3.4 Commitment
STAGE 3: In Communion with Mary
MARY AND THE HOLY SPIRIT
THE APOSTOLIC WAY
COMMITMENT
Aim: To commit ourselves to the spirit of Mary in our work of evangelization.
Reading
Wonders of grace (TD 35): “When Mary has taken root in a soul she produces in it wonders of grace which only she can produce; for she alone is the fruitful virgin who never had and never will have her equal in purity and fruitfulness. Together with the Holy Spirit Mary produced the greatest thing that ever was or ever will be: a God-man. She will consequently produce the marvels, which will be seen in the latter times. The formation and the education of the great saints who will come at the end of the world are reserved to her, for only this singular and wondrous virgin can produce in union with the Holy Spirit singular and wondrous things”.
Comment
Consecrated souls are all born in Mary. It is inside her “yes” that we welcome the Gospel; it is by virtue of that “yes” that our testimony bears its fruit. In fact, when the Holy Spirit finds Mary in our souls, he empowers us with the zeal and wisdom of the apostles. In a way, we realize that we cannot do any substantial work of evangelization without Mary and without dwelling in her.
As we move out and try to witness the gospel, Mary reminds us that we are to carry to the world the living person of Christ. It is Jesus we are announcing, our “brother in humanity”, to whom Mary gave birth. Mary brings us constantly back to the reality of the humanity of Jesus. She is woman and mother: like all mothers she has a good sense of people and their diversity. She has a refined sense of the concrete and practical side of life. An Arabic proverb says: “Men see the forest, women see the trees and their leaves”. In the same way Mary treats each Christian personally, one by one. While humanizing us, she transforms us into the likeness of her Son.
If we give Mary her rightful place in our apostolate, we will evangelize with humility. Sometimes Mary expresses her words and feelings rather strongly, like in her Magnificat, but her way of being and talking are always those of a humble girl of Israel. Often she evangelizes through her single presence without a word: she offers more by what she is than by what she says. She evangelizes like a good stove, by radiating. “She kept all those things in her heart”. Her apostolate is done not through words but through the abandonment of her entire being to God. As Christ said to Catherine of Sienna: “Open yourself to me and I will be a hurricane”. Mary’s deep humility is the one thing that can save our apostolate from pride. Mary is the one who keeps us from preaching ourselves instead of proclaiming Christ.
Through the Spirit, Mary teaches us to live our apostolate with a sense of inner balance and wisdom. Visited by the angel, she reacts with balance and wisdom. She simply asks: “How will this be?” (Lk 1:34). She goes quietly to help her cousin Elizabeth, and when her cousin declares her “blessed among women” (1:42), she prophesizes indeed (“All generations will call me blessed”), but she doesn’t forget to remind us of her poverty as “humble servant of the Lord”.
Indeed, Mary is necessary for the work of evangelization because she enriches it with humanity, humility, wisdom and balance.
Personal Reflection and Sharing
Through the consecration, the Spirit is calling me to bear witness to Christ in the world. What Marian apostolic approach, style and attitude, do I commit myself to in order to make the Spirit work effectively for the Kingdom of God?
[3-4] CALL RESPONSE COMMITMENT PRAYER