THE WORD AND THE FEAST

Remembering the Immaculate Heart of Mary

4th June, 2016: Is 61: 9-11; Lk 2: 41-51

Following the Sacred Heart, we remember the Immaculate Heart - so fitting and meaningful a tradition! The Heart of Mary manifests a total dedication to God and the grand role God has in the salvation history of human kind.

The heart of Mary gives us three lessons to live by...

1. The heart was pierced by sorrows as Simeon predicted. No matter how much it was pierced and hurt and tortured, Mary's immaculate heart always glowed for the love of God and the fulfillment of God's will.

2. The heart of Mary was absolutely open to the working of the Spirit and it was at the beck and call of the Word. We see this right from the moment she heard the greeting from the angel. Openness to the Spirit is a matter of the heart and Mary exemplifies it to the utmost.

3. The heart of Our Blessed Mother was filled with 'God-thoughts' and that was because she kept everything that was happening in her life in her heart and pondered over them. She recognised, acknowledged and accepted interventions of God in her life, and found herself being moved and animated by the Lord, the Lord's Word and the Lord's Spirit.

Imitating Mary, let us open our hearts to God, glow for God and allow ourselves to be guided by the Lord and we will experience strongly the presence of the Lord in our hearts.