Preaching the Mystery of Faith

Conclusion

Mary as Hearer and Bearer of the Word

Mary, the Mother of God and Mother of the Word Incarnate, can serve as an example for those who preach the Sunday homily. Mary is “the one in whom the interplay between the word of God and faith was brought to perfection.” 75 When she heard the word, she listened intently and responded with an unhes itating “yes.” This is why Church Fathers, such as St. Ephrem and St. Augus tine, could say that Mary conceived the word in her heart before conceiving the Word in her womb. Mary surveyed the great events surrounding the Birth of her Son, and she treasured them in her heart. Her response revealed a pro found contemplative spirit that strove to understand God’s will for her and the destiny of her Son (Lk 2:19, 51). At the wedding feast of Cana, Mary turned to the table servants and quietly instructed them: “Do whatever he tells you,” revealing thereby her intense focus on Jesus and her docility to his word (Jn 2:1-12). In her Magnificat , the Mother of Jesus spoke as her Son would, fearlessly proclaiming the prophetic word (Lk 1:46-55). For all of these reasons, Pope Benedict XVI says, “Mary is the image of the Church in attentive hearing of the word of God, which took flesh in her.” 76 And so we conclude by appealing to you, our dearest brothers, who share with us this sacred responsibility of hearing and proclaiming the word. As we all know, our beloved Church today faces many challenges and great oppor tunities. Some of the challenges can seem overwhelming and beyond our power to address. Many priests and deacons feel overburdened. Yet we are the Church of Jesus Christ, and we believe that the Spirit that first animated those confused and fearful disciples in the Upper Room is still with us. There may be some things we can do little about on our own and have to leave in the merciful and loving hands of the Risen Christ. But our ministry of preaching is something all of us can address and improve. Each of us, drawing strength from our people and in communion with the whole Church, can pray the Scriptures more intensely, can prepare our homilies more intently,

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Verbum Domini , no. 27. Verbum Domini , no. 27.

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