HOMILY FOR FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY NAME OF MARY

 

HOMILY FOR THE FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY NAME OF MARY SEPTEMEBR 12

Galatians 4:4-7 Or Ephesians 1:3-6,11-12; Luke 1:46-55; Luke 1:39-47

CELEBRATING THE MOST BEAUTIFUL NAME

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are reminded that we are marking another celebration of Mary, the Mother of God, after her Nativity celebrations just a few days ago. Today we mark the celebration of her Most Holy Name, the name that even the devil and other demons and evil spirits fear, for this is the name of the Woman through whom the salvation of the whole world had come from, in the person of Jesus Christ her Son, the Lord and Saviour of all the whole world. Through Mary, her obedience to God and active participation in the works of the salvation of God, the Lord had made our salvation into a tangible reality.

Today, we are celebrating the Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Christian name Mary, have a Hebrew origin, which means The Beautiful. Indeed, Mother Mary is as a beautiful blooming flower of the Lord God who has and continues to manifest endless favours upon her. The devotion to Jesus through Mary has been progressive throughout the entire history of the Holy Catholic Church. While some members of the Church have written about the Blessed Virgin Mary prior to the fourth century, it was not until then that her name had become rather popular among the Christian community.

Moving ahead in history, in 1683 AD, Vienna was besieged by an army of 550,000 Turkish invaders who had reached the city walls and threatened all of Europe. John Sobieski, the King of Poland, a religious prince, came to the assistance of Vienna with a smaller army on the octave of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. After serving the priest during the celebration of the Holy Mass and having received Holy Communion, he rose against the enemy by stating, Let us march with confidence under the protection of Heaven and with the aid of the Most Holy Virgin! At the approach of King John and his army, the Turks were struck with a sudden fear and they fled in complete disorder. 

Following this great victory under the auspice of our heavenly Mother, in the Fall of 1683 A.D., Pope Innocent XI ordered that the feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary be celebrated each year by the universal Church as a perpetual memorial of the victory of King John Sobieski of Poland against the enemy at Vienna, Austria. The purpose of this feast is to remind the faithful to recommend to God on this day, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, all the necessities of the Church while giving thanks to God for His gracious protection and numberless mercies. Since those days, this special Feast of Mary has been celebrated during the octave of the Nativity of Our Lady.

Referring to the powerful intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Richard of St. Laurence stated, there is not such powerful help in any name, nor is there any other name given to men, after that of Jesus, from which so much salvation is poured forth upon men as from the name of Mary that the devout invocation of this sweet and holy name leads to the acquisition of superabundant graces in this life, and a very high degree of glory in the next.

Today, when we consider the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception that was proclaimed in 1854 by Pope Pius IX, we can now perceive why God had sent His Spirit to guide the Holy Catholic Church towards the granting of great honours to the Most Holy Name of Mary. According to this Dogma, The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Saviour of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin”. (Inneffabilis Deus 1854, cited in the Catechism of the Catholic Church # 491)

The Blessed Virgin Mary achieved perfection where the first Eve had failed. As the Second Eve, the Blessed Virgin Mary, was elevated by God as the spiritual mother of mankind. These honours, and the many more that have been bestowed upon the Blessed Virgin Mary leave no doubt in the mind of Catholics that her Most Holy Name, Mary, the Beautiful one, a name that has been elevated higher than all human beings and angels, is the fountain of superabundant graces that shower upon us sinners from the Throne of God.

So powerful is the Most Holy Name of Mary, that it is said that the devils fear the Queen of heaven to such a degree, that only on hearing her great name pronounced, they fly from those who seek her help as from a burning fire.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Letter of Paul to the Church and the faithful in Galatia or Ephesus, with regards to the coming of the salvation of this world in Jesus Christ, Son of God, who assumed the likeness and the tangible reality of human flesh by the will of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, and borne into this world through the womb of His mother Mary, who therefore became the Mother of God. Through the obedience of Mary and her faith in the Lord, and her willingness to follow the will and commandments of God, and by entrusting herself totally to the Lord, she has actively participated therefore in the works of the salvation of God. Mary has brought the Saviour Himself into this world.

The perfect obedience which she had shown to the Lord and to all of us was indeed the perfect contrast with what the devil managed to get our ancestors to do, in disobeying the commands of the Lord and in causing our ancestors, both Adam and Eve, to succumb to the temptations of their pride and desire. The devil, Satan, the great enemy tempted man with the temptations of knowledge, glory and power, by saying that should they eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, then they would become like God Himself, knowing all things good and evil. This allure for knowledge, power and glory was too much for them.

However, the devil could not have his way with Mary, who humbly submitted to the will of God, listening to Him and obeying Him wholeheartedly, just as she said to the Lord through the Archangel Gabriel, I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done unto me according to Your Word. This is the solemn profession of her faith, commitment and dedication by which Mary showed that she is truly one worthy of bearing the Messiah, the Saviour of the whole world. This while our ancestors rebelled against God, and while Eve succumbed to the temptations of Satan in disobeying the words of God, Mary as the New Eve obeyed the Lord perfectly and completely. 

This is why Satan feared Mary so much, just as he feared her Son all the more. Satan feared Mary because he was unable to have his way with her, and he was unable to tempt her, being one that is full of the grace of God and full of love and obedience to Him, full of commitment to her Son, following Him throughout His life and ministry, even right up to the foot of His Cross. Mary showed us all what a true believer and follower of God should do, in following the commandments of the Lord and in doing the will of God. Through her faith and humble obedience, Mary has struck fear to the heart of the devil and the other evil spirits.

In accordance with Jewish custom the parents of Our Lady named her eight days after her birth. In the litany of the divine praises, which we pray at benediction, the church proclaims, Blessed be the name of Mary, Virgin and Mother. We show honor to the name of Mary, because no doubt, Our Lord himself honored his mother. And so we honor the name of our mother, Mary, mother of all Christians, holiest of creatures, the queen of heaven and earth.

When we pronounce her name, we affirm her power, we implore her aid, and place ourselves under her protection.  And we should pronounce her name, often: in times of temptation to seek her aid in confronting sin; in times of trial and difficulty to seek her help and prayers in bearing our cross; and like a child pointing out something delightful or beautiful to his mother, pronouncing her name in times of joy and thanksgiving throughout the day.  When we speak her name with love, we imitate our Lord Jesus.

The directives for the liturgy instruct us to bow our heads in reverence at the name of Jesus, at the name of Mary, and at the name of the Saint of the Day when they are mentioned in the prayers of the liturgy.  It is a privilege to know and to be able to call upon with Love the name of Mary.  At her name demons flee and angels rejoice.

PRAYER Lord, we ask that through the gifts of Your Holy Spirit, we may work for the true community of believers, and also loving our Mother Mary as we suppose to. Through the same Christ Our Lord. AMEN

O DIVINE WORD, WHO TOOK FLESH FOR HUMAN SAKE, REDEEM US IN OUR SITUATION

© Rev Fr Utazi Prince Marie Benignus