Memorial of Saint Teresa of Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church

 Lectionary: 470

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.

Pope Saint John Paul II opened my heart to the song of Ephesians with his encyclical about the Blessed Mother, Redemptoris Mater; and also rescued me from a Protestant's unease about the Virgin Mother of God. 

The Pope cited passages of this song to celebrate the Mercy shown to Mary the Mother of the Redeemer. 

• In her Magnificat, Mary blesses "the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" for the great things he has done for her, and the greater things he has done through her. 
• She has been uniquely blessed in Christ as she heard and welcomed the Word who became flesh within her womb; that is...
• "...with every spiritual blessing in the heavens." because her Son is "the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation." (Colossians 1:15)
• As the Immaculate Conception, she was chosen and predestined "before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him."
• And she was kept safe from sin through the grace of immaculation, as Saint Maximilian called it. She grew from strength to strength by her consistent compliance to God's will. She wanted what God wanted, regardless of the cost to herself. That lifelong willingness is evident from the moment of Gabriel's announcement to her appearances on Calvary and the Upper Room. 
• Although she was a natural descendant of Abraham, Mary was adopted by her own son into the family of Christ, which comprised both Jews and gentiles. 
• This is a new religion like the world has never seen or imagined. It is based on the principle that, regardless of family, sept, clan, or nationality, the baptized belong in a particular way to the Lord. 
• This mysterious new thing, the Church, existed "before the foundation of the world;" but is now revealed through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 
• We see it's first appearances in the presence of the beloved disciple and the mother of Jesus on Calvary, in Saint John's Gospel. Rather than "he surrendered" his spirit to the Father, as the Synoptic Gospels say, he handed his spirit over to this seminal church. 
• And in Saint Luke's Acts of the Apostles, as the Holy Spirit descended upon Mary and the disciples. 
• She is "holy and without blemish;" she is the Church. Within herself she preserves the holiness and sinlessness which is given to us all, despite our persistent sins. The world may see and hear of dreadful sins committed by Christian saints and sinners of every rank and denomination, but the Church remains "holy and without blemish" in Mary. The Mother of God is the guarantor of the endless mercy of God which we have seen in his resurrection. 
• From our conception in our mother's wombs and in God's mind, we have been,
• destined... for adoption to [God] through Jesus Christ,
  in accord with the favor of his will,
• ... and not through any act of piety, act, or privilege of our own. 
• This is entirely God's will and our response must be obedient gratitude... and 
• for the praise of the glory of his grace
  that he granted us in the beloved. 

This song from Paul's Letter to the Ephesians is endlessly fascinating, beautiful, and delightful. Having read the Sainted Pontiff's encyclical about Mary, I have found my place and my assurance in the Church all the more wonderful. The Blessing she received is given to us, and we should raise no ifs-ands-or-buts about it. Our response is grateful praise of God, in union with the martyrs, saints, angels, and Mary the Mother of God.