Homily: May 20, 2024, Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church.

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“The man called his wife Eve because she became the mother of all the living.”

According to the book of Genesis, we are all children of Eve, the first woman. This first woman fell easily into temptation and became disobedient to God. Looking at ourselves, aren’t we the same?

We are generally easily tempted and fall into sin. We seem to contain deep rebellion in us and so we tend to be disobedient. We see the same trend of disobedience through all the biblical stories. We are just like our first mother of the earth.

God, the creator of the first man and woman, has a plan of redemption. In the fullness of time, He got ready the second Eve, to prepare for the second Adam’s coming. Mary, is like Eve in every way including being born without original sin. She was subject to temptations the same, but the difference is Mary overcame all temptations and remained consistently obedient to God, even all the way along the painful road to Calvary right till at the foot of the cross. 

God’s second Adam is His beloved Son Jesus, who similarly remained obedient even in the face of temptations and extreme suffering.

On the cross, Jesus, the second Adam, gave Mary, the second Eve, to be the mother of all who believe in Him. Eve was the mother of all the living. Mary is the mother of the church, given by Jesus.

When we choose Jesus, we choose Mary. When we come to Mary, we also encounter Jesus.

One of the titles we address Mary, “Morning Star”, shows us her role in our faith. The morning star helps sailors see direction in the dark before the rising of the sun. Similarly, Mary directs us to her Son, while we are still in the dark of sin, she attracts us with her sparkling yet gentle brilliance and lead us into the bright-light of her son. 

When we finally meet Mary face to face, we will truly know how much she loves us and how great a help she has been in leading us to our salvation.

Let us love Mary, and follow her closely, imitating her obedience and learning from her faithfulness. We will be so close to Jesus without much effort. Mary, Mother of the Church, pray for us. Amen.


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