July 19, 2003
Dear Friends in Christ,
In the Gospel for this Mass, we have heard recounted, that occasion when our Lord spoke the words: “Who is my mother and who are my brethren?…whoever does the will of my Father in heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother.” One of the things many people forget when quoting this passage is the gesture that precedes the words- the gesture “stretching forth his hands towards his disciples…”
We can all take great comfort and find peace in the fact, that by virtue of our Baptism, and by the reality of the lives we live, lives dedicated to finding and to following the will of God, we can believe that we are disciples of the Lord, and that we are a part of His family – a part of that same love shown Him by those who knew Him – His mother, the men and women of His immediate family, and all those who chose to follow Him. And when we see, in the vision that comes with prayer and from our faith, the Lord stretch out His hands towards us, to embrace us within His family, His Church, just beyond those hands, just behind His shoulder, we also see, the face of His Blessed Mother, the face of Mary, who looks through her Son, and into us, with eyes of patience, and compassion, and concern for all our needs. For when Christ identified those who do the will of God as being the members of His family, who else but His mother would have been first in His mind, since her act of obedience, was the most wonderful, the most miraculous acceptance of the will of the Father in all of human history? This is the first lesson of the Gospel appointed for this Mass, and it is a lesson always on the minds of those who follow the charism of our Lady of Schoenstatt, for the dynamic of your association is just this: that the model of Mary is the perfect ideal to follow, if we are to find the will of God, and if we are to carry out His will in the manner desired by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
But there is a second lesson to be learned form this Gospel, and a lesson that characterizes the efforts of the Schoenstatt League in a way similar to the first – and it is the lesson of loyalty.
This story from the Gospel does not only tell us of the obedience of our Lady, and of her life as a standard of discipleship – the story also illustrates her loyalty to our Lord – her loyalty to the Son she had raised, the Son who she would continue to follow, up to the cross, and into the glory beyond the cross. The presence of our Lady in the Gospels is limited to just a few occasions – but those occasions indicate that she was always nearby to Jesus – during His childhood, throughout His public ministry, and then, at the end of His earthly life, and the beginning of His life through the Holy Spirit, the life of His Mystical Body, the life of the Church which we form.
Our Lady's loyalty – her steadfast obedience, her growing awareness of the mission of her Son and the Son of God, and her determination to remain, not just spiritually, but physically close to our Lord – all these are lessons for us – lessons for us to apply to our own lives, as we seek to grow in our relationship to Jesus Christ – as we seek to become more like Him – as we draw near to His presence in the Eucharist - and as we fulfill that desire which is the greatest of our souls - to gain eternal life, and be a part of the eternal family whom God calls His disciples.
Twenty-five years of faithful attendance upon the activities of the Schoenstatt League is a good indication, that these lessons have been taken to heart by all who have made themselves a part of the covenant of love we celebrate at this Mass. The two priests who have faithfully guided the members – and the members themselves, who have been and are ever solicitous for one another's welfare.
Dear friends, these two lessons – of being a part of the Lord's family, and of maintaining a constant loyalty to Him and to one another, are more important in this world than ever before. Elsewhere in this Gospel, Christ speaks of the man who roams the dry places, seeking rest, and finding none – and He tells of the man returning to his home, with none to keep him company, but evil spirits – and that, our Lord says, is what constitutes “this evil generation.” It was as a sign against this generation, the generation of the worldly, the generation of those who reject the life of the Gospel and the ways of God, that our Lord stretched out His hand towards the disciples, and made it clear for all to see, exactly who was – exactly who is , His family.
Let us ask the Holy Spirit, at this Mass and in all our prayers, first, to keep us safe within this family, the Church – let us ask that our love for one another only increase, and grow closer, as did our Lady's love for her Son, Jesus Christ. And let us also ask, that by the example of associations of the Faith, like the Schoenstatt League, those people who still roam the world, seeking happiness in the dryness of worldly things, but never finding rest – let us ask, that by our example, they may see the better life, the life we already share, filled with the same welcoming love that was shared among our Lord, His Mother, and the Disciples - and that they may enter into our family, and find the rest they seek.
Some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus, "Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you."
He said to them in reply, "An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.
At the judgment, the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and there is something greater than Jonah here.
At the judgment the queen of the south will arise with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and there is something greater than Solomon here.
"When an unclean spirit goes out of a person it roams through arid regions searching for rest but finds none.
Then it says, 'I will return to my home from which I came.' But upon returning, it finds it empty, swept clean, and put in order.
Then it goes and brings back with itself seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they move in and dwell there; and the last condition of that person is worse than the first. Thus it will be with this evil generation."
While he was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers appeared outside, wishing to speak with him.
(Someone told him, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with you.")
But he said in reply to the one who told him, "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?"
And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers.
For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother."
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