"Honor your father and your mother so that your days may be lengthened in the land that the Lord your God, will give you." (Exodus 20:12)
According to the Church's tradition the month of May is entirely dedicated to the Virgin Mary - who is the Mother of the Church and the Mother of all mothers. So in the month of May Mother's day - the initiative of Anna Jarvis (1908) - is also celebrated, either on the 8th or on the 29th, depending on the part of the world.
The custom of dedicating the month of May to the Virgin Mary dates back to the 13th century, when Alfonso wrote in his Cantigas de Santa Maria (Songs to the Virgin) about the special honoring of Mary during specific dates in May. But it was not until the 18th century that the practice became popular - and this was common among the members of the Jesuit Order in Rome. And eventually, the entire month was filled with special observances and devotions to Mary.
So as the month of Mary, May 2022, runs out, Catholic Front comes in to clarify a, rather, controversial devotion - the honor to the Virgin Mary. Yes, we honor Mary - Why? How? For what? Follow me: You will Know the Truth and the Truth will set you free (John 8:32).
1. QUEEN OF HEAVEN
"A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head." (Revelation 12:1)
If we honor and bow to kings and queens, ministers and heads of state, here, on earth; how more how much more do we ought to honor the woman, who from the very beginning was crowned in heaven as the Queen. The "woman with a crown of twelve stars" describes the Virgin Mary as the Queen of the Kingdom of heaven, which is represented by the twelve tribes of Israel to which Christ was born, and from where the Good News of his Salvation is preached to the rest of the world. The expression "clothed with the sun" tells of the glory of God upon the Virgin Mary, and "the moon beneath her feet" indicated that she would carry the Light of the world - Jesus Christ - whom the darkness cannot overcome (John 1:5).
2. ANTITHESIS OF EVE
"Then Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word.” After this, the angel departed from her." (Luke 1:38)
Mary's "yes" to God untied the knot of disobedience that Eve had tied on human beings, by obeying Satan in disobedience to God. (Genesis 3:1-7). Eve conspired with the serpent (evil spirit) to give Adam the forbidden fruit to eat (Genesis 3:6), which condemned the whole of humanity. But Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit and brought forth to the world the bread of life - Jesus Christ - who gives eternal life (John 6:51). So to dishonor Mary is a show of ingratitude to the woman who sacrificed her personal life, in order to carry the Savior of the world in her holy womb.
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HONOR TO MARY, GLORY TO GOD |
3. SPOUSE OF HOLY SPIRIT
"The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the child to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God." (Luke 1: 35)
Yes, in the world we honor queens, first ladies, queen mothers (Mafua) in African dynasties, as well as wives of ministers and those of other dignitaries. How can we, then, not honor Mary; the Spouse of the Holy Spirit (manifestation of God) by whom she conceived and made the Word incarnate to redeem the world?
4. MOTHER OF THE LORD
"Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David." (Luke 1: 31-32)
If truly we honor from our hearts - as we do - the mothers of our leaders, bosses and benefactors on earth. Then, really, we ought to honor - a million times more - the Holy Mother of our Lord and Savior; Jesus Christ.
5. MOTHER OF CHRISTIANS
"Then the dragon became enraged at the woman and went off to wage war on the rest of her offspring, those who keep God’s commandments and bear witness to Jesus." (Revelation 12:17)
Whoever believes and is baptized in to the body of Christ is an offspring or child of Mary. Therefore, if someone boasts - as so many do - that they are "born again" but at the same time ignore or show contempt for the Virgin Mary - then they contradict themselves. Rather, every born again Christian would recognize and honor Mary as their beloved heavenly Mother.
6. MOTHER OF APOSTLES
"When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home." (John 19:26-27).
Jesus Christ gave his disciples, apostles, priests, pastors, evangelists, and all men of God to Mary as her dedicated children. And as the Evangelist, John, did, so too all men of God have the duty to "take Mary home" as their mother. Therefore, for a man of God, in whatever capacity, to disown the Virgin Mary, is not just an abomination but a rejection of the will of Christ to his chosen ones. That is why when the Apostles met regularly in the Upper Room in Jerusalem to pray for the gift of the Holy Spirit, they always had Mary with them (Acts 1:13-14).
7. INTERCESSOR WITH GOD
"When the wine was exhausted, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” (John 2:3)
Out of her godly love and compassion for humanity the Virgin Mary is always ready to intercede for sinners and for the needy. By acknowledging and honoring her for who she is - the Mother of God - you may capture her sympathy for you just when you are in need. The host of the Wedding in Cana invited her, even without knowing what she could do, and she did for them - through her intercession with her Son - what they never expected, and what no one had ever heard or seen before. - the changing of water into wine. (John 2:7-9).
From her celestial office as the Mother of God and the Mother of the Church, Mary gives the same favor, today, to those who invite her to the events of their lives through prayer. The wise know that the office of Mary is the shortcut to the throne of Jesus. And when you meet Jesus, you have met the Father, because he is in the Father and the Father is in him (John 14:9-10).
8. MENTOR OF BELIEVERS
"His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” (John 2:5)
Mary wants that all who had fallen short of the grace of God through the sin of Adam should to go back to God through the grace and merits of Christ. That is why at the same time that she says to Jesus, "They have no wine"; she also says to the faithful, "Do whatever he tells you". (John 2-3-5). Today, the "Message of Fatima" constitutes the most recent post biblical exhortation of the Virgin Mary to the world. It is her call for prayer, penance and sacrifice for the conversion of sinners and for world peace - through her Immaculate Heart - (Lucia Speaks, 1976).
So when you honor her, and listen to her, by meditating on her Holy Rosary she would lead you - by the Holy Spirit - to uncover the deepest mysteries of Christ in the Church. She would, also, obtain for you all the graces, light, strength and provisions you need to sustain and to fulfill your life as a faithful disciple of Christ.
9. OBEDIENCE TO GOD
"Honor your father and your mother so that your days may be lengthened in the land that the Lord your God, will give you." (Exodus 20:12)
Finally, in honoring Mary we are obeying the fourth Commandment of God - the only commandment that has a promise attached to it. And so our honor to Mary gives but glory to God, who prefers our obedience to sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22). For this reason, we win God's approval - even before Mary begins to intercede for us. Then our perpetual honor to Mary, by the benefit of her mentorship, helps us to maintain and to preserve our blessings in the holy kingdom of God.
10. HONOR TO MARY
Our honor to Mary is not the same as our worship to God. To honor Mary means to recognize and to highly esteem her in function of her high spiritual office and of the role that she plays in the Church. But worship is the honor and adoration that we give to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, who live and reign together as one God - Creator of heaven and earth, and all of things, visible and invisible. We honor Mary by meditatiing with her, and through her, on the mysteries of the Holy Rosary. Each decade of the Rosary reflects on a mystery of the Word of God incarnate in Jesus Christ. Everything in the Rosary is from the Bible, and there is nothing in it that is not from the Bible.
The Rosary summarizes the life and the ministry of Christ, as well as the vocation and fulfillment of every Christian. That is why the chaplet ends with this prayer:
"O God, whose only begotten Son, by his life, death and resurrection has purchased for us the rewards of eternal salvation, grant - we beseech you - that meditating on the mysteries of the most Holy Rosary of Blessed Virgin Mary, we may both imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise, through the same Christ, our Lord, Amen."
The whole essence of being a Christian is the imitation of Christ and the benefit of his salvation - and that is the objective of the Holy Rosary devotion.
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11. MARY PAYS BACK
Just as Mary received the Word of God by and nurtured it with the Holy Spirit into a human being, so also she receives our prayers and nurture them with the Holy Spirit, to submit to God for the fulfillment of our requests. And as true as the Incarnation of the Word through Mary did not miss its destination in the world, so it is true that the submission of our prayers through the Virgin Mary, do not miss their destination in heaven. Mary is the one who takes our prayers to God - through Jesus and in the right the form - and for them to be fulfilled at the right time.
12. HONOR TO MOTHERS
I end this post by giving thanks to God, through Mary - the Mother of mothers, for the life of my own mother on earth. And through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I pay tribute to the mothers of all the generations - past, present and future - throughout the world. Finally, I wish to pay tribute to Prince Nico Mbarga, the Cameroonian - Nigerian music star of the 1980s and 1990s, for his timeless song - Sweet Mother. May his soul rest in the peace of the Lord of Mercy. Amen.
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Thought of the Week
"Ingratitude is an invitation to poverty: the only way to continue to receive is to acknowledge what you have already received; and the only way to receive more is to give thanks for the little that you have received."
(Whispers of Wisdom by Aying Godman)
Author: Aying Godman, is a Catechist, Evangelist & Blogger of the Roman Church; Founder of CATHOLIC FRONT MEDIA™ Email: ayinggodman@gmail.com
All the quotations are from the New Catholic Bible (NCB), (c) Catholic Book Publishing Corporation, 2019.
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