May the month for Mary, Model, Teacher, and Mother

Traditionally, in the Catholic world, the month of May is dedicated to Mary. Mary is a name of Hebrew origin that means "exalted" or "chosen of God." Therefore, it is a very appropriate name to designate the one chosen by God to be the mother of his Son. For this reason, "all generations call her blessed" (Luke 1:48).

Furthermore, Mary is a good model of Christian life. The Second Vatican Council calls her the "exalted Model" of the Church, "a model of all the virtues for the entire community of the elect." Indeed, she "in a certain sense unites within herself and reflects the most radical demands of faith..., continually progressing in faith, hope, and love, and seeking and obeying God's will in all things" (Lumen Gentium, 65).

Precisely because she is a good model, she can also be described as a teacher of Christian life and a teacher of humanity. Good teachers are not simply those who limit themselves to offering facts and knowledge, but those who are examples of life for their students. Vatican II, quoting Saint Ambrose, says that Mary's life "is a teaching for all" (Perfectae Caritatis, 25). If her life is a teaching, she must necessarily be a teacher. Undoubtedly, her teaching began with the education of her son, as all mothers on earth do: they are the first to teach their children, and this teaching marks their lives forever. But more than Mary as the educator of the child Jesus, I now want to note Mary's role as an educator of the Church, in line with what Vatican II affirms: Mary "cooperates in the education of believers" (Lumen Gentium, 63). Mary is a good teacher because she does not teach "from outside," without being involved in her teaching. She brings about in her life what she invites. If she teaches us to fulfill Jesus' will, it is because she is the first disciple and the first convert.

In addition to being a Teacher, Mary is also the Mother, not only of Christ, but of all the Christian faithful. At the end of the Council, Paul VI gave an important speech in which he proclaimed Mary the Mother of the Church: "We proclaim Mary most holy Mother of the Church, that is, Mother of all the People of God, both of the faithful and of the pastors who call her loving Mother, and we wish that from now on she may be honored and invoked by all the Christian people with this most great title." Paul VI says that this title finds "its justification in the very dignity of the Mother of the Incarnate Word." This motherhood of the Incarnate Word extends to the Church, for Mary is "the mother of him who, from the first instant of his incarnation in her virginal womb, became the head of his mystical body, which is the Church. Mary, therefore, as the mother of Christ, is also the mother of the faithful and of all pastors; that is, of the Church."

The Conclave

 

Tuesday, May 6, is the last day to celebrate the funeral for Pope Francis. On Wednesday, May 7, the Conclave to elect a new Bishop of Rome begins. Once the funeral is over, dioceses and parishes are invited to celebrate Masses "pro eligendo pontífice," that is, Masses for the election of the Roman Pontiff. The Mass, to be held Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. in St. Peter's Basilica, presided over by Cardinal Re (the same one who presided over Francis' funeral), will be attended by all the cardinals. In the collect prayer for this Mass, the prayer that gathers the sentiments of the celebrating assembly, three words appear that we can consider three great principles that the elected bishop will then have to implement according to his character and the needs of the Church: holy zeal for the faithful, reverence for the people, and healthy government.

How can the next Pope not be concerned about world hunger, poverty, migrants, peace, understanding among peoples, ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, the good progress of the Church, and the joyful proclamation of the Gospel? Or has Francis been preoccupied with other things? In short, concerned with proclaiming the Gospel, aware that the Gospel is not only or primarily a matter of doctrine (what do those who yearn for or ask for a Pope concerned with "sound doctrine" mean?), but a matter of life in love, because that is Jesus' commandment and the great sign by which his disciples are known.

It is said that the Pope is chosen by the Holy Spirit. But it is also the result of negotiations, sometimes tense, between the electors. Because the Holy Spirit always uses secondary causes. He does not act directly. He does not send WhatsApp messages, nor does he speak through the mouths of the most rigorous. The action of the Holy Spirit must be seen in consensus, in discernment, in agreements. The Pope will be elected directly by the Cardinals, after each one has discerned in conscience whom to vote for, a vote also conditioned by their character, their experiences, and their expectations. What the Holy Spirit will do is bring out the best in the chosen one, guiding and shaping their character, their vision of things, and their concerns. The Spirit acts through listening to the Word, prayer, attention to the signs of the times, listening to one's brothers and sisters, personal discernment, and freedom.

We Are An Easter People, Moving Through A Good Friday World

 

The world is full of the misery and pain of Good Friday. We only have to open our daily newspapers, turn on the television to the nightly news … for fresh reminders of the violence, cruelty, want, and need that permeates our world. We have only to examine and reflect on our own lives, our own trials and tribulations, our own cares and woes. We have only to consider how we relate to each other and to our world neighbors.

But we are Easter people, and we are supposed to be different.   There are some distinctive characteristics about Easter people that keep us in close touch with this Jesus who says to a grieving Martha: “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die” Jn 11,25–26. 

Easter people are believers. We believe not only in the possible, we believe also in the impossible. We believe that the lame were made to walk, and the mute made to speak, that lepers were cleansed and the blind received their sight…. We can believe also that with the helpful presence of God’s Holy Spirit, we are strengthened and sustained on our earthly pilgrimage. Further, we can believe that we can fashion new lives committed to love, to peace, to justice, and to liberation for all of God’s people.   

Easter people grieve and need to be comforted. And, yes, Easter people get angry … but we must seek to channel that anger in constructive ways. Be angry enough to say and to seriously mean, I will commit my life to living out the Baptismal Covenant: seeking and serving Christ in all persons, loving my neighbor as myself, striving for justice and peace among all people, respecting the dignity of every human being.   

Easter people hang in until the end. Like the women who stood by the cross, Easter people live by the words of the old spiritual: “I will go, I shall go to see what the end will be.” Benedictine nun and poet Mary Lou Kownacki (1941–2023) embraces this resurrection wisdom:   Easter grabs us by the throat and shouts, “Live.” The radiant Jesus who leaves the tomb challenges our complacency with the forces of death, be they hopelessness, fear, discouragement, or lack of will. Don’t let death have the last word in your story, Jesus urges. None of us has the right to sleep in death.

Even if there is no angel to help you, grab the door of the tomb that holds you back and rip its seal. There's too much goodness in you that still needs to rise, and there’s too much work in the world that still needs to be done. I have been surprised and amazed at my new understanding of Lent this year. I always jumped to the joy of Easter without truly experiencing the wilderness and suffering of Lent. Events like the COVID epidemic and other times of isolation have revealed to me the deep spiritual growth that can come from solitude, silence, and emotional wilderness.