Faith – is a relationship, leading to a way of life: A way of life can be with or without one’s relationship with God! In this month of September members of the Catholic Church celebrate two feasts in honor of our Blessed Mother Mary: Feast of the Nativity of Mary celebrated also as Velankani Matha feast and Feast of Arogyamatha and the feast of “Our Lady of Sorrows,” Vyakulamatha. On both these occasions we reflect on the life of Our Blessed Mother, honor her and seek her intercession, and renew our desire to follow and imitate her, inspired by her life of faith and her life of total surrender to God’s will.
Today health care has become a very challenging task. So much finance is involved and most families are unprepared for the sudden collapse of a member in the family. Though not everything is within our control, “preventive care” is within our possibilities. One has no choice about seeking doctor’s help after getting sick but not to get sick, one can do many things on a daily basis.
Our health is our responsibility. What is beyond our efforts and capacities we must seek Divine intervention. This should not mean that we keep a burning candle in the open area and expect that the wind should not put off the candle! We seek the intercession of Arogyamatha, Mother of good health when we or our near and dear ones are suffering from ill health, especially those who are in serious condition and health care providers cannot do much. Let us continue to trust in the power of intercession of our Blessed Mother.
- The feast of Nativity reminds of the coming or arrival of the time of the “fulfilment of the promise for the coming of the Messiah.” Born of Anna and Joachim, she was destined to be Mother of God, Mother of the Incarnate Son of God. Addressed by the Archangel Gabriel, “Hail full of grace!” (Lk1:28), she was privileged to be born without sin, ‘immaculate’ from birth.
The feast of the nativity of our Blessed Mother tells us more about how she was blessed among all women. She was considered blessed because she “believed” that what was spoken by the Angel will come true. The feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, coming just after the feast of the ‘Exultation of the Cross,’ reminds us of the journey of Mother Mary, suffering like her son, Jesus Christ, the Son of God made man.
A suffering mother that she was, helps us to reflect on and about how her suffering was part of her journey of faith. As one who accepted the call given her by God she had to bear pain and suffering as part of life of her surrender in faith to the will of God: “Behold the handmaid of Lord, be it done to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38). It was part of her obedience to the will of God. Let us remember what is said of Our Lord esus: “he was obedient, obedient to the death on the Cross” (Phil 2: 8). As we venerate Our Blessed Mother Mary let us pray that her life will help us to aspire and strive to live our life with faith, in a disposition of surrender to God’s will and a disposition of unconditional obedience.
- Renunciation and Suffering are difficult for human beings but for a mission at hand it becomes easy: Comfort zone we all have and we wish that we are not disturbed. It is our freedom to stay in the comfort zone and from there no one, we feel, should force us to come out. But, when one is called by God for a mission, He explains and persuades to accept the mission. This acceptance means one does not anymore live for one’s own interests and plans.
One has to simply come out of that comfortable situation and get involved in the mission at hand. It is a sacrifice; it is a renunciation of one’s interests and plans for the sake of the mission. Moses of the Old Testament will always remain as one of the best examples: he was rather safe and comfortable, and secure from the threats to his life from Pharo of Egypt. Yahweh, God, persuaded him to come out of that comfortable position to take up the mission of liberating the People of Israel. We should say, that has been the way for all the prophets of the Old Testament. In the case of our Blessed Mother this is true and that is why she is remembered and venerated as Mother of Sorrows.
The same is true of Saint Joseph. He accepted God’s call to accept Mary and child to be born of her. Coming to the Apostles who left everything to follow Jesus of Nazareth, realizing only later through faith that He is “Son of God” and “the Messiah.” They lived and died for Him and for the mission entrusted to them. If we turn to pages of Church history or the history of Christianity, we will know about millions of Christians who lived for Jesus Christ, for the Church and her Mission. In the recent past we also have some world renowned persons who lived their life for a mission, the mission of liberating nations and discriminated sections in the society, treading the path of suffering, sacrifice and renunciation: Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Dr. Ambedkar, Gorbachev, and many such persons across the nations of the world.
- The long list of Christian martyers who lived and died for Christ and His Gospel. The faith of our Blessed Mother was acknowledged and appreciated by Elizabeth: “Blessed is she who believed that there would be fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord” (Lk 1: 45). By contrast Zachariah was hesitant to believe while Mother Mary believed, though a virgin she would conceive and bear a son with the ‘power of the Holy Spirit’ – “for nothing will be impossible for God” ( Lk 1: 37). Here, we all should take time to look at our faith and our life of faith. By saying “I believe in God,” one is declaring that there is a relationship between one’s life and God whom he/she believes. Who and what one is, and ‘what’ one has are result of the creative and sustaining power of God at work.
This relationship is dynamic, ongoing and continuous. By professing one’s faith one is personally acknowledging and accepting this relationship. This relationship has to be a lived relationship and mutually responsible to live in this relationship. To the questions like what or who regulates this relationship with God, the simplest answer is, “it is primarily the believer!” For, God is always there, ever the same, loving, concerned, merciful and compassionate.
Our Blessed Mother acknowledges this in the Magnificat: “His mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation.”(LK1:50). She also proclaimed that God has done this before and he will do this again. Faith makes us remain before God grateful, humble and docile! Though not fully understood at the time of her acceptance of the call and God’s plan, our blessed mother persevered in her faithfulness in spite of surprises at the time of the presentation of the Lord in the Temple and when Jesus was found in temple, “why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (Lk 2: 49). Our call to Christian life at Baptism can be lived well, provided we continue believing and continue to relate to God and rest of the Christians!
- We all should see the call to Christian life as a call to the mission of bearing witnesses to Jesus Christ and a call to the mission of proclaiming the “Good Nees of the Kingdom of God.” But, to live Christian life to certain degree of perfection would not be easily possible without sacrifice and renunciation of our tendency to live only for ourselves and the only way we want to live. One has to take courage to come out of one’s “Comfort Zone.”
Our Blessed Mother, Mother of Sorrows, and others mentioned above, and many other in the history of the Church and Christianity as a whole lived for their faith. Molding and living our life according to what Christian faith and Baptismal life involves sacrifice and renunciation of all that is not in line with this call to Christian faith and life. Each believer should live according to one’s state of life and look at one’s life in the light of the Call to Christian Faith and Christian life.
May our Blessed Mother Mary, venerated as Arogyamatha and as Vyakulamatha be source of inspiration and guidance as we strive to live our Christian life as totally as possible. “Yet whatever gains I had….” (Phil.3:7-9