Holy Mary Mother Of God, Light Of Our Hope
“Piously mediating on her and contemplating her in the light of the Word made man, the Church with reverence enters more intimately into the great mystery of the Incarnation and becomes more and more like her spouse” (LG 65).
The analogy of the sun and moon is an understandable analogy for the relationship between Jesus and Mary. While the moon lights our journey in the dark of night—just as Mary does for humanity—the source of the moonlight does not radiate from that satellite, instead, it is a reflection of the light of the sun.
Mary is the reflection of the light of Jesus!
“God who made the sun, also made the moon. The moon does not take away from the brilliance of the sun. All its light is reflected from the sun. The Blessed Mother reflects her Divine Son; without Him, she is nothing. With Him, she is the Mother of men” (p. 50).
At the moment of the Incarnation, Mary received the vocation to be Mother of the Lord. And, at the moment of the Cross, of Calvary, she received the mission to be Mother of all of humanity. Therefore, we cannot look away from the mystery of Mary because She takes us to the mystery of Christ and, at the same time, the mystery of Christ takes us to the mystery of Mary. In keeping with this principle, we can experience Mary as:
- Mother: She is Mother of Christ and our Mother. She gave birth to the Light of the world. Hence in Her and by Her, all the promises are fulfilled. She is Mother of Hope as the hope of humanity sprang from her womb. Every small child, when it is afraid when it looks for security when it needs something, goes to its Mother. Let us not fail to go to Mary in every contradiction and let us call her MOTHER!
- Teacher: Because of her mission as Mother, Mary also becomes for us All of us, when small, learned to talk and to take our first steps by the hand of our mothers. In fact, we speak of a “mother tongue,” that is how we call the language we learned at home, in our childhood. In the spiritual life, we also need to learn the virtues, learn to have a good heart, learn from Jesus. No one as Mary can teach us this way. Let us join her school! Let us learn about Jesus with and in Mary.
- Virgin: It is more striking that God wished to be born of a virgin Mother. He wished to stress that nothing is impossible for God, and He can make a virgin (seemingly infertile) give fruit. The virtues of chastity, purity, modesty are not virtues that are fashionable today. However, the Lord makes them very fruitful. To learn to look at others cleanly (also in marriage), use a language without stridency and healthy, use audio-visual means far from the danger of converting the body and the sacred value of sexuality into something trivial, the purity of intention and of the heart are a treasure. They are a gift that Mary, Mother, and Virgin, wants to grant us. Let us approach Her! Let us. Ask for it with faith! She wants to grant it to us.
The Seven Joys of the Virgin (or of Mary, the Mother of Jesus) is a popular devotion to events of the life of the Virgin Mary,[1] arising from a trope of medieval devotional literature and art.
The Seven Joys were frequently depicted in medieval devotional literature and art. The seven joys are usually listed as:
- The Annunciation
- The Nativity of Jesus
- The Adoration of the Magi
- The Resurrection of Christ
- The Ascension of Christ to Heaven
- The Pentecost or Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and Mary
- The Coronation of the Virgin in Heaven
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Originally, there were five joys of the Virgin.[1] Later, that number increased to seven, nine, and even fifteen in medieval literature,[3]although seven remained the most common number, and others are rarely found in art. The five joys of Mary are mentioned in the 14th-century poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight as a source of Gawain's strength.[4] The devotion was especially popular in pre-Reformation England. The French writer Antoine de la Salecompleted a satire called Les Quinze Joies de Mariage ("The Fifteen Joys of Marriage") in about 1462, which partly parodied the form of Les Quinze Joies de Notre Dame ("The Fifteen Joys of Our Lady"), a popular litany.
The Seven Joys of Our Blessed Lady in HeavenAccording to Pelbartus Ladislaus of Temesvár, St. Thomas, while he was reciting his daily 'Hail Mary's in memory of the principal joys of Mary, was "favored with an apparition of the Queen of Heaven." She encouraged him to add seven more 'Hail Mary's in honor of "the seven signal joys she possesses in heaven, and to instill the same devotion into the minds of others."[5]
This devotion of the Seven Joys of Our Blessed Lady in Heavenrecounts the glories Mary was honored with in heaven after her dormition.
Pentocost
The name comes from the Greek word pentekoste which means fiftieth. The holiday is celebrated on the seventh Sunday after Easter which is also fifty days after Easter, hence the name.
“God is light,”
says 1 John 1:5. Light is a common metaphor in the Bible. Proverbs 4:18symbolizes righteousness as the “morning sun.” Philippians 2:15 likens God’s children who are “blameless and pure” to shining stars in the sky. Jesus used light as a picture of good works: “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds” (Matthew 5:16). Psalm 76:4 says of God, “You are radiant with light.”
The fact that God is light sets up a natural contrast with darkness. If light is a metaphor for righteousness and goodness, then darkness signifies evil and sin. First John 1:6 says that “if we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.” Verse 5 says, “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.” Note that we are not told that God is a light but that He is light. Light is part of His essence, as is love (1 John 4:8).The message is that God is completely, unreservedly, absolutely holy, with no admixture of sin, no taint of iniquity, and no hint of injustice.
If we do not have the light, we do not know God. Those who know God, who walk with Him, are of the light and walk in the light. They are made partakers of God’s divine nature, “having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires” (2 Peter 1:4).
God is light, and so is His Son. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). To “walk” is to make progress. Therefore, we can infer from this verse that Christians are meant to grow in holiness and to mature in faith as they follow Jesus (see 2 Peter 3:18).
God is light, and it is His plan that believers shine forth His light, becoming more like Christ every day. “You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness” (1 Thessalonians 5:5). God is the Creator of physical light as well as the Giver of spiritual light by which we can see the truth. Light exposes that which is hidden in darkness; it shows things as they really are. To walk in the light means to know God, understand the truth, and live in righteousness.
Believers in Christ must confess any darkness within themselves – their sins and transgressions – and allow God to shine His light through them.
Christians cannot sit idly by and watch others continue in the darkness of sin, knowing that those in darkness are destined for eternal separation from God. The Light of the World desires to banish the darkness and bestow His wisdom everywhere (Isaiah 9:2; Habakkuk 2:14; John 1:9). In taking the light of the gospel to the world, we must by necessity reveal things about people that they would rather leave hidden. Light is uncomfortable to those accustomed to the dark (John 3:20).
Jesus, the sinless Son of God, is the “true light” (John 1:9). As adopted sons of God, we are to reflect His light into a world darkened by sin. Our goal in witnessing to the unsaved is “to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God” (Acts 26:18).
The Light has come! Christ is described as the “Light” and when He entered the world, He penetrated the darkness, revealing it for what it is.Throughout the bible we often see reference to light and darkness as a force that is against each other. What is darkness? Any desire, lifestyle, lust of the flesh, action, etc that is contrary to God’s Word is darkness. How do we live in darkness? We begin to live there when we are drawn away from God and to that temptation that causes us to willfully surrender to it. James 1:13-15 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.Darkness does not have to be our path for “LIGHT” has come into the world as our way of escape from the penalty of sin.Either we live in the light of God’s Gospel truth or in the darnkess of satan lies which keeps us in slavery to sin and willful rebellion against God.We are reminded in this text in vs#13 - But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. 14 This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”It’s time to walk out of darkness and into the marvelous light of godly living with Christ Jesus.God is light! 1 John 1:5-7 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sins. If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.Walking in the light” is following Christ in the path of righteousness. for anyone who follows Him shall not perish but have everlasting life with Him.The lifestyle we chose to live is considered our “walk” in life. Walking iin God’s light is continually moving from faith to faith in spirtiual truth, power and growth. We all are either growiing in the light of God’s truth or stagnant in the ignorance of satan devices in darkness.The Bible is clear that light comes from the Lord God, the “Father of the heavenly lights”. “Walking in the light” means “growing in holiness and maturing in the faith as we follow Jesus.”Jesus is the light of God who leads us from the darkness of sin and into a bright relationship with God by faith.As followers of Christ, we are to daily walk (live our lives) as people of the light of God’s wisdom. We do this by living our lives according to the Gospel truth. 2 Corinthians 4:6 - For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.Living our lives in light of the Gospel truth is wise. Living apart form it is foolish!1 John 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with Christ and walk in the darkness, we lie, and the truth is not in us. Walk in the light! Darkness will be exposed by God! Live as wise and not as a fool and the Light of Christ will shine bright in and through you.The call today is to “wake up out of your sleep, get up, arise, shine, for your light has come and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.God bless.
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