Scripture:
Genesis 3:9-15, 20 or Acts 1:12-14
John 19:25-34
Reflection:
Mary and Anatomy of Sin in Genesis
“They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” Gen 3:8
Our first parents gave us a virus far worse than Covid 19. The Holy Scriptures in the sin of Adam and Eve have given us an anatomy of the most deadly disease known in history. The first effect of this virus is to hide from the very Person who can heal us. “You hid Your face, I was dismayed (bāhal). Ps 30:7 Bāhal is the Hebrew word for dismay, be disturbed, alarmed, terrify. Running from the face of God leaves us in a horrific loneliness.
Their incredible offence was to overthrow God so that they can be gods! The liar Devil promised: “you will be like gods knowing good and evil.” In other words, you decide what is good or bad! While this sounds off the wall is this any different than what we do today? We deny God’s word, His instructions for a beautiful life, and think we are smarter than Him. We in effect place our minds over His and our hearts dismiss any care for Him.
Society’s favorite ideal today is to be open minded about sexuality, fidelity, religion and any care for our neighbor. “Tolerance is often the virtue of the man without convictions.” Gilbert K. Chesterton We must be careful that our minds not be so open that our brains fall out. We need the help and protection of a wise and caring mother. As in our natural lives it is often true that it is not so much what we know as who we know. So also, in our spiritual lives we are extremely blessed to have Mary as our mother’
We celebrate the feast of Mary, the Mother of the Church. I have been long fascinated that the first words of Jesus on the cross in John’s Gospel were about Mary’s being mother of all the Beloved disciples. “Behold your mother” came at the high-water mark of the fourth Gospel. We are truly blessed to have as a mother Jesus’s own! We are the children of God. Children need a mother to care for them! I love William Thackeray’s quote: “Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children.”
Fr. Bob Weiss, C.P. preaches Parish Missions and is a member of the Passionist Community in Louisville, Kentucky.