Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Theme: Faith, humility and selflessness
Yesterday the church celebrated the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and today we are celebrating the memorial of the Immaculate heart of Mary. These are two hearts that beat as one, united in love. An opportunity for us to reflect on the life of Mary as the mother of Jesus and her heroic virtues that are worthy of emulation by all of us, as children of God. Her immaculate heart, just like that of Jesus, was a heart of love. Today’s celebration is an opportunity to talk about her faith, humility and selflessness. These are three wonderful virtues that she had in abundance in her life. Prompted by her faith, she said Yes to the message of Angel Gabriel; even without total understanding of the message. All through her life, we see her humility and selflessness in different situations. In view of this, we are all encouraged to imbibe these wonderful virtues in our daily lives, for our good and to the glory of God.
These virtues are seriously needed in our world today, if we truly want to enthrone Gods presence amongst his people. Practicing them in our daily lives, will help us to be true witness of God’s presence among his people. It is very possible to practice it in our life, just like the Centurion in today’s gospel. In the action of the Centurion in today’s gospel, we see all these wonderful attributes that are also found in the life of our mother Mary. We were told that Jesus was marvelled at the assertion of the Centurion. This shows the sincerity of the Centurion; remember Jesus cannot be deceived, he knows even what is in our hearts. The Centurion was a highly placed man, and he came in search of Jesus to heal his servant who was sick. This action of his, is worthy of emulation. In our world today, how many highly placed people will go in search of a physician to heal their servant; not very many, you would agree with me. We see the depth of his humility when he tells Jesus that he is not worthy to have Jesus under his roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed. In his assertion to Jesus, we see his awesome faith in Jesus. His words and actions are invitation to all of us as Christians in our own time.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, let us embrace the devotion to the immaculate Heart of Mary, and see how she will transform us into worthy instrument in God’s hand. As you do this, may almighty God bless you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Peace be with you.