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Our Faith
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 DEVOTION
TO MARY
- By Fr. KJ Veeger,
MSC
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How could the Mother of Jesus refer to her Son, when
a bridal couple in
Cana had run out of wine on their wedding feast? Had she given birth to
and raised Him for such trivial things as enough food and drink
for all the guests to a wedding ceremony? Like Mary, we, too,
should look to what was behind the whole scene, thus, to the
unseen, too, the metaphorical and, therefore, not literal or
historical significance.
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Mary knew that her Son had come into the world for the sake
of the future destiny of mankind, and she had identified her role
in life as subordinate part of His mission. Mankind was in
extreme need! Man had run out of the most basic necessities in
life, which were not material in nature, but concerning his
lifeline and relationship with God, his source of life. His
sinfulness and spiritual misery was the biggest problem. Being
both actor and victim of evil made him
yearn, perhaps unconsciously, for a different life. In his better
moments, and when he was alone with himself, he felt that the
empty barrels of his mind should not to be filled with the yield
of greed and corruption, malpractice, lust, violence, deception
and the like, but with the sweet wine of God’s Goodness and
Holiness.
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The shortage at
Cana is ours! That was in the mind of Mary and should
be our understanding, replacing any superficial approach. In
referring to Jesus, she did what was in line with her mission,
that is, one of introducing her Son to people all over the world,
and imploring Him to have mercy on them. Now, she continues that
mission in Heaven. She herself is not the main focus of our
devotion and prayer, but only a humble intermediary between Christ
and man. We believe that He will not refuse the request of His
dearly beloved Mother. Right from the beginning, she had seen her
role as that of the “handmaid of the Lord,” whose life and whole
existence coincided with the purpose of her Son’s coming.
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The same idea can be learned from another incident.
Once, it happened that Jesus heard a woman in the crowd praising
His Mother, shouting, “…How happy is the woman who nursed you and
raised you.” But Jesus replied, “Rather how happy are those who
hear the Word of God and obey it.” (Luke 11:27-28) He intended to
say, that His mother should not be praised for the wrong reasons.
The physical acts of having carried Him in her womb and nursed Him
were not something special. All women in the world do the same!
But the fact that she had been elected to cooperate in a very
unique way with God’s work of the salvation of mankind, should be
the true motive. Like in
Cana, not the
host's material or physical needs were of the highest importance
or relevance. So again, Mary’s greatness was not her Motherhood
but the self-dedication to God’s work. Hearing the Word of God and
keeping it to perfection was her greatest glory, and will be
everybody’s glory.
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Yet, she deserves something more. As our heavenly Mother,
she has given us her love and attention since our first moment of
life. Can we refuse to love her in return? Our love will be
proven by our obedience to the only command of hers, which Holy
Scriptures records in John 2:5: “Do whatever He (Jesus) tells
you.” If we are loyal to this command, heaven is surely ours. Our
devotion to Mary may not be called idolatry, as too often in the
past has been done by some non-Catholic Christians, but veneration
and love.
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E-mail the author:
frveeger@genesis.faithweb.com
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This site has been awarded
IN THIS ISSUE:
HIS Servant
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Our Faith
By Fr. KJ Veeger, MSC
Place of Refuge
By Philip Yuson
Surabaya Corner
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Marian Sharing
By Ana Lee Masias
Community Life
By Armand Sol
Marian Reflection
By Leslie Freires
Straight from the Heart
By Carolle Bautista
On Focus
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