Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Yesterday we celebrated the Sacred Heart of Jesus. We reflected on the powerful realization that Jesus loves us no matter what. Today we reflect on the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The heart has long been the symbol and center of a person’s most profound thoughts and desires. What the heart reflects on, there rests our greatest hope and desire. In this understanding, our Gospel encourages us to consider Mary’s interior life and her “keeping all these things in her heart.”
Mary endured many joys and sorrows but never wavered in her single-hearted trust in God. In contrast, we are often divided due to sin, struggling to maintain peace and trust in the face of adversity. We might be tempted to feel distant from Her experience; we are far from possessing the immaculateness of Mary. Yet, precisely the immaculateness of her heart allows her to be close to us. In pondering us “in her heart,” Mary shows us that her desire is that we be held in love by the Father and Son and a mother. Mary desires what she knew and experienced: the utter joy of being loved by God.
Let us be held in the Heart of Mary so that we, too, can know the utter joy of being loved by God.
Reflection by Fr. Etienne Huard, OSB
Posted in Articles for Ordinary Time, Daily Reflections