Homily: June 6, 2022, Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church

-

 According to St. John’s gospel, Jesus’ last words before He died is: “It is finished.” 

What is finished?

I did my Theology and post graduate studies in Rome, at the seminary Pontificio Collegio Internazionale Maria Mater Ecclesiae, the name means ‘Mary, Mother of the Church’. Outside the chapel, there was a beautiful mosaic image of the Blessed Virgin Mary. For six years I walked in and out of that place daily, I must have seen it more than two thousand times, yet all through those years, I had never stopped to appreciate that image or to reflect deeper about it. I was oblivious to Mary’s presence in my life.

But now as I look back, I can see how she has always been there for me. Mother Mary must have been looking at me as I walked in and out of the college struggling through my studies and difficulties, waiting to comfort me. I was not aware, but she was watching out for me, all the time.

Mary, Mother of the church, like all good and loving mothers, has always been in our lives, she has always been in the life of church.

At the annunciation, Mary’s ‘yes’ to God made her the spouse of the Holy Spirit, she became the mother of God the Son. At the wedding feast in Cana, Mary requested Jesus to ‘save the day’ for the bridal couple, she was and continues to be the intercessor for all our daily needs. In today’s first reading, we see the disciples ‘devoted themselves with one accord to prayer’ in the upper room with ‘Mary the mother of Jesus’ on the day of Pentecost. 

And in the Gospel, the passage specially chosen for today’s feast, we see Mary at the foot of the cross, contemplating the mystery of the suffering and death of her divine Son, Jesus. It was at that moment, that Mary became the Mother of the Church.

“Woman, behold your son…behold your mother.”

“It is finished.”

The original phrase in Latin is Consummatum est, which means ‘it is consummated’. The marriage is consummated, completed, two has become one, the relationship between Christ and His Church is brought to fruition. Jesus’ mission on earth is accomplished, finished, upon giving His mother to His disciples, His church.

In His coming, Jesus gave the world the gift of salvation. In His leaving, He gave all who believe in Him the gift of His mother.

From the womb to the tomb, she was there with Jesus. From Jesus’ leaving till His next coming, Mary will be here with His church. Nurturing, protecting, guiding us to Jesus. She is always watching over us, are we aware?

Mary, Mother of the Church, pray for us!

Fr. Nivin Scaria 


Comments

Post a Comment

Read

March 1, 2025: First Holy Communion Homily: St. Joseph's Catholic Church Seffner, Florida

-
Did you listen attentively to the Gospel reading? Yes? Let me test you… What did Jesus say? Did He say, “Whoever eats my bread and drinks my wine?”  No! He said, “Whoever eats my FLESH and drinks my BLOOD remains in me and I in him.” Yes, when you receive Holy Communion, you are receiving the real flesh and blood of Jesus. I am sure Fr. Roy, your catechists, parents and the whole parish community have prepared you well for this day, so you know what you are receiving today. But what I want to focus on now is the last part where Jesus says, ‘remains in me and I in him’. 29 years ago in 1996, I received my First Holy Communion. I was eight years old, but I still remember that day vividly. I remember the preparations, my First Reconciliation, and the excitement I felt when I lined up to receive Jesus for the very first time. I remember seeing the priest dipping the Precious Body into the Precious Blood, and then that precious moment – Jesus’ body and blood rested on my tongue. So swee...
Read more

Homily: May 1, 2024: May crowning Mass at Holy Family School

-
 "A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.” Did you remember hearing this from today’s first reading? This verse really struck me. The ‘woman clothed with the sun’ mentioned, do you know who this woman is? Yes, it is referring to Mary, the Mother of Jesus. St. John the Apostle had this vision and he described the mother of the Jesus as ‘clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her heard a crown of twelve stars’. Who would usually wear a crown? Yes, a king or a queen.  It is a symbol of their authority over everyone in the country, a sign of the power vested in them to rule the people and for them to obey their rule. So, Mother Mary is a queen, who wears a crown of twelve stars. Why twelve? Do you know what in the Bible are twelve in number? Yes, there were twelve tribes of Israel and Jesus had twelve apostles. The twelve tribes of Israel descended from the twelve chi...
Read more

Homily: May 6, 2025, Tuesday of he Third week of Easter (Daily -Martydom)

-
 "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Then he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." The courage of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, always amazes me. Where did he get such strength? How was he able to withstand the big solid stones being thrown at him?  Imagine the heavy and harsh hits on the face, the head, the chest, everywhere on the body – breaking skin, damaging flesh and smashing the bones. Pain aside, how could he still pray for them who were hurting and killing him at that moment? What gave him such strength? It was what he believed, his firm and steadfast faith. Stephen knew who was waiting for him in heaven. As we heard at the beginning of the reading: “Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.” He saw Jesus, the King of Martyrs, waiting for him in glory. Jesus was waiting to receive Him. Surely Stephen’s ...
Read more

Homily: November 25, 2025, Monday of the Thirty-Fourth week in Ordinary Time (Giving)

-
“For those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood.” How much do you love God? How grateful are you to God who has given you everything you need, including His own life? When we love someone deeply, we would be more than willing to give everything we have for the good of the person we love, right? And if we are truly grateful to someone, we would show appreciation in the most sincere and respectful way, wouldn’t we? Recently, a friend told me what one priest shared in his homily: “Don’t give to God as you would give to a homeless beggar.” That struck me. God does not need our sympathy, He does not need our money, He wants our love and gratitude. But church needs money to function, to accomplish God’s mission, so when we give to church, we are giving to God. So how much does the church need, how much do we give? Some general statistics look alarming. Typically, only about 30% of parishioners are supporting a p...
Read more

Funeral Homily: William J. Baum, June 8, 2023

-
 The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them. The soul of Bill is in the hand of God, no torment shall touch him. We are here to bid our final farewell to Bill, our beloved brother, grandpa, dad, husband, friend. I feel privileged to have known Bill these last two years and honored to preside over this Mass for his sending off. Many of you would have known him much longer and much better than I. I wish I had more time with him. I was awed when I read his obituary, his life story is inspirational. I know from my encounter with him that he was a dedicated husband, a loving and caring father, the greatest fan to every one of his grandchildren, and an incredible friend to countless people here and around the world. His going would surely leave a void in our lives. It is only natural that we grieve this loss. Bill was a man of remarkable character. His love for life, his sense of humor, and his thoughtfulness for others were the hallmarks of his persona...
Read more

Homily: June 6, 2024, Thursday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time.

-
“Therefore, I bear with everything for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, together with eternal glory.” Before Paul was converted, he was enjoying success, recognition, authority and power as a Christian persecutor. But when he encountered Jesus and began to love the Lord and His sheep with all his heart, all his understanding, and all his strength, the sufferings also began to come to him, and he had to ‘bear with everything’. We all suffer in one way or another. We all have our own crosses to carry, but it is important to know whether we are carrying a cross because of salvation or because of our own wrong actions. There is an effect to every cause, and a consequence to every action. The consequence of wrong decisions, foolish actions, prideful deeds, selfish greed, over-ambitious endeavor, unhealthy relationships, financial mismanagement, and addictive habits is suffering. And these are self-inflicted sufferings, they...
Read more

Homily: June 24, 2024, Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist.

-
“Though I thought I had toiled in vain, and for nothing, uselessly spent my strength, yet my reward is with the Lord, my recompense is with my God.”  Some people do go through life tougher and rougher than others. I personally know some such people who lived the whole of their lives literally toiling and working till they die. My own parents lived like that. Since young they were already laboring to help their own families. When they got married, they labored every day from morning till night to provide for us. Before they even got a chance to rest and retire, they fell ill and passed on. They did not accomplish anything spectacular and daily life was simply hardship from beginning till the end. They have never experienced a good life, but they have discharged their duties and responsibilities fully. Is such a life meaningful? Looking at Zechariah, Elizabeth, and John the Baptist, they might not have lived in extreme poverty, but they toiled in other ways. For a woman to be barren ...
Read more

Homily: February 18, 2025, Tuesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time (Leaven)

-
 Jesus enjoined them, “Watch out, guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” What is ‘the leaven of the Pharisees’ and ‘the leaven of Herod’? In this passage, Jesus must have been trying to teach His disciples something very important, but they were all thinking about food, specifically about bread, such that they didn’t understand what He was teaching. Who can blame them? Like all of us, they too had practical concerns, they were worried about the lack of food on the journey. But Jesus was trying to warn them of something more worrying, something which will not just keep them hungry, but will also destroy life. Recently, during my vacation with my sister, I listened to a Bible podcast she was following. Coincidentally, that episode was discussing the significance of the unleavened bread in the Old Testament. Why did God command the Israelites in Egypt to eat unleavened bread for their Passover feast? 1. Because they had to eat in haste, to finish their m...
Read more

Homilía: Marzo 24, 2022, Jueves de la III semana de Cuaresma.

-
 “El que no está conmigo, está contra mí; y el que no recoge conmigo, desparrama”.”. El mensaje de Jesús es muy claro. No podemos seguir a Jesús parcialmente. Si no lo estamos siguiendo de todo corazón, no somos sus seguidores. Hoy es el vigésimo día de Cuaresma, sin contar los domingos. Estamos a la mitad. ¿Recuerdas lo que decidiste hacer especial para estos 40 días de Cuaresma? ¿Lo estás cumpliendo? Mientras nos esforzamos por fortalecernos espiritualmente, los demonios se esfuerzan más para mantenernos deprimidos. Me pregunto quién está a la cabeza en esta mitad de camino. En mis años de infancia, solo los niños ricos de mi pueblo podían tener bicicletas. Cuando estaba en quinto grado, mi hermano mayor y yo decidimos recolectar flores silvestres de nuez moscada del bosque cercano para venderlas y poder comprar una bicicleta. Nos despertábamos muy temprano en la mañana y corríamos al bosque para buscar y recolectar tantas como fuera posible. Muchos niños de otros pueblos estaban...
Read more

Homily: March 5, 2023, Second Sunday in lent (Migration- Transfiguration)

-
 India gained independence from Britain in 1947 but was hit by a severe famine thereafter. People had to find ways just to survive. My grandfather, with his nine children, decided to move to the high ranges of the Kerala state to survive. My father was then six years old, he was the youngest child. They walked 40 miles to finally settle down and occupy around 100 acres of forest, which was also home to Bengal tigers, king cobra snakes, and wild elephants. Grandpa fought wild animal attacks to protect all his children and he lived on well till 97 years old. In Kerala, the youngest son has the responsibility to care for the parents and so my siblings and I lived with grandpa in that same home. Grandpa would tell us many stories about the dangers he encountered and how he overcame them. I have always thought those were the greatest life stories until I came to St. Ambrose. Here, I have heard life stories with much greater dangers and how people escaped from war with babies in their ar...
Read more