Our faith
catholicnewsherald.com | May 21, 2021 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD
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Mary, Mother of the Church Pope Francis
Perseverance is necessary for prayer
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hose who overcome distractions or obstacles when praying learn the value of perseverance in times of trial, Pope Francis said. “True progress in spiritual life does not consist in multiplying ecstasies, but in being able to persevere in difficult times,” the pope said May 19 during his weekly general audience. “Walk, walk, walk on and if you are tired, stop a little and then start walking again; but with perseverance,” he said. In his main audience talk, the pope reflected on the difficulties that people may face when trying to pray, including “distractions, aridity and sloth” as well as the importance of recognizing and overcoming them. Both in prayer and in everyday life, he said, the mind often “wanders all over the place” and some find it “hard to dwell for long on a single thought.” “Distractions are not a fault, but they must be fought,” he said. “In the heritage of our faith, there is a virtue that is often forgotten, but which is very present in the Gospel. It is called ‘vigilance.’” Citing the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the pope said aridity occurs when one’s heart “is separated from God” and leaves him or her “with no taste for thoughts, memories and feelings, even spiritual ones.” While the reasons for that sense of aridity may range from physical ailments to inner turmoil, the pope said that often, “we do not really know the reason.” “Spiritual teachers describe the experience of faith as a continuous alternation of times of consolation and desolation; there are times when everything is easy, while others are marked by great heaviness,” he explained. While life is often filled with “gray days,” the pope said the danger lies in “having a gray heart; when this ‘feeling down’ reaches the heart and sickens it.” “This is terrible: one cannot pray, one cannot feel consolation with a gray heart! Or one cannot emerge from spiritual aridity with a gray heart,” he said. “The heart must be open and luminous, so that the light of the Lord can enter. And if it does not enter, wait for it, with hope. But do not close it up in grayness.” Lastly, the pope warned that sloth is not only one of the seven deadly sins, but also “a real temptation against prayer and, more generally, against Christian life” that can “lead to the death of the soul.” Pope Francis said that at some point in their lives, “all the saints have passed through this ‘dark valley’” and would often recount “evenings of listless prayer, lived without enthusiasm.” Nevertheless, believers, like the biblical figure Job, “never stop praying” even when their prayers may seem like protests to God.
In 2018 Pope Francis added a feast day for Mary, Mother of the Church to be celebrated on the Monday following Pentecost – and the date he chose was intentional. On Pentecost Sunday, we celebrate the birthday of the Church, and on the memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church, we celebrate the fact that Mary, as the mother of Our Lord, is intrinsically linked to the Church as her mother. In issuing his decree to add this feast day to the Church’s calendar, Pope Francis wished to promote this devotion to “encourage the growth of the maternal sense of the Church in the pastors, religious and faithful, as well as a growth of genuine Marian piety.” This year, the feast day is on May 24.
Why do we celebrate Mary as Mother of the Church? While the popularity of the specific expression “Mother of the Church” has grown in recent centuries, the theological roots of this title for Mary go back to the early Church. The Fathers of the Church often spoke of Mary as the New Eve. Just as the Woman Eve was “the mother of all the living” (Gen 3:20), the Woman Mary was mother of all those living in Christ. In Revelation 12:17, St. John says that this Woman’s offspring are “those who keep the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus.” St. Augustine and St. Leo the Great also both reflected on the Virgin Mary’s importance in the mystery of Christ. “In fact the former (St. Augustine) says that Mary is the mother of the members of Christ, because with charity she cooperated in the rebirth of the faithful into the Church, while the latter (St. Leo the Great) MARY, SEE PAGE 22
What does the Catholic Church believe about Mary? The Catholic Church has four dogmas regarding the Blessed Virgin: n She is the Mother of God, also called “Theotokos” (Council of Ephesus, 431) n Her Perpetual Virginity, i.e. maintained throughout her life (Lateran Council, 649) n Her Immaculate Conception (Pope Pius IX, “Ineffabilis Deus,” 1854) n Her Assumption into Heaven (Pope Pius XII, “Munificentissimus Deus,” 1950)
Mural from the Church of the Visitation in Ein Kerem, near Jerusalem, depicting Mary protecting Christians with her mantle. The image was inspired by the oldest known hymn to the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Mother of God, the “Sub tuum praesidium,” first written down in the third century. Photo taken by Dominican Father Lawrence Lew, who has an extensive photography collection for people to enjoy on Flickr (search “Lawrence OP”). “O God, Father of mercies, whose Only Begotten Son, as He hung upon the Cross, chose the Blessed Virgin Mary, His Mother, to be our Mother also, grant, we pray, that with her loving help your Church may be more fruitful day by day and, exulting in the holiness of her children, may draw to her embrace all the families of the peoples. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.” – Collect for the Feast of Mary, Mother of the Church
Did you know? “Mater Ecclesiae” is Latin for “Mother of the Church.”
Daily Scripture readings MAY 23-29
Sunday (Pentecost Sunday): Acts 2:1-11, Ps 104:1, 24, 29-31, 1 Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13, John 20:19-23; Monday (The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church): Genesis 3:9-15, John 19:25-34; Tuesday (St. Bede the Venerable, St. Gregory VII, St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi): Sirach 35:1-12, Mark 10:28-31; Wednesday (St. Philip Neri): Sirach 36:1, 4-5a, 10-17, Mark 10:32-45; Thursday (St. Augustine of Canterbury): Sirach 42:15-25, Mark 10:46-52; Friday: Sirach 44:1, 9-13, Mark 11:11-26; Saturday (St. Paul VI): Sirach 51:12cd-20, Mark 11:27-33
MAY 30-JUNE 5
Sunday (The Most Holy Trinity): Deuteronomy 4:32-34, 39-40, Romans 8:14-17, Matthew 28:16-20; Monday (The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary): Zephaniah 3:14-18a, Isaiah 12:2-6, Luke 1:39-56; Tuesday (St. Justin): Tobit 2:9-14, Mark 12:13-17; Wednesday (Sts. Marcellinus and Peter): Tobit 3:1-11a, 16-17a, Mark 12:1827; Thursday (St. Charles Lwanga and Companions): Tobit 6:10-11, 7:1bvde, 9-17, 8:49a, Mark 12:28-34; Friday: Tobit 11:5-17, Mark 12:35-37; Saturday (St. Boniface): Tobit 12:1, 5-15, 20, Tobit 13:2, 6-8, Mark 12:38-44
JUNE 6-12
Sunday (The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ): Exodus 24:3-8, Hebrews 9:11-15, Mark 14:12-16, 22-26; Monday: 2 Corinthians 1:1-7, Matthew 5:1-12; Tuesday: 2 Corinthians 1:18-22, Matthew 5:13-16; Wednesday (St. Ephrem): 2 Corinthians 3:4-11, Matthew 5:17-19; Thursday: 2 Corinthians 3:15-4:1, 3-6, Matthew 5:20-26; Friday (The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus): Hosea 11:1, 3-4, 8c-9, Isaiah 12:2-6, Ephesians 3:8-12, 14-19, John 19:31-37; Saturday (The Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary): 2 Corinthians 5:14-21, Luke 2:41-51
