Sirach 24:17-21
Responsorial: Lk 1:46-55
Lk 1:26-38
Christ the King Catholic Church, Iowa Park, TX
The ancient author of the Book of Sirach, Ben Sira, wrote about Wisdom
personified. We find language like his echoed in the books of Proverbs, Baruch,
and the Wisdom. Christian theology has always equated Wisdom when spoken of as
a person with Jesus Christ. But when Wisdom is spoken of as a female figure, we
understand the scared writers to be speaking of the Virgin Mary. In the rest of
Sirach chapter 24, from whence our first reading today is taken, Ben Sira wrote
about the ‘Seat of Wisdom’ and indeed this title has been applied to Mary for
centuries. Sirach’s language is so beautiful: “Come to me, all you that yearn
for me, and be filled with my fruits.” (Sir 24:19) and “Whoever eats of me will
hunger still, whoever drinks of me will thirst for more.” (Sir 24: 21). These verses
sound so different than Isaiah 55 where the prophet wrote those that come to
eat and drink will have their fill. That difference makes perfect sense when we
know that Isaiah is speaking of Jesus Christ, the Messiah to come, while Sirach
is speaking of Mary, his Mother. Indeed, those who Mary draws to herself as her
children will be filled with the fruit of her womb – Jesus. Also, those who
seek consolation in Mary will be led to Jesus to find their fill. The final line
of our reading from Sirach is a beautiful promise for those of us with a
devotion to our Blessed Mother: “whoever obeys me will not be put to shame,
whoever serves me will never fail.” (Sir 24:22) How true these ancient words
echoing across the ages! Nobody who consecrates themselves to Mary and follows
her will can go astray from the will of God, because her will is perfectly
aligned to that of her son, Jesus Christ.
We likely recall the timeless line penned by William Shakespeare in Romeo
& Juliet “What is in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name
would smell as sweet.” As it turns out, the Holy Name of Mary is quite
profound. In our Gospel reading today from St. Luke, we again heard about the Annunciation
of the archangel Gabriel to Mary. Did you notice how he addressed her? I
apologize for the translation we have in the lectionary from the NABRE. In our
text, Gabriel called Mary ‘favored one’, but the more correct and accurate
translation of the Greek word kecharitoméne
is found in the RSV. The messenger from God greeted her as ‘full of grace’. He
used this as her real name, not calling her by her earthly given name of Miryam
(Mary).[1] As we recall, whenever God
changes the name of a person, momentous things are in store: Abram became Abraham,
the father of nations; Simon became Peter, the head of the Church and the first
pope’ Saul became Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles and writer of half the New Testament.
St. John Paul the Great wrote about the Annunciation in his encyclical
on the Blessed Mother, Redemptoris Mater
(Mother of the Redeemer): “Mary is definitively introduced into the mystery of Christ through this event: the Annunciation by
the angel . . . The divine messenger says to the Virgin: 'Hail, full of grace,
the Lord is with you' (Lk. 1:28). Mary 'was greatly troubled at the saying, and
considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be' (Lk. 1:29): what
could those extraordinary words mean, and in particular the expression 'full of
grace' (kecharitoméne)"[2]
The word kecharitoméne “means overflowing
with grace to such an extent that it is like a fountain within a fountain. The
abundant water flowing from the fountain is completely pure and radiant. Kecharitoméne is like a superlative placed upon a superlative.”[3] In
other words, Mary was completely filled with the grace of God from the moment
of her existence and for all time; a grace that surpasses that of any other
creature; a grace that allows her to be perfectly configured to be able to
perfectly fulfill the will of God.
St. John Paul also wrote “In the mystery of Christ she is present even
“before the creation of the world,” as the one whom the Father “has chosen” as
Mother of his Son in the Incarnation. And, what is more, together with the
Father, the Son has chosen her, entrusting her eternally to the Spirit of
holiness.”[4]
In other words, even before God created the world, he had Mary in mind to be
the pure mother of His Son, Our Savior, Jesus Christ. This is why Satan
rebelled – he refused to bow down to a mere human being who was to come later
in God’s Divine Plan.
What is in a name? In the case of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the
revelation of the Incarnation of Christ Jesus. As the baptized faithful and as
true Catholics, we take St. Paul’s directive to the Philippians quite
seriously “At the name of Jesus every knee should bow.” (Phil 2:9-11) Since the
13th century, Catholics have made a slight bow of the head at the
mention of the name ‘Jesus Christ’, especially at Holy Mass, as an outward
token that we interiorly bend the knee of our hearts. In fact, Holy Mother Church
instructs us to go further and to bend the knee of our heart at the Holy Name
of the Trinity and at the Holy Name of Mary. The General Instruction of the Roman
Missal directs us “A bow of the head is made when the three Divine Persons are
named together and at the names of Jesus, of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and of
the Saint in whose honor Mass is being celebrated.”[5] Let us from this day
forward, together bow our heads in reverence at the Holy Names of Jesus Christ
and the Blessed Virgin Mary who is ‘Full of Grace.’
Holy Mary, Mother of Our Savior, Pray for Us!
[1] John Paul II, Redemptoris
Mater (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1987), 8.
[2] John Paul II, Redemptoris Mater (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1987),
8.
[3] J. Brian Bransfield, The Human Person: According to John Paul II
(Boston, MA: Pauline Books & Media, 2010), 167.
[4] John Paul II, Redemptoris Mater (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1987),
8.
[5] The Roman Missal: Renewed by Decree of the Most
Holy Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, Promulgated by Authority of Pope
Paul VI and Revised at the Direction of Pope John Paul II, Third Typical
Edition. (Washington D.C.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011),
275a.
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