AMM ASSEMBLY -- Rome -- Monday, October 22, 2001

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Mass # 39 (Mary, Virgin Queen and Mother of Mercy)
Readings: Colossians 3:12-17; Luke 8:19-21

 

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Today as we begin this first international assembly of the Miraculous Medal Association, the gospel asks the question: Who are those who are really close to Jesus? Who are those who are members of his family? Jesus tell us very clearly in today's gospel: “My mother and my brothers are those who listen to the word of God and put it into practice.”

For Jesus the whole purpose of life is to listen to his Father and to do his will. “My food is to do the will of him who sent me,” he says in John’s gospel (4:34). Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record the striking prayer of human anxiety that he utters in the garden: “Father, if it be possible let this cup pass from me, but not my will but yours be done.” The gospels tell us again and again of Jesus’ attachment to his Father. Jesus comes from the Father and goes to the Father. He is always listening to the Father’s word. All of this was so impressive to the early Christian community that the author of Hebrews describes Jesus’ whole life in these dramatic words: “When he came into the world, he said: ‘Behold I come to do your will, O God’” (10:5-7).

St. Catherine Labouré learned this lesson very well. The mission she received as a very young woman was to listen to the message the Virgin Mary entrusted to her and to carry it out. She met many obstacles: skepticism, brusqueness at times on the part of her superiors, much misunderstanding, but she heard the message the Virgin Mary gave her. She turned it over in her heart. She explained it simply to her director, and she was utterly persevering until the medal which the people later called “Miraculous” was struck. She was very much one of the Lord’s family. She listened to the message God gave her through Mary and put it into practice.

So, my brothers and sisters, as we begin this Assembly, let me suggest two thoughts about this gospel:

  1. Jesus is telling us today that listening is the foundation of all spirituality. It is the very first gift we can offer to God and also to our brothers and sisters around us. Love of God begins with listening to his word. Love of others begins with listening to them. That is precisely Mary’s dignity, that she knew how to listen to the word of God, so that she might know his will and then act on it. At the Annunciation Mary listened to the angel and she said: “Be it done to me according to your word.”

    Mary made this the whole theme of her life. She listened to God’s word as she heard it read in the Old Testament scriptures. She listened to God’s word as she heard it preached by her Son himself. She listened to God’s word in events like her Son’s birth, his passion and death, his resurrection. She listened to God’s word in those around her in the early Christian community.

    So, a key question for all of us today is: Do we really listen well? In the final examination after the course of our lives, what mark will we receive for listening? Do we listen to the needs of those whom we live with in community? Do we listen to the voices of the past, calling us to fidelity to our roots? Do we listen to the voices of the present, calling us to use new means to confront new problems? Do we listen to the voices of the future, calling us to prepare the way for the Lord who will come? Do we listen especially to the poor who cry out to us for help in their need? Do we listen the way Mary listened to the word of God? Do we listen the way Mary listens to us?

  2. Secondly, having listened well, we must also act. Mary said: “Be it done to me according to your word.” And so we must ask ourselves today also: are we doers of the word? St. Vincent once cried out: “How easy it is to be a saint. All that is necessary is to do God’s will in everything.” Genuine holiness consists in working when God calls us to work. It consists in resting when he calls us to rest. It consists in praying when he calls us to pray. It consists in celebrating when he calls us to celebrate. It consists in being with our brothers and sisters when he calls us to join them in community. It consists in being alone when he calls us to go apart.

Today, my brothers and sisters, as we begin this Assembly, I pray with you that the Lord will help all of us to be good listeners; that we will listen to his word, that we will listen to one another, that we will be able to discern what he is asking of us in regard to the devotional life of the Association, in regard to the formation of its members and in regard to the cries of the poor; and then, that the Lord will help us to act on what he says. Jesus asks us to listen well and to do the Father’s will today with courageous hearts. If we do, we are members of his family: “My mother and my brothers are those who listen to the word of God and put it into practice.”

Robert P. Maloney, C.M.

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