Celebrating Mother’s Day this weekend gives us the perfect opportunity to briefly reflect upon how the spiritual mother of us all - Mary the Mother of God - serves as our model of Christian discipleship.  As Christian disciples, we have to allow Jesus to come forth from us - birthed if you will - out of our living His Gospel.  Mary, in her perfect fidelity to God’s will, shows us by her example how we should respond to God’s working in our life.

Mary is the spiritual mother of us all because from the start she was united in the saving work of her Son, our Savior Jesus.  Jesus entrusted Mary to us from the Cross when He told His Beloved Disciple to see Mary as his own mother (cf. John 19:27).  Mary and the Beloved Disciple represent the Church and all disciples who are loved by Jesus.  Every disciple of Jesus is gifted with a spiritual mother in Mary and in the Church since Jesus has entrusted us to their spiritual care.  

Thus nurtured, we in our turn can reach out and bring Jesus to others, in a sense imitating Mary’s motherhood.  Just as Mary accepted God’s Word in total faith and thus became the Mother of God, bringing Him into the world (cf. Luke 1:28-38; 2:6-7) so we as members of the Church should take Him to heart and manifest Him to the world, through our words and deeds.  In a sense then, all disciples of Jesus are called to be motherly.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us, that we, like you, might respond to God’s Word with faith and give witness to the Good News of your Son, Jesus, through our words and deeds.

David J. Conrad

Today, Ascension “Sunday” (in our archdiocese), we hear Jesus say in the Gospel of Mark that signs will accompany those who believe in Him. He gives a whole list of miraculous (and odd) things that may occur as a result of believing in Him. I sat and read through that list several times trying to have it make sense to me. I know that Pentecostal Christians believe in this list literally—driving out demons, speaking in tongues, handling serpents, drinking deadly things—they believe that if their faith is true and strong they will still be safe from these things. 

As Christian Catholics, we do not adhere to the Word of God literally. We believe in science and believe in God’s amazing creation. We do not have to test our faith with snakes and their unforgiving nature. We understand that as Jesus spoke and taught in parables, so does the Word in Scripture. So, in puzzling over this list that is given to us about what it means to believe, what does it mean? 

I prayed and thought about the grace to understand this Scripture. I know if we spend time with God’s Word, we may be granted the grace to have our eyes and hearts opened to comprehend, and we may hear His voice. According to Scripture, do I really have to handle serpents and drink bad stuff (besides the occasional cocktail), to prove I am His disciple? 

I believe that what is meant by all these things in this list is really pretty simple: driving out the demons is driving out the demons of sin and greed and fear. You will have the grace to manage and handle serpents: those people who are difficult, broken and evil—who are beset by demons. You will drink deadly things—having to swallow hurtful, neglectful, painful, and sometime abusive acts from those around us—and yet, forgive them. You will speak in tongues and be understood—speaking the languages of love and mercy, gentleness and kindness. This is truly proclaiming the Gospel to every creature.

Both the readings from St. Paul today (we have a choice), give us lists of the gifts we are given to survive and surpass these many deadly things. We are equipped by our Baptisms in water and Spirit to deal with ungodly events. We are all given the strength and ability to deal with the world and all its bad stuff. Now go and do it!
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Keep singing!

Elizabeth Dyc

Last week St. John reminded us that we should believe in Christ Jesus and should love one another as Jesus has commanded us. We heard how we are the branches of Christ’s vine, and that we are nourished by God in Word, Eucharist and Community. (Fr. Kevin spoke about connections.) This week, we hear St. John put it very simply: “God is love.” As we journey through the Easter Season we hear so many readings regarding our obligation as Christians to love one another. It strikes me as so appropriate that at this time, and in this season, we not only celebrate our Mothers (next weekend)—we also begin the wedding season, too! 

At weddings I hear over and over the famous reading of St. Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians⎯the famous ‘recipe’ for living loving relationships: “Love is patient, love is kind. Love is not jealous, is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered. Love does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails…Faith, hope and love, remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

In a lovely article by Musician/Liturgist Dolly Sokol (AIM Liturgy Resources) she says: “Jesus reminds us of the Father’s great love. God has forever become wedded to the human race through the gift of the Son, Jesus, and through the redemption that Jesus gained for us. If God is wedded to us, so must we wed ourselves to each other…the love of Christians for each other is more like the committed, wedded, enduring love of husband and wife.” Or it should be!

God has set the example of love for us: in our salvation through the Passion, Death and Resurrection of His Son; and in the new life of creation we experience every Spring. We are asked to follow this example of sacrificial and generous love, and to witness love like God’s in the world. Here is something I have heard preached at weddings: if you ever want a check of your self and of your behavior, say the above Scripture from Corinthians, and substitute your own name for the word ‘love’. “Elizabeth is patient, Elizabeth is kind…” Ask yourself if this is the truth about you…it works for me, and may also be an opportunity for personal reflection and reconciliation for you, too.
 
In this season of new life⎯and in any season of ‘new’ starts—ie: new commitments, new relationships, (next fall’s) new school, new beginnings (New Year), any fresh start⎯we see before our eyes the wonder of the Resurrection in our lives and also in acts of forgiveness, generosity and renewal. We are an Easter people! We each may live every day in the newness of faith, hope and love—the greatest of these is love, because “God is love.” 

Keep singing!

Elizabeth Dyc