MARY, THE NEW AND SINLESS EVE
A Blessed Sunday to everyone. Trust that the joy of the Easter Season, Trinity Sunday & Corpus Christi that we recently celebrated is continuing to fill your souls.
Our readings today point us towards our Blessed Mother Mary as the Type of the Church. The readings show us that Mary is the Model of true humility, obedience & surrender to God’s divine will.
In our First Reading from Genesis 3, we encounter the reality of temptation, evil & sin in the Fall of Adam & Eve in the Garden of Eden. Notice that after the Fall, Adam & Eve felt guilt & shame & hid from God. They also played the “Blame Game”. Adam blamed Eve for giving him the fruit, Eve blamed the serpent for tempting her & both tried to justify their actions & refused to accept responsibility. The core verse here is Genesis 3:15 – “I will make you enemies of each other, you and the woman, your offspring and her offspring. It will crush your head and you will strike it’s head.” So with this, the war between God’s goodness & the tyranny of evil & darkness has begun. And let’s not delude ourselves – we will not be able, on our own strength, to withstand the primordial enemy.
What a wretched state we humans are in – caught in a vice-like grip of sin & certain death. “Who can save us from this wretched body doomed to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers us, through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24-25). Indeed – because with God there is mercy & fullness of redemption (cf Psalm 130:7– today’s Psalm response), we are saved. Jesus, born of a woman (Mary) has redeemed us (cf Galatians 4:4-5). He is the offspring of the woman who will crush the head of the enemy.
Mary is the Woman, the New Eve, the Sinless Eve who was conceived Immaculate. Mary led a life of total purity & holiness, with a humble, docile & obedient spirit, always seeking to do the Father’s will. The Lord Jesus himself declared in todays Gospel: ‘Here are my mother & my brothers. Anyone who does the will God …” (Mark 3:25).
Besides being humble & obedient to God’s will, Mary also shows her love, care & protection for us, the disciples of Jesus as intercessor & tender mother. Mary, who was at the wedding at Cana where Jesus worked his first sign (cf John 2), interceded for the wedding couple by bringing up to Him “They have no wine”. Jesus’ response to Mary “Woman, why do you involve me?’ & addressing her as ‘Woman’ doesn’t in any way show Mary disrespect – rather, Jesus is acknowledging Mary as the woman of Genesis 3:15. Likewise when Jesus told Mary “Woman, behold your son’ (cf John 19:27) at His crucifixion, Jesus was declaring Mary’s importance in the lives of all people.
What can we learn from our reflection of Mary? Can we be more open to obeying the Word of God & like Mother Mary, say in humility & surrender: “I am the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to Your Word.” (Luke 1:38). Will we, like Mary, set off in haste to visit & serve ‘Elizabeth’ (cf Luke 1:39-45), the people whom God places in our lives? Are we willing to accept Mary as our Heavenly Mother & accord her the deepest honour & devotion?
As we conclude today’s reflection, may the Sacred Heart of Jesus fill our lives with His love & mercy, & may the Immaculate Heart of Mary pray & obtain for us the fullness of God’s favour.
Article by Damian Boon, HFC Blog Team Lead