Readings: 2 Tim. 4:1-8; Responsorial Psalm Ps 71:8-9.14-1Sab.16-17.22 (R.15ab);
Gospel Lk 2:41-52.
Theme: Immaculate Heart of Mary - The Heart On a Rescue Mission
It was on the twenty-fifth anniversary of Fatima, precisely 1942 that Pope Pius XII consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in a grand celebration. Later on in the same year, the Roman Pontiff would assign the feast day to August 22, the octave of the Assumption. He it was who also extended the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary to the Universal Church on May 4, 1944.
According to an online site Newmanconnection.com, "the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is a devotional name used to refer to the interior life of he Blessed Virgin Mary, her joys and sorrows, her virtues and hidden perfections, and above all, her virginal love for God the Father, her maternal love for her son Jesus, and her compassionate love for all persons."
The site particularly notes that two elements are essential to the devotion namely, Mary’s interior life and the beauties of her soul, and Mary’s virginal body.
Another version has it that it was in 1855 that the Mass of the Most Pure Heart of Mary formally took roots in Catholic tradition.
"Traditionally, the heart of Mary in artwork is depicted with seven wounds or swords, in homage to the seven sorrows of Mary - roses or another type of flower may be wrapped around the heart."
The veneration of the Immaculate Heart of Mary takes place side by side with the worship of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Catholic theology explains that while the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is essentially directed to the “Divine Heart,” as overflowing with love for humanity, in the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the attraction is the love of her Immaculate Heart for Jesus, for God and her beloved children.
In the devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Catholics respond to God's love by doing God homage in Jesus. On the other hand, in the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, "love is formed from study and imitation of Mary’s yes to God as the mother of Jesus" and our mother too. Biblical events and theological epochs which paved way for the devotion include, the prophecy of Simeon at Jesus’ presentation in the temple that a sword of sorrow would pierce her heart (Lk. 2:25-35) and Mary’s reception of Jesus' body at the foot of the cross during his crucifixion. Little wonder St. Augustine says: "Mary is more blessed in having born Christ in her heart, than in having conceived him in the flesh." On the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, we are called upon to unite ourselves to Mary through imitating her virtues of unselfish love and unalloyed obedience to God's will. We are urged to imbibe the love and virtues of the Immaculate Heart of Mary which goes out in search of her lost children. In the gospel reading (Lk 2:41-52) Mary demonstrates a zeal more than that of the parents of the Chibok girls, the #BringBackOurGirls campaign group and Federal Government by returning to Jerusalem to find her beloved son - Sure, he was the apple of her eye and her pearl of inestimable value. She would spare nothing at going after her lost children to remind them of their father's love and what they've missed while they strayed. Like the Blessed Virgin Mary, our task as a Church is to go out and seek what was lost. How often have we lost Catholic members to lack of fellow-feeling and one-on-one pastoral care? May today's celebration open our hearts to embrace the harsh realities of life such as hunger and disease as Mary did when the sword of sorrow pierced her heart so that like Saint Paul in the first reading (2 Tim. 4:1-8), we would have fought the good fight to the finish awaiting the crown of unfading glory - Happy Celebration!
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