Salesian Spirituality 2013

INTRODUCTION

In ‘Selected Works of Bernard of Clairvaux’, by Jean Leclercq, we read the approach of St. Bernard to Christian’s succinct spirituality. In it, St. Bernard tells us,

“Man’s end is to recognize truth, which is God. To do this he must be aware that his relationship with God is based on need. The obstacle to the relationship is pride; the remedy is humility. Grace is the condition for meeting God in Christ. The result is the esteem man places on his dignity, rediscovered in God’s image. While self-ignorance and pride lessen man’s worth, humility, which recognizes man’s need as well as his capacity for God, reveals man to himself. In this way, he emerges from himself and ascends; he grows and reaches new dimensions of love, both for God and for neighbor”.

In Article 3 of our Salesian Constitutions, we read, “we live as disciples of the Lord by the grace of the Father, who consecrates us through the gift of His Spirit and sends us out to be apostles of the young”. At the basis of everything in the creation and that which is fundamental to every human life is the fascinating mystery of the Trinity.

Every Christian Spirituality is characteristically a gift, of the grace, by which God on His own initiative enters into our existence within the context of human history. This makes it substantially different from all the rationalistic spiritualities which rely on personal effort alone, no matter how laudable that effort may be.

In the following let us reflect on ‘Salesian Spirituality’ to which Don Bosco, our father and founder stands as the source and inspiration, and which is a unique reflection of Christ, the Good Shepherd.

THE ‘GOD-EXPERIENCE OF DON BOSCO’

[The source and inspiration for Salesian Consecrated life]

Before we unravel various facets of Salesian Spirituality, it would serve us significant to reflect upon the ‘God-experience’ of Don Bosco. Our former Rector Major, Rev. Fr. Juan Vecchi in ‘Called to be Shepherds’ explicates the God-experience of Don Bosco with three specific focal points to meditate on his ‘consecrated’ dimension:

·         ‘Our relationship with Don Bosco’: ‘the Lord has given us Don Bosco as father and teacher’ and so our relationship with him as sons and disciples is providential, decisive and source of inspiration for the whole of our spiritual life; he traced out for us a spiritual experience, viz. the Salesian Charism; he generates us as followers of Christ in the service of the young, and makes the ‘Fatherhood’ of God felt by poor youngsters. Therefore, ‘we study and imitate him’.

·         “Don Bosco’s spiritual physiognomy”: His personality captivates us, he possessed – a splendid blending of nature and grace. Contemplating his spirituality, we realize how great was his deep instinct for life and his openness to God; he was deeply human, rich in the qualities of his people, open to the realities of this earth, and he was just as deeply the man of God, filled with the gifts of the Spirit and living ‘as seeing Him who is invisible’.

·         ‘His plan of life’: his God-experience can be appropriated from ‘his unified plan of life, his service for the young’. The efforts to realize his project of life, the difficulties he overcame in devoting himself entirely to the young and the full use he made of his physical, intellectual and spiritual energies… and in such consecration of his resources, gifts and feelings to the service of God and the young we find the secret of his original kind of spirituality and holiness; “he took no step, he said no word, he took up no task that was not directed to the saving of the young… truly the only concern of his heart was for souls”.

THE INITIATIVE OF GOD

When we attempt to describe the vitality and characteristic elements of the Salesian Spiritual journey, we cannot ignore the fact that it originates from God, or more precisely, from the active presence of the Holy Spirit, and that on his part the Salesian recognizes and accepts this divine intervention and is willing to correspond with it.

The Holy Spirit is present in three settings:

·         In the Church:

The Vat. II document ‘Lumen Gentium’[no. 4]  tells us that the Spirit guides the Church in the way of all truth, and unifies her in her communion and ministry; he [Holy Spirit] instructs and directs her through His varied gifts, both hierarchical and charismatic , and adorns her with His fruits. By the power of the Gospel He enables the Church to keep the freshness of her youth. Constantly He renews her and leads her to perfect unity with her Spouse”. It is the Holy Spirit who gives life and has manifested Himself in history as an unexpected and transforming energy, especially through the prophets, saints, pastors and courageous and inspired guides. In our own times too, we have secure indications of the Spirit animating the Church in the contemporary world.

·         In the World:

The presence and action of the Spirit fills the whole world. In the signs of the times the Church hears his voice; it resounds in human consciences too; and it appears especially in the search for God, in the praiseworthy and disinterested initiatives to promote humanity’s spiritual growth, and in man’s moral sense. All these signs taken together tell us that we are living at a privileged moment of the Spirit.

·         In our own lives:

The third setting of the presence and action of the Spirit is our own life. In Article 22 of our Salesian Constitutions we read, “Each one of us  is called by God to form part of the Salesian Society. Because of this God gives him personal gifts, and by faithful correspondence he finds his way to complete fulfillment in Christ”. We perceive God’s gift drawing us to Himself, and we are attracted by Christ and induced to follow Him radically through our Salesian consecration. Through our religious consecration in Salesian way of life, we publicly declare that we are aware of the divine gift we have received and want to respond to it, and that it harmonizes well with the Salesian charism which we therefore assume as our specific project of life. In Article 25, we read, “the action of the Spirit is for the professed member a lasting source of grace and a support for his daily efforts to grow towards the perfect love of God and men”.

Three Consequences of our Salesian Consecration:

·         Life in the Spirit:

It simply means, ‘holiness’ which forms the core of our project of life. Holiness is not only a choice for moral uprightness or ascetic behaviour, but a way of life in which there shines forth in a special way the mystery of God, an encounter with Christ, which ‘liberates’ us radically and makes us His own.  In Article 25, we are given profound clarity as regards our holiness, “… holiness is the most precious gift we can offer to the young”, and certainly the most powerful and appropriate means for fulfilling our mission.

·         A model in Don Bosco:

We pursue the holiness following the model and the path which the Spirit has shown us in Don Bosco. It becomes indispensable for us, therefore to refer constantly to the Spirit and to the experience which matured in Don Bosco who followed him. In Article 21 we read, “The Lord has given us Don Bosco as father and teacher’.

·         Treading the Path set out in the Constitutions:

In order to educate ourselves to holiness we choose the path set before us in the Salesian Constitutions, that is, all the fundamental experiences of mission, evangelical counsels, community and prayer, which are accepted and lived out as a code of life by a group of persons, viz. the Salesian Congregation, with its spiritual tradition and in its present-day reality. Article 196 tells us, “our living Rule is Jesus Christ, the Saviour announced in the Gospel, who is alive today in the Church, and whom we find present in Don Bosco who devoted his life to the young”.  We know and accept that the Salesian Constitutions as Don Bosco’s will and testament, our book of life, on which we meditate in faith and which we commit ourselves to practice with spiritual sentiments, because for us, the Lord’s disciples, they are a secure way which leads us to love. [Cf. Article 196].

APOSTOLIC CONSECRATION

Our Apostolic Consecration is the basis for defining our identity and renewing our Spirituality. The ‘Vita Consecrata’ reminds us, “at the foundation of religious life lies consecration… the Church thinks of you in the first place as consecrated persons”. Hence, a deeper understanding of our Salesian Consecration is highly significant.

Therefore, in the first place, our Salesian Consecration is not just one element of our life, the vows, but the whole of our life and activity which is placed in a special relationship with God, i.e. centred on Him. It is not just one moment, profession, but the whole flow of life – from the initial call to our continuing response to God.

Secondly, our Consecration is not primarily an effort of man to reach God and become totally his, but God’s initiative and action in the depths of our being, taking us completely for Himself, and inviting our response. It is ‘the meeting of two loves’, our covenant of love with God through our profession, where in God calls, and we respond by giving ourselves totally to Him. God consecrates, and we centre our lives on Him.

As Salesians, our consecration takes on a particular quality since it is God who takes the initiative in calling us and consecrating us but for and within the Apostolic project He gave to Don Bosco, a project in which the service to the young is the typical expression of our belonging totally to God and is intrinsically bound up with our vows and life of communion.  Hence, there is no separation between our consecration and our mission. We are at one and the same time Salesian religious apostles, in every aspect of our lives, in everything we do.

The awareness of our being Salesian consecrated Apostles leads to the following practical consequences, viz.

·         We acquire a correct understanding of our mission, seeing it not simply as activity but as insertion in the Trinitarian mission and in the mission of the Church. In Article 3 we read, “our mission sets the tenor of our whole life; it specifies the task we have in the Church and our place among other religious families”.

·         We come to realize that our interior life or our being rooted in God is an essential condition for an efficacious apostolate.

·         Because of our God-given apostolic project of life, our work of education becomes the place where we live out our consecration and achieve our holiness.

·         Since our apostolic consecration encompasses our whole life, our sufferings too take on a new meaning, when accepted in God or joined to the paschal mystery of Christ, they become a means of salvation.

CHRIST, OUR FUNDAMENTAL OPTION

Through our Salesian consecration, we have made a fundamental option for Christ, who gives meaning to all that we are and all that we do. It is only when we begin from Christ that there is meaning in our kind of life, in our belonging to the Church, in our mission among the young and the working classes, in our educational enterprise, and in our work and the distinctive way we carry it out. And the fundamental option we refer to is the total mystery of Christ, but among its various descriptions, there are some which hold particular appeal for us Salesians, viz.

·         Christ, the Good Shepherd – Christ is the living and existential centre of our consecrated. All consecrated persons focus on Christ, but our specific proclamation of Him has a pedagogical and pastoral sensitivity, we are attracted to this aspect of Christ, the Good Shepherd. It prompts us to be generous in spending ourselves for the young, to make ourselves love, and to be gentle and kind.

·         Christ, the friend of the young – the Gospels describe Christ’s predilection for the young, and Don Bosco drew inspiration from it, and so do we.  We have several references to this in the Scriptures – Mk. 10:21; Lk. 9:46-48; Mt. 19:16-26; Jn. 4:46-54; Lk. 7: 11-15; Jn. 6:1-15 - - Don Bosco’s radical predilection for the young cannot be explained without Jesus Christ. In fact, it has its source and vitality in his following of Christ.

·         Christ, the New Man – Christ is God’s definitive masterpiece, the summit of creation, the perfect Man. He is the image of the invisible God. In solidarity with every man, he overcame sin through his death and resurrection. Now, as the New Man, He is the end or goal of our work of education: we help the young to grow in and after His image. Every person needs Christ and tends towards Him.

·         Christ, the heart of the world and the mystery at work in human history - Christ is the new and definitive reality already present as the supreme goal of history through His Easter victory. This is the Good News we are called to proclaim.  Gaudium et Spes [45] tells us, “Jesus Christ is the goal of human history, the focal point of the desires of history and of civilization, the centre of mankind, the joy of all hearts and the fulfillment of all their aspirations.”

PASTORAL CHARITY

The starting point of Salesian vocation, as we see it embodied in Don Bosco, is a deep love for God directed to poor and abandoned youth. In other words, it is a love with two inseparable poles – God and the Young.

This love or ‘charity’ refers to the love manifested in Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father and Redeemer of mankind, and which the Holy Spirit pours into our hearts when we are baptized.  When that love or ‘charity’, drawing inspiration from Christ, the Good Shepherd, leads us to take part in God’s or Christ’s work of salvation, which now continues in the mission f the Church , we describe it as ‘pastoral’. Pastoral Charity is embodied in the total giving of ourselves. And in this way we manifest Christ’s love for His flock.

But, as Salesian, our pastoral charity has a further distinguishing mark, viz. it is educative. We concern ourselves with the salvation of the young in a special way, and we do it particularly through our work of education. Don Bosco sets us the example of striving for holiness by carrying out the work of education with zeal and an apostolic heart, and we know he was a holy educator.

‘DA MIHI ANIMAS’

The expression that best sums up the pastoral charity of the Salesians is ‘da mihi animas’. It was central to Don Bosco’s project of life and mission. It was always found on the lips of don Bosco and had a decisive influence on his spiritual life. “ I understand that here that you do not do business in money but in souls”, was the response of St. Dominic Savio. The central position given to ‘souls’ has been reaffirmed by successive Rector Majors – Father Rua, Father Albera, and Fr. Rinaldi all commented on it.

The spiritual interpretation of this Biblical passage [da mihi animas] draws a distinction between ‘persons’ and ‘possessions’ or things. As for Don Bosco, he interpreted it against the religious and cultural background of his time, taking the ‘soul’ to refer to the spiritual dimension of the person. Love or Charity focuses on the person, and it has an intuition of his value, especially in the light of the love of God the Father, the redemptive work of Jesus, and the presence of the Spirit. The ‘things’ come afterwards, they are of less worth and have less importance in the process of education. A person is composed of both soul and body and St. Augustine put it, “He is made for God, a thirst for him”. Both these interpretations taken together suggest that we pay attention in the first place to the value of the person, considered as a whole but with a priority given to his spiritual dimension.

And in our daily life the ‘da mihi animas’ calls for a pastoral heart – a willingness, enthusiasm an eagerness to work, a linking for pastoral undertakings, availability, joyful self-donation, steadfastness and an ability to take risks and difficulties in one’s strides; a pastoral sense – a spontaneous movement to care for a person’s salvation; pastoral ability – it means that we refine the  skill of motivating, teaching, animating and sanctifying; and pastoral creativity – it means a mental and practical attitude which enables one to find original solutions to new problems and situations, just like Don Bosco who thought up a plan for street-boys while the parishes were continuing with the catechism classes. Fr. Ceria considers this trait as characteristic of the Salesian spirit.

THE PEDAGOGY OF KINDNESS

Inspired by Charity, Don Bosco bestowed such loving-kindness on his boys that he provoked them to reciprocate. Don Bosco’s continual phrase to his sons was , “see how to make yourself loved”. We have expressions like ‘pedagogical love’, ‘kindness erected into a system’, the gentleness of St. Francis de Sales, and the ‘pedagogy of the heart’. All of them lead back to the Preventive System, and in particular to the cluster of attitudes and practical suggestions which are linked with loving-kindness. And at the bottom of it all is charity.

Salesian Pastoral charity is molded in ‘contact with the young’. His kindness was more than just friendliness. It was first and foremost a matter of an interior attitude, viz. identifying with the kindness of the Father, contemplating the kindness of Christ the Good Shepherd, imitating the motherly solicitude of Mary, and therefore, having a positive and optimistic approach to every youngster. Every youngster, in fact, has within him the imprint of God’s plan of salvation, the promise of a full and happy life for each one. Don Bosco used to say, “there is some point which, if the educator can discover and stimulate it, reacts with generosity”.

But then, Pastoral charity is also a matter of certain patterns of behaviour on the part of the educator:

·         the readiness to take the first step in approaching the young and making them welcome. It has been emphasized that the art of Don Bosco lay precisely here – in making the first contact, removing barriers, and provoking a desire for further encounters.

·         patient dedication in creating an environment where they feel at home – it is rich in humanity, a family where one has a sense of belonging and is helped, and where one has an opportunity for expressing oneself while gradually and happily assimilating the values taught. ‘Assistance’ is the concrete expression of this.

·         Fatherliness – it is yet another unique manifestation of the educative relationship born of kindness. It is more than friendship. It has affectionate and authoritative responsibility, offering vital guidance and teaching, requiring discipline and commitment.

 thank you

paps

Mary, Mother and Teacher

INTRODUCTION

On 1^st January 2002, marking the Solemnity of the Mary, Mother of God, Pope John Paul in his homily had said, “If Jesus is Life, Mary is the Mother of Life. If Jesus is Hope, Mary is the Mother of Hope. If Jesus is Peace, Mary is the Mother of Peace, Mother of the Prince of Peace… Let us ask her to give us Jesus, ‘our full Blessing, in whom the Father blessed all history once and for all’, making it become the history of salvation.”

The above statement of Pope John Paul II succinctly depicts the relationship between Mary and Christ, which is the crux of the salvation of human race. Jesus is God-made-man and Mary is the Woman that God made to be the Mother of His Son here on earth. She is given to us as Mother at the foot of the Cross “…this is your mother” [St. John 19:27], and she is the ‘Mother of all believers’ as Lumen Gentium calls her and in fact she is the Mother of entire human race.

Expounding on that above exhortation of Jesus from the Cross [St. Jn. 19:27], our former Rector Major Fr. Egidio Vigano in his first letter to the Salesian Family, titled as “Mary is renewing the Salesian Family of Don Bosco”, had said, “… we [Salesian Family] need to re-examine closely the reality of Mary’s Spiritual Motherhood and live again the attitude and resolve of that disciple… we must make the evangelist’s [St. John] affirmation our own program of renewal, viz. ‘make a place for Our Lady in our home’”. Our father and founder Don Bosco himself fondly took her as ‘Mother and Teacher’ from the time of his dream at the age of nine and throughout his life implored her intercession as ‘Immaculate Help of Christians’, and to us his sons and daughters in the Salesian Family of the 21^st century, he urges us ‘to contemplate and imitate her’, as delineated in Article-92 of Salesian Constitutions.

 Mary, as Mother of God, had perfectly excelled in her faith and has become ‘Mother of all believers’.  She is Mother, Teacher, Helper and Intercessor for everyone in the journey of faith. We need to ‘contemplate and imitate her’, as Article 92 of our Constitutions exhorts us.

MARY, MOTHER OF GOD [THEOTOKOS]

"Mary, Mother of God" [Theotokos] was solemnly proclaimed at the Council of Ephesus in 431 A.D., when the Council Fathers reaffirmed what the Church had believed from the beginning. Such grounding in faith is in perfect harmony with the other fundamental truths of faith the Church proclaims and adheres to, viz. Jesus Christ, two natures in one Divine Person; and the Blessed Trinity, three Persons yet one God. And similarly, the mystery of the ‘Holy Theotokos’ underlies the whole mystery of our redemption, that is to say, from her conception of Jesus in her womb by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit to our own conception in the womb of the ‘Marian Church’, "until Christ be fully formed in us", as Pope Benedict XVI puts it.

In fact, "Mary, Mother of God" is the greatest and most sublime title that Mary can ever be given. It sums up all that she is, all that she does, and all that she desires. The ‘Catechism of the Catholic Church’ explains that Mary was called in the Gospels as 'the mother of Jesus'" and that she "is acclaimed by Elizabeth, at the prompting of the Holy Spirit and even before the birth of her Son, as 'the mother of my Lord'" (CCC 495). God has a mother and she was chosen by Him before the beginning of time. Blessed John Henry Newman explicates beautifully how Jesus and His mother are intimately connected and one cannot be separated from the other, for she as the ‘Christ-bearer’ [Theotokos], leads us all to her Son Jesus, the King of Heaven and Earth.

Certainly such keen awareness of Mary's exalted character in God's sight, as she perfectly responded in faith to the call of God and kept up that burning hope until the end of her earthly life, enabled  Elizabeth exclaim with wondrous exclamation, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?  Therefore, our inmost hearts should leap for joy whenever we feel the approach of the Mother of our Lord, since we know that she never comes to us alone, without bringing into our lives Jesus, the blessed fruit of her womb, who is as inseparable from her as she is from him. Moreover she is given by her Son Jesus Himself as mother to us all, ‘this is your mother’ [Jn.19:27]. She is blessed because she believed that ‘there would be a fulfillment of what the Lord had spoken to her’ [Lk. 1:45]. She is the perfect model of faith, and Mother of all believers.

MARY, MOTHER OF ALL BELIEVERS

Angel Gabriel uttered the God’s message with the words, “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee!" (Lk 1:28). Those words make up the first phrase of the prayer, ‘Hail Mary’. The second phrase of the prayer comes from a human person, Elizabeth, the cousin of Mary, who exclaimed, "Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb" (Lk 1:42). Commenting on such amazing utterances, St. Bede remarks that Mary "should be honored by angels and by men, and she should indeed be revered above all other women."

It is immensely wonderful to imagine how blessed was Mary that she carried the Incarnate Son in her womb, the Redeemer of the human race. The phrase "blessed art thou among women" is the Jewish way of saying, "You are the most blessed of woman!" And why has Mary been chosen by the Most High to be the mother of the Redeemer? Because of God’s grace and her faithful response to it, a fact that Elizabeth, herself a woman of great faith, recognized: "And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord" (Lk 1:45).

Blessed Virgin Mary and Abraham:

Reflecting on Mary’s faith, the Catechism of the Catholic Church compares Mary to Abraham, who, "because of his faith, became a blessing for all the nations of the earth. Mary, because of her faith, became the mother of believers, through whom all nations of the earth receive Him who is God's own blessing: Jesus, the ‘fruit of thy womb", [CCC - 2676]. This promise of salvation is also reflected in Psalm 72, "May his name be blessed forever; as long as the sun his name shall remain. In him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed; all the nations shall proclaim his happiness."

In the original covenant made with Abraham as narrated in Genesis 12, Abraham is told by God that he will be made a "great nation," that his name will be made great, and he "shall be a blessing" to all the families of the earth. The word "bless" is to be understood as narrated in Scripture in the creation account of the opening chapter of Genesis, which describes God looking upon the creatures of earth, blessing them, and declaring: "Be fruitful and multiply" (Gen 1:22). Then, after creating man, he blessed Adam and Eve and said, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it" (Gen 1:28).

Blessing, then, is intimately connected to the gift of life. In the Old Testament blessings were connected with prosperity, progeny, and promise. Blessings and curses were central to the great covenants made with Abraham, Moses, and David. With Mary, the blessing also involves prosperity, progeny, and promise in a unique way, as her Son Jesus Christ encompasses all of those things and makes them available to all people for the remainder of time. St. Paul writes to us [Rom. 15:8-9], "For I say that Christ became a minister of the circumcised to show God's truthfulness to confirm the promises to the patriarchs, but so that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy". The promises made to Abraham are fulfilled in Mary.

The Second Vatican Council, in its Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, declared that "this union of the Mother with the Son in the work of salvation is made manifest from the time of Christ's virginal conception up to His death it is shown first of all when Mary, arising in haste to go to visit Elizabeth, is greeted by her as blessed because of her belief in the promise of salvation and the precursor leaped with joy in the womb of his mother" (Lumen Gentium, 57). Because of her perfect faith and cooperation with God’s grace, Mary is Mother of God and "mother of men, particularly of the faithful" (LG, 54). Mary is revered because she faithfully said "Yes!" to God and gave birth to the God-man, Jesus and kept up her burning faith in the promises of the Lord throughout her earthly existence. The Church and the entire human race looks up to her as Mother of God and Mother of all believers [Jn. 19:27], and therefore she teaches us, helps us and intercedes for us as shown in the ‘wedding feast at Cana’, We turn to her in our faith journey and in our discipleship to the Lord. 

WEDDING FEAST AT CANA – A TEACHER, HELPER AND INTERCESSOR

The event of ‘Wedding Feast at Cana’ in St. Jn. 2 signifies the unique role of Mother Mary, as Helper, Intercessor and Teacher. The Gospel text goes along five themes:

I.                    The Place that Mother Mary has:

The text says, “There was a wedding at Cana in Galilee and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding.”

We notice that Mary seems to dominate the scene in the wedding feast at Cana, and the presence of Jesus is mentioned only as second. St. Thomas Aquinas, noting this says that at Cana Mary is acting as the “go-between” in arranging a mystical marriage (Cf. Commentary on John, 98; and 2,1, n.336, 338, and 343, 151-152). Hence in a way she almost dominates the scene, and, once the Marriage is arranged, steps back, her final words to us being, “Do whatever he tells you.”

II.                  The Prayer that Mother Mary Makes:

The text says, “When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’”

We notice another central role that Mary has: she is interceding here, she is praying for others to her Son. Three significant qualities exemplify her prayer:

·         Her discernment - She notices the problem, probably even before the groom and bride. Indeed Mothers often notice the needs of their children before they do. But why didn’t Jesus notice? Perhaps he did, and surely as God he knew. But he waits for us to ask. Yes, God waits and expects us to ask. In such expectation and pleading God teaches us that we must learn to depend on Him and learn habitually to bring Him our many needs. The Book of James says, “You have not, because you ask not” [James 4:2].

·         Her diligence – It is explicitly clear that Mary is actually praying to her Son. Rather than fret and be anxious she goes straightway to her Son out of love for the couple ( and us as well) and trust in her Son. She sees the need and gets right to the work of praying, of beseeching her Son.

·         Her deference - Mary does not tell Jesus what to do per se, but simply notes the need: “They have no wine.” She is not directive, as if to say, “Here is my agenda and solution for this problem, follow my plans exactly, just sing here at the bottom of my plan for action.” Rather she simply observes the problem and places it before her Son in confidence. He knows what to do and will decide the best way to handle things.

Thus Mary is a model of prayer for us. The Scriptures teach that Mary is the quintessential woman of prayer, a model of prayer. She not only intercedes for us, she teaches us how to pray.

III.                The Portrait of Mother Mary:

The text says, Woman, how does this concern of yours affect me? My hour has not yet come. His mother said to the servers, “Do whatever he tells you.”

We need to notice three things about this brief dialogue between Mary and Jesus.

·         The Title of Mary - Jesus calls her “Woman.” In Jewish culture a man could well respectfully call a woman “Woman,” but it was unheard of for a Son to call his mother “Woman.” In fact, in the Gospel according to St. John, Jesus always calls his Mother, “Woman” and this in fulfillment of Genesis 3:15 which says I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall crush your head, while you strike at his heel.” And thus Jesus is saying that Mary is this woman who is prophesied. Jesus is actually exalting her: You are the woman who was prophesied. You are she from whose “seed” comes forth the Son destined to destroy the power of Satan.

·         Mary is the new Eve. For Jesus also calls her “Woman” at the foot of the Cross wherein He is the New Adam, Mary is the New Eve, and the tree this time is the Cross. And thus, just as we got into trouble by a man, a woman and tree, so now we get out of trouble by the same path. Adam’s “no” and sin is reversed by Jesus who saves us by his, “Yes.” Eve’s “No” is reversed by Mary’s yes.

·         The Tenacity of Mary - Jesus says to his mother, “What to me and to thee, Woman?” It appears that Jesus is expressing resistance over His mother striving to involve Him in this matter. But Mary does not seem to interpret it as resistance of Jesus, but stays in conversation with Jesus and overcomes the ‘tension’ and we notice her tenacity.

To be tenacious means to hold fast in spite of obstacles or discouragements. It is clear that Mother Mary does not give up, and that she confidently expects the Lord to answer her favorably, “Do whatever he tells you.”

·         The Trust of Mary - She simply departs, telling the stewards, “Do whatever he tells you.” She does not hover. She does not come back and check on the progress of things. She does not seek to control or manipulate the outcome. She simply leaves the scene and leaves it all to Jesus.

IV.               The power of Mary’s prayer:

Whatever his initial concerns regarding Mother Mary’s request, Jesus now goes to work:

Jesus told them, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.” So they took it… “Everyone serves good wine first, and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one; but you have kept the good wine until now.”

From the Gospel narration it appears that Jesus produced almost 150 gallons of the best wine. Mary’s prayer and tenacity have produced abundant results. Sometimes the Lord says wait, only to grant further abundance [Cf. Isaiah 40:31]. Mary is not merely an intercessor for us but also a model for us. We should persevere in prayer and go to the Lord was confident expectation of its abundant response. “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much “[James 5:16].

V.                 The product of Mary’s prayer:

 The text says, Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs at Cana in Galilee and so revealed his glory and his disciples began to believe in him.

The narration in the Gospel mentions towards the end that many began to believe in the Lord this day on account of this miracle. Mary’s essential role is to lead many souls to a deeper union with her Son. And having led us, she instructs us, “Do whatever he tells you.” She continued to hold up Christ for us to see throughout her life and at the foot of the Cross after He is taken down.

Mary has a special role in helping to initiate our faith and in helping by God’s grace to enable Christ to be born in us and continues to assist us as the ‘Help of Christians’.

MARY, HELP OF CHRISTIANS – ‘WE CONTEMPLATE AND IMITATE HER’ [C-92]

Immaculate Mary, the Help of Christians:

Our beloved Rector Major, Fr. Pascual Chavez in his AGC – 414 written in 2012 [on the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary], asks us, “can we not therefore in an analogous manner maintain that the Assumption of Mary marks the beginning of her protection and of her maternal help on behalf of all Christians, indeed of all men and women in the world?

“Immaculate Help of Christians” is the title with which Don Bosco continually honored Mary. He expressed it to Fr. Cagliero, "the Madonna wishes us to honour her under the title of "Help of Christians"; the times are so sad that we have real need of the most holy Virgin's assistance in preserving and defending the Christian faith". He affirms emphatically of the motherly intervention of Mary at the beginning and early development of our Congregation continues throughout history.

In the same letter of AGC-414, Rector Major outlines the disturbing problems, evil and the ‘culture of death’ present in the contemporary society and poses serious threat to the Church and to Salesian Mission as well, he underscores that Mother Mary, as a woman stands out as shining example. He explicates that ‘Mary Immaculate Help of Christians’ shows us the field of our mission and continues to guide and support us in carrying it out.  He poses a question, “what would Don Bosco do today?” and he suggests the answer of Don Bosco himself, “If you have loved me in the past, continue to love me in the future by the exact observance of our Constitutions". And it is in the Salesian Constitutions that the significant role of Mary is highlighted especially in Articles 8 and 92.

In Article 8 we read, “…we believe that Mary is present among us and continues her mission as Mother of the Church and Help of Christians, we entrust ourselves to her, the humble servant in whom the Lord has done great things, that we may become witnesses to the young of her Son’s boundless love”. Therefore, Mary is the Madonna of Don Bosco and continues to be our Madonna in the present age, and when we entrust ourselves to her, she guides us, “do whatever He tells you" (Jn. 2:5) and we shall become servants of the young to ensure for them joy and the fullness of life in God.

We contemplate and imitate her [C-92]:

In Article 92 we read, “Mary Mother of God… is the model of prayer and pastoral love, the teacher of wisdom and guide of our family; we contemplate and imitate her faith, her concern for the needy, her fidelity at the hour of the cross, and her joy at the wonders wrought by the Father…”

 In the same letter of AGC – 414, Rector Major elaborates how we need to ‘contemplate and imitate her’ by explicating on the two dogmas, viz. the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption, through which God the Father had accomplished wonderful things in her life.         He says,

·         “We have to think that "God chose us (in Christ) before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him in love" (Eph 1,4); and that the Assumption of Mary constitutes "a sign of sure hope and solace for the pilgrim people of God" (cf. LG 68): in her is fully fulfilled what God wants to accomplish in us in a similar way”.

The Article 92 exhorts us: “we develop a strong filial devotion to her”. It is not mere sentimental attachment and that it not only implies our tenderness to Mary, ‘Mother Most amiable’, but also our courage in imitating her in her complete dedication to the will of God. The Article ends with ‘we recite the rosary each day and celebrate her feasts to encourage a more convinced and personal imitation’, so as to continually become her sons in Christ, and she leads us to the fullness of our offering to the Lord and gives us courage in our Mission. She infuses hope in us.

“Spe Salvi”:

In his Encyclical ‘Spe Salvi’ [Hope] Benedict XVI wonderfully unravels the hope exhibited by Mary:

“… when Jesus began his public ministry, you had to step aside, so that a new family could grow, the family which it was his mission to establish and which would be made up of those who heard his word and kept it [cf. Lk 11:27]. In this way you saw the growing power of hostility and rejection which built up around Jesus until the hour of the Cross, when you had to look upon the Saviour of the world, the heir of David, the Son of God dying like a failure, exposed to mockery, between criminals. The sword of sorrow pierced your heart. Did hope die? In this faith, which even in the darkness of Holy Saturday bore the certitude of hope, you made your way towards Easter morning. Thus you remain in the midst of the disciples as their Mother, as the Mother of hope. Holy Mary, Mother of God, our Mother, teach us to believe, to hope, to love with you”.

CONCLUSION

The words of Mary in her Magnificat, "from henceforth all generations will call me blessed" [Lk. 1:48] are of immense joy, a prophecy and a charge laid upon the Church for all times, for she is ‘the Mother of all believers’ and Mother who infuses and teaches us to Hope. Commenting on this phrase from the Magnificat, Pope Benedict writes,

“The Church invented nothing new of her own when she began to extol Mary; the Church does what she must; she carries out the task assigned her from the beginning. While writing this text, Luke the Evangelist was already among the second generation of Christianity, where Jews had been joined by that of the Gentiles, who had been incorporated into the Church of Jesus Christ. The expression "all generations, all families" was beginning to be filled with historical reality. The Evangelist would certainly not have transmitted Mary's prophecy if it had seemed to him an indifferent or obsolete item. He wished in his Gospel to record "with care" what "the eyewitnesses and ministers of the word" (Lk 1:2-3) had handed on from the beginning, in order to give the faith of Christianity, which was then striding onto the stage of world history, a reliable guide for its future course.”

Our Rector Major, Fr. Pascual Chavez in the letter as mentioned above AGC-414 of August 2012

“Mary, as Mother and Teacher, not only reminds us of the dream at nine years of age and her presence in the life of Don Bosco, but goes much further… refers to the fundamental mission of Mary as Mother and Teacher of Jesus, the Son of God made man. Just as Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit brought to the light the Saviour, so also she brings to the light each one of us [Salesians] by the power of the same Spirit, as educators and pastors of the young.”

Thank you,

Paps