Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Yesterday, we celebrated the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Today is the memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. We celebrate these days together because the sacred heart of Jesus and the immaculate heart of Mary are eternally connected. One cannot exist without the other.

Through the divine mercy of God, Mary was conceived without the stain original of sin, immaculate in body, soul, and spirit. The Church teaches that this freed her from the desire to sin and how she remained sinless through her entire life. Having an immaculate heart gives Mary the capacity to love as God loves; to love sacrificially and without limit. It is through this capacity to love that Love himself became incarnate in the person of Jesus. Through the immaculate heart of Mary came the Sacred Heart of Jesus and through the Sacred Heart of Jesus came the immaculate heart of Mary.

Mary’s immaculate heart is what enabled her to say yes to the offer to be the mother of God. She gave no thought to herself or what saying yes to that offer would mean. She only wished to do the will of the Father. When she presented Jesus in the temple, she was told by Simeon that a sword would pierce her heart. The heart of every parent is their children and in hearing Simeon’s prophecy I am sure Mary pondered what his words would mean for the baby she held in her arms.

Twelve years later, Jesus would be lost for three days and then found in the temple. Losing a child is every parent’s worst nightmare. O the joy that must have filled Mary’s heart the moment she saw her son in the temple sitting among the teachers. Jesus returned home with her and she treasured all that was said about him in her heart.

Scripture does not mention Jesus and Mary being separated like that again until his crucifixion. Everywhere Jesus was, there was Mary. It is a mystery to us that Mary is not listed as being with the women who went to the tomb on Easter Sunday. There is no mention of Jesus appearing to his mother after his resurrection. There is much speculation on this and this is mine. Mary’s immaculate heart not only kept her free from the desire to sin and gave her the capacity to love sacrificially, but it also gave her the capacity to have perfect faith in her son. Scripture never says that Mary ever questioned Jesus’ purpose in this world, nor does it say she ever tried to talk him out of going through with his passion.

Mary had perfect faith in the promise of God. Like Abraham with Isaac, Mary believed that if her son were offered as a sacrifice, God would raise him back up. It is my speculation that Mary was not with the women who went to the tomb on Sunday morning because she was the only one who was there when her son was resurrected from the dead. She was the first person he saw when he came out of the tomb. She was the first person to hold him when he came back to this world, just as she was the first person to hold him when he first came into this world. The immaculate heart that was pierced by a sword was the first one healed by the risen Christ. Mary was there because she had perfect faith in her son’s promise.

Again, this is just my speculation, but I would like to believe that our Blessed Mother was waiting for her son when he returned from the underworld just as the five wise virgins were eagerly awaiting the return of the bridegroom.

This is what makes Mary is the greatest example for the Church and for each of us. Mary is the pinnacle of God’s creation and the greatest member of our race. She is what God wants us to become. She shows us what we are capable of achieving. It is true that Mary received special graces that we have yet to receive but instead of those graces we were given the Blessed Mother to model our lives on.

Many years ago, there was a craze you might remember. What would Jesus do? Well, Jesus will do whatever Jesus wishes. He is God and all things are possible for God. A better question we can ask ourselves is what would Mary do? Mary is only human and if Mary can do something, then so can we. Mary loved sacrificially and without limit. Mary had unshakable faith in God. Mary trusted her son completely and did whatever he told her to do.

Not only can we do these things, but these are what we are called to do as Christians. In giving Mary to us when he was on the cross, Jesus made Mary our mother too. From her immaculate heart we receive unconditional and sacrificial love as she draws all her children closer to her son. And with a mother’s love she intercedes on our behalf with her son who intercedes for us with the Father.

In as much as a father is the head of a family, a mother is its heart. A father guides and leads. A mother nurtures and comforts. The immaculate heart of Mary is the immaculate heart of the Church and through it we learn to give a mother’s care to those in the most need. Being able to see others through the eyes of a mother, especially through the eyes of the mother who held the baby Jesus tight to her bosom, enables us to live fully Jesus’ command to love one another as he has loved us.