is the “33 Days to Morning
Glory” by Michael E. Gaitley, MIC. This free booklet includes meditations by St. Louis de
Monfort, S.M.M., St. Maximilian Kolbe, O.F.M. Conv., St. Mother Teresa, MC,
Pope St. John Paul II. During the 33
days you are prepared to make your own consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary
and allow her to help you give yourself over completely to Jesus. Totus Tuum becomes our motto as well.
Pace et bene.
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