Dear brothers,
The Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is the feast of our charismatic identity in the church. On, the Feast of the Sacred Heart, we gazed at the heart of Jesus to be conformed to him. And then the Church invites us to look at the heart of Mary, to learn how to walk with Him. As Sons of the Heart of Mary, we have the spiritual ethos of the tenderness of her heart.
On this feast day, I’d like to highlight three things. The first is that she has her heart rooted in her Lord, and the best expression of that is in the Magnificat. Everything is seen from the perspective of God, and she can magnify and praise the Lord, her Savior, for all that happens in her life.
The second is the audacity of her response in her fiat. When God called her, she was able to say yes to it without knowing all that was going to happen to her. And as she walked with the Lord, she embraced all that came to her without having to be in the center of the stage without having to be the protagonist. And we have the best expression also in what the Word of God says, “Who is my mother? Who is my brother?” – the one who does the will of God. And she has the audacity to seek and do the will of God in her life.
The third is her manner of walking. We see her in the Bible following Jesus, walking with the disciples, and being present without capturing their attention on her. Even when the disciples ran away, she would be there at the foot of the cross. And she is, perhaps, the best expression of a synodal journey: walking together with, placing Jesus at the center, and doing things together. And that is why we see her qualitative presence at the very crucial moments of His life: at the foot of the cross, at Pentecost, and in the Mystical Body of Christ. The Church is accompanied by her constant presence and even dotted by apparitions.
As Sons of her heart, let us learn her tenderness of love in our relationships, rootedness in Christ, audaciousness in our response, and walking synodaly forward, placing Christ at the center, listening to each other, and listening to the Holy Spirit. Happy feast to all of you! God bless.
Fr. Mathew Vattamattam, CMF
June 25, 2022
