Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ
with every spiritual blessing in the heavens,
as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world,
to be holy and without blemish before him.
My eyes were opened to the song of Ephesians 1:2-14 when I read Redemptoris Mater by Pope Saint John Paul II, which I recommend to everyone. I was so enthusiastic about his applying each verse of the passage to the Blessed Mother, that when I told a Bible study group about it, one woman asked, "Do you think this passage might apply to all Christians also?"
I had momentarily forgotten Saint Paul's original intent, that the song is indeed about the favors God bestowed on the Church. But I still get a little starry eyed when I think of the Virgin and this song.
Saint Francis nailed it in his address to the Mother,
"You are the daughter and handmaid of the Most High Sovereign King, the Heavenly Father, Mother of our Most Holy Lord Jesus Christ, and Spouse of the Holy Spirit."
With these four amazing titles, Francis described the three-fold physical relationship she enjoyed with God, similar to that of Christians through Baptism and Eucharist, and Jews through circumcision. She is immersed and embraced by the Trinity; and as I was reminded by the woman in the Bible group, so are we.
Saint John described the intensely personal, physical relationship in similar terms:
On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you. (John 14:20)
and:
I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. (John 17:20-21)
This is that elusive, powerful mystery described in the the Book of Leviticus which seems so utterly unattainable: Be holy for I the Lord your God am holy.
It is certainly unattainable and yet it is a gift which God insistently gives to the Church. Like so many troubles unearned and undeserved, God showers this unearned, undeserved grace upon us. We haven't dared to ask for it, we have been stricken with a sense of unworthiness, and yet the Lord wills it.
An awareness of such blessedness should, I suppose, hush us in the public square. Anyone who would make such a claim has obviously lost it; and those who have it, claim it neither privately nor in public. As the Buddhists say, "Those who know do not say; those who say do not know."
In the same encyclical, the Pope remembered the Virgin's private life, especially in three verses from Saint Luke's Gospel:
1:29 But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
2:19 And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.
2:51 He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart.
By her reflecting on what she saw and heard Mary teaches us how to receive the holiness of God. We dare not speak of it anymore than we might pronounce the Holy Name of God, the Tetragrammaton, a word which never appears in the New Testament, which Jesus never said aloud.
Rather we keep all these things in our hearts even as we joyfully announce the Resurrection of the Lord.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.