Homily for September 15, 2018
_“When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold, your son!’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother!” *(John 19:26-27)*_
A few days ago, I went to visit a very old woman, to pray with her and give her Holy Communion. She looked very healthy but she was still recovering from a surgical operation that was done a few months ago. Her children told me to help them talk to their mother to stop being worried because her restlessness (over-thinking) was not helping the progress of her recovery. In the course of my interaction with her, she said something that brought tears to my eyes: “Fada, only death can make a woman forget her children.”
This was a woman who had already passed eighty, old and frail, yet her biggest problem was the fact that she could no longer go to the farm to bring food for her children. I tried to tell her the children were not complaining but she wouldn’t take that. She went further even to add that she wasn’t happy her children were “wasting” so much money buying drugs and paying for her chemo. I told her the children were simply meeting up with their responsibilities but she protested saying she ought to be the one giving them not the other way round. She told me how she was both a farmer and a trader and how even up to just last year, she alone would farm an entire hectare, harvest the crops, sell them and bring the money home. Now she was crying that she could no longer do that for them.
Is this how deep a mother’s love can be? No wonder, God used the analogy of a mother’s love for her children to describe the weight of His affection for mankind. Isaiah 49:15, “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.” To put it simply, there can be no greater example of love.
Today, we celebrate the adjoining Feast to that of yesterday; Our Lady of Sorrows. If truly Jesus suffered on the cross, it follows that Mary, His Mother, suffered twice as much. As the saying goes: “it is harder to watch the pains of those we love than to bear our own pains.” Of course, Mary was not the only woman crying at the scene of the crucifixion but none was as painful as hers. So painful that Jesus himself in a bid to console His Mother handed her over to his closest friend; John the Beloved. Jesus couldn’t come down from the cross to wipe Mary’s tears so He gave her to the one He loved.
Do you love Jesus? Is Jesus your friend? Are you that close to Jesus? Very close? Then take Mary Home and please take care of her. To say you love Jesus and still say Mary was only an envelope used by God is to commit the greatest theological fallacy ever. Anyone who calls himself a Christian and is not happy with our devotion to Mary cannot claim he really loves Jesus. See how today’s Gospel passage ends: “And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own home.” And from that time, we Christians, the disciples of Jesus took Mary into our homes, into our hearts, into our prayers and indeed, into our lives.
As that old woman said: “only death will make her forget her children.” Mary has not forgotten her children, this explains why she is always appearing to us. A countless number of people have seen Mary face to face and thousands upon thousands of evidence exist to prove this even for the most hardened scientifically-oriented unbeliever. To the one Jesus loved, He said: “Woman, behold your son.” Mary has not stopped looking at us, we the beloved disciples of Jesus.
Back then, what caused Mary pain was the loss of her Son, Jesus. Today, what causes Mary pain is the sinful lifestyle of her children. In all the messages Mary has delivered to the millions of persons she appears to, one phrase remains constant: REPENT FROM SIN. In fact, there is a particular stature of Mary that was not only crying tears but crying blood. The greatest scientists were called to examine it and they found no rational explanation for the source of the blood; they were forced to believe in God.
As we celebrate Our Lady of Sorrows, let us try to reduce the pains our mother is feeling by resolving to drop our sinful behaviours and habits. When next you are tempted to sin, imagine the face of your own mother looking at you with tears in her eyes saying: “Don’t do it, it offends your Father.” Make Mary happy.
St. Paul tells us in today’s first reading that we should not provoke God to jealousy by partaking of demon-worship while at the same time, pretending to be Christians. If you have ever felt sad watching a person you love treat you like a piece of rag while falling head over toes for someone else (who is even lesser than you), then you should understand the jealousy of God.
Let us pray: Lord Jesus, teach me to love and value my mother, Mary whom you handed over to me on your Cross and save me from provoking you to jealousy. Amen.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. Bible Study: 1st Corinthians 10:14-22, Psalm 116:12-18 and John 19:25-27).
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