Yesterday was Sunday, April 6th. April 6th is typically Saint Dominic Savio's feast day. But, because it was Sunday, Sundays take presidence over saintly memorials. So, does this mean that we have to wait ALL the way until next year to honor Saint Dominic Savio? Well, for some, yes. But for us Salesians, we see Dominic as one of the most vivid fruits of St. John Bosco's system. We say that this feast is too important to pass up. So, we moved the feast to today in order to give Saint Dominic Savio all of our love and affection, that we might learn to give our lives completely to the Blessed Mother as he did at such a young age.
In today's society we don't hear much about good role models. In fact, we hear more about Snooki and The Situation then we hear about saints. This past Saturday there was a consistory held in St. Peter's Basilica in The Vatican. Archbishop of New York, Timothy Cardinal Dolan, was elevated to the rank of Cardinal Priest. With this new position for the jovial Cardinal of New York comes a slew of new responsibilities. Among them have yet to be decided, but the single greatest responsibility of the College of Cardinals is to elect a Pope after the reigning Pope dies.
But I digress, the title of this post is holiness. When Cardinal Dolan was interviewed he was asked what aspirations were most important to him he answered like this:
The man wants to be a SAINT! That is after all the highest calling in the Christian life.
I had the pleasure of meeting Cardinal Dolan, (then Archbishop Dolan) at a Catholic Underground event in Manhattan back in December of 2011. He was presiding at Evening Prayer and Adoration. It struck me, at the time that the Magnificat was sung, The then Archbishop walked out from his chair, all with a smile, gazing at the people in the congregation he had a smile. It was a very pensive/ contemplative smile. I think that it was an intense prayer for the people of and in his Archdiocese, of whom he is the Chief Shepherd.
Durning the adoration portion of the evening, Cardinal Dolan was on a kneeler before the Blessed Sacrament and he was in deep prayer. As I gazed upon the Archbishop's face I saw a look of pain, worry, and pressure. He was deep in prayer for the people of his Archdiocese. After a period of prayer he got up, took off his cope, and walked over to a near by priest who was hearing confessions and he went to confession. It was a truly inspiring experience to watch the Archbishop pray and connect with God. I saw a human side to the Archbishop in that period and I saw the joy that he has as well as his striving for holiness. He wants to be a saint. So should all of us.
...than the persons that gather in these structures.
It's more...
...than this earth...
...and the things...
...this world tries to offer.
It is...
...the Communion of Saints.
It is...
...a person: the stainless Bride.
She is...
...the Blessed Virgin Mary.
And how beautiful She is...
...when She stands up for Herself.
Today, more than ever, let us claim our Brideship. We are everything. And everyone. We are the present. We are the Church. We are one body, though we are made up of many parts (cf. 1 Cor. 12:12-13). Whatever our part is, whatever our place may be, let us unite ourselves to the Body this day. Let us stand as one!
To close with the words of our late Holy Father, Blessed John Paul II, I urge you, brothers and sisters: "Be not afraid."
"Do not be afraid to go out on the streets and into public places, like the first Apostles who preached Christ and the Good News of salvation in the squares of cities, towns and villages. This is no time to be ashamed of the Gospel (cf. Rom 1:16). It is the time to preach it from the rooftops (cf. Mt 10:27). Do not be afraid to break out of comfortable and routine modes of living, in order to take up the challenge of making Christ known in the modern ``metropolis''. It is you who must ``go out into the byroads'' (Mt 22:9) and invite everyone you meet to the banquet which God has prepared for his people. The Gospel must not be kept hidden because of fear or indifference. It was never meant to be hidden away in private. It has to be put on a stand so that people may see its light and give praise to our heavenly Father (cf. Mt 5:15-16)."
Homily of Pope John Paul II at Cherry Creek State Park, Denver, Colorado, on the Feast of the Assumption, 1993.
Today, we celebrate the most blessed Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mother! What a blessed day this is for the Church and the Congregation of the Salesians of Don Bosco. It is important to the Salesians for many reasons, including the founding of the mission of the Salesians.
What is it that we can do today? What does this mean for us? Today, we can give completely of ourselves to the Blessed Virgin. We can give her everything--our successes, our failures, our weaknesses, our strengths, our humiliations, our reputations. We give all to her, that she might use them at her disposal. It is in this way that we become unified to the Most Sacred Heart, for she is who so intimately united to the Lord's Heart allows us into hers. It is a beautiful thing. Today, may be be reminded of all those persons in our lives that have given their fiat, their 'yes,' in order that we might live and live abundantly. That in itself is a reason for rejoicing!
May you enjoy the great veneration of Mary through the communion of saints below:
AN EXCEPT FROM THE HOLY MASS ON THE OCCASION OF THE 150th ANNIVERSARY
OF THE DOGMA OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
HOMILY OF JOHN PAUL II
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Wednesday, 8 December 2004
"In the hymn of the Letter to the Ephesians just now proclaimed, the Apostle praises God the Father "who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" (1: 3). What a special blessing God addressed to Mary from the beginning of time! Mary was truly blessed among women (cf. Lk 1: 42)!
The Father chose her in Christ before the creation of the world, so that she might be holy and immaculate before him in love, preordaining her as the first fruits of filial adoption through the work of Jesus Christ (cf. Eph 1: 4-5).
The predestination of Mary, like that of each one of us, is linked to the predestination of the Son.Christ is that "seed" that was "to bruise the head" of the ancient serpent, according to the Book of Genesis (cf. Gn 3: 15); he is the Lamb "without blemish" (cf. Ex 12: 5; I Pt 1: 19), immolated to redeem humanity from sin.
With a view to the saving death of the Son, Mary, his Mother, was preserved free from original sin and from every other sin. The victory of the new Adam also includes that of the new Eve, Mother of the redeemed. The Immaculate Virgin is thus a sign of hope for all the living who have triumphed over Satan by the blood of the Lamb (cf. Rv 12: 11).
Today let us contemplate the humble young girl of Nazareth, holy and blameless before God in love (cf. Eph 1: 4), in that "love" whose original source is God himself, one and triune.
How sublime an act of the Most Holy Trinity is the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of the Redeemer! Pius IX, in the Bull Ineffabilis Deus, recalls that the Almighty "by one and the same decree had established the origin of Mary and the Incarnation of divine Wisdom" (Pii IX Pontificis Maximi Acta, Pars prima, p. 559).
The Virgin's "yes" to the announcement of the Angel fits into the reality of our earthly condition, with humble respect for the divine will to save humanity not from history but in history. Indeed, ever preserved free from all taint of original sin, the "new Eve" benefited uniquely from the work of Christ as the most perfect Mediator and Redeemer. The first to be redeemed by her Son, she shares to the full in his holiness; she is already what the entire Church desires and hopes to be. She is the eschatological icon of the Church.
Consequently the Immaculate Virgin, who marks "the very beginning of the Church, Bride of Christ, without spot or wrinkle, shining with beauty" (Preface), always precedes the People of God in the pilgrimage of faith, bound for the Kingdom of Heaven (cf.Lumen Gentium, n. 58; Redemptoris Mater, n. 2)."
AN EXCEPT FROM THE
HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Thursday, 8 December 2005
"The person who turns to God does not become smaller but greater, for through God and with God he becomes great, he becomes divine, he becomes truly himself. The person who puts himself in God's hands does not distance himself from others, withdrawing into his private salvation; on the contrary, it is only then that his heart truly awakens and he becomes a sensitive, hence, benevolent and open person.
The closer a person is to God, the closer he is to people. We see this in Mary. The fact that she is totally with God is the reason why she is so close to human beings.
For this reason she can be the Mother of every consolation and every help, a Mother whom anyone can dare to address in any kind of need in weakness and in sin, for she has understanding for everything and is for everyone the open power of creative goodness.
In her, God has impressed his own image, the image of the One who follows the lost sheep even up into the mountains and among the briars and thornbushes of the sins of this world, letting himself be spiked by the crown of thorns of these sins in order to take the sheep on his shoulders and bring it home.
As a merciful Mother, Mary is the anticipated figure and everlasting portrait of the Son. Thus, we see that the image of the Sorrowful Virgin, of the Mother who shares her suffering and her love, is also a true image of the Immaculate Conception. Her heart was enlarged by being and feeling together with God. In her, God's goodness came very close to us.
Mary thus stands before us as a sign of comfort, encouragement and hope. She turns to us, saying: "Have the courage to dare with God! Try it! Do not be afraid of him! Have the courage to risk with faith! Have the courage to risk with goodness! Have the courage to risk with a pure heart! Commit yourselves to God, then you will see that it is precisely by doing so that your life will become broad and light, not boring but filled with infinite surprises, for God's infinite goodness is never depleted!".
On this Feast Day, let us thank the Lord for the great sign of his goodness which he has given us in Mary, his Mother and the Mother of the Church. Let us pray to him to put Mary on our path like a light that also helps us to become a light and to carry this light into the nights of history. Amen."
“The greatest saints, those richest in grace and virtue will be the most assiduous in praying to the most Blessed Virgin, looking up to her as the perfect model to imitate and as a powerful helper to assist them.”
--Saint Louis Marie de Montfort
“Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did.”
--Saint Maximilian Kolbe
"Mary having co-operated in our redemption with so much glory to God and so much love for us, Our Lord ordained that no one shall obtain salvation except through her intercession." --St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori
"In dangers, in doubts, in difficulties, think of Mary, call upon Mary. Let not her name depart from your lips, never suffer it to leave your heart. And that you may obtain the assistance of her prayer, neglect not to walk in her footsteps. With her for guide, you shall never go astray; while invoking her, you shall never lose heart; so long as she is in your mind, you are safe from deception; while she holds your hand, you cannot fall; under her protection you have nothing to fear; if she walks before you, you shall not grow weary; if she shows you favor, you shall reach the goal." --Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Father and Doctor of the Church
"Mary, give me your Heart: so beautiful, so pure, so immaculate; your Heart so full of love and humility that I may be able to receive Jesus in the Bread of Life and love Him as you love Him and serve Him in the distressing guise of the poor."--Blessed Mother Teresa
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee.
