BY FR. ROQUE REBITO
I am Fr. Roque Rebito of the Society of Mary-Marists Fathers. I would like thank Ma'am Clang for this opportunity to share my reflections about our second-favourite person, our most-loved mother for all generations, our model in living our faith, our "Stella Maris"; our Blessed Virgin Mary.
As a religious who belongs to a congregation named after the Blessed Virgin Mary, I learned to love her more than ever. As Marists, we do not have a single or specific devotion towards her. We try our best to emulate virtues, as if living her life, above all in humility, obedience, self-denial, mutual charity, and the love of God. (Society of Mary Constitutions no.7)
It makes also humble knowing that as a Marist I don't own power and authority to fully introduce this woman, chosen from the beginning to participate in God's mission of bringing His people back to Him; to become bearer of His God, theotokos "mother of God". What I am going to share is the fruit of my desire to know this woman so that I could also love her, for she is loved by her Son, Jesus Christ.
It would be helpful for us to go back to our Sacred Tradition. Our Sacred Tradition would tell us that when God called Mary to participate in His mission, she was young, a teenager. It is believed that Mary was about sixteen when Jesus was born. Mary was just enjoying her youthful life when Archangel Gabriel announced to her "Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you. But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David." Luke 1:28-33
We know this story by heart. Mary gave her "fiat" and surrendered everything to God. "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." Luke 1:38.
Reading and listening again to this story, I asked these questions to aid my reflections. What prompted Mary to give her "yes" to God. Was she free to say no to the plan of God?
We are always on the crossroads of making decisions; small and big ones. Our decision affects both our physical and spiritual realities. We decide for the betterment of our lives. We make decisions to improve our relationships with others and with God.
Mary gave her yes for the big mission that God asked her participate with for she already had given her many yes to God in her everyday life. More than that she was conceived without original sin, she was offered to God as an infant, she devotedly worked in the temple; Mary had opened her life to God in her young age. Before that big revelation, she had prepared herself for what to come into her life as a daughter of God.
The young Mary would teach us that the best decision is always a product of long and sustained relationship with God. We do not know yet what the results of our decisions but if we know the reasons why we have to decide or why we have to choose this one over others then we know we are guided by God.
Certainly, there were moments when Mary had to confront her fears and doubts. There were moments that she did not fully understand the ways of God. There were moments where she had to pray harder so as to comprehend her Son, Jesus Christ. Despite of those moments, Mary chose to trust God.
The young Mary spent time to consult God. This remains a challenge for us. Do we consult God what we want to happen in our lives? What normally happens is that we only remember Him if things are not working on our side. She would teach us that we spent time in prayer. Prayer is a relationship. We don't make decisions according to the highs and lows of our emotions. Good decisions would merit good results for they are a product of time (time spent looking at oneself and time spent consulting God).
Was Mary free to say no to the plan of God? Do we have the freedom to choose our paths? Are we free not to listen to God? We are free to do what we desire in life.
Absolutely, Mary was so free to say no, for like us she was given the will to decide what was best for her life. Mary's understanding about her life was about fulfilling the mission given upon her. She could not see other options for her than to do the will of God.
It is the same with us. We too are in the journey of finding our real purpose in this life. Underneath our deepest desires, is the desire of God for each one of us. He desires to live in each one of us as we fulfil our mission. Our desire to have God and to include Him in everything we do is not just our second option. It is our first and last option. Life is tough. Every hardship becomes meaningful if deep inside we exert effort to do and follow the will of God. Our everyday "yes" to Him is our affirmation of that freedom He gives to us so that we could possibly live the best life He desires for us. The best life is a meaningful life.
Mary illuminates what it means to live a life totally alive to Christ and to God's purpose for our world. In her we see a complete freedom and an undivided will through which she places herself without reservation at the service of Christ and the kingdom. Hers is an unconditional freedom that does not need to see the future outcome in advance of saying yes. She only needs to encounter God's call and choice of her, nothing more is needed.
We live like Mary. Our freedom helps us to choose and decide that the best things in life happens when we direct our lives towards God. We have to encounter Christ in our everyday life; when we serve our families, church, when we work and we seek deeper and meaningful things in life.
Mary teaches us the beauty of discernment. Pope Francis in his Apostolic Exhortation "Christus Vivit" reminds us especially the young people to ask for the gift of discernment in every decision we have to make.
"I mentioned there that all of us, but "especially the young, are immersed in a culture of zapping. We can navigate simultaneously on two or more screens and interact at the same time with two or three virtual scenarios. Without the wisdom of discernment, we can easily become prey to every passing trend". Indeed, "this is all the more important when some novelty presents itself in our lives. Then we have to decide whether it is new wine brought by God or an illusion created by the spirit of this world or the spirit of the devil" Christus Vivit no. 279.
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