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| St. John Chrysostom Byzantine Catholic Church, Columbus OH |
Who has ever rejoiced in the Lord like Our Lady did? Who has ever given Him worship with such perfect gratefulness as Our Lady does?
The Immaculata has been made who she is only by the grace of God. It is not by her own power that she was immaculately conceived, not by her own power that she remained ever virgin, not by her own power that she remained ever undefiled and pure, and certainly not by her own power that she conceived the son of God. On top of all this, Mary was given the grace to understand this reality completely, and with complete resignation to the will of God she pondered it with joy in her heart. She was saved by her son, made free from all stain of sin, and chose, as the new Eve, to treasure this gift by the seal of humility.
In awe of this example of our Queen, we have many prayers dedicated to the praise of the humble joy of Mary. The Regina Caeli, the Hail Mary, and the Ave Regina Caelorum name just a few. The recitation of the Magnificat reminds us of the words of Our Lady at the visitation:
"My spirit rejoices in God my savior, for He has looked with favor on His lowly servant. From this day, all generations will call me blessed, for the almighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name." Luke 1:47-49.In humility- that is, seeing oneself and others through the clear eyes of God- the Immaculata does not shy away from rejoicing in the grace and mission that God has given her. Do we not desire this same perfect joy? Don't you want to be able to rejoice powerfully in the grace and salvation of Christ without any stain of sin, without that pride that muddies our praise?
Alas, St. Paul describes it well in 1 Corinthians 13:12. "For now we see in a mirror, dimly..." As of now, we cannot see God clearly without pridefully looking in upon ourselves. However, the verse does not end there. Let us read the entire verse:
"For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known." 1 Corinthians 13:12.
Earlier today, I attended mass at St. John Chrysostom Byzantine Catholic Church, in Columbus Ohio. This was my first time attending the Divine Liturgy outside of the Roman rite, and there were many experiences I had there that would make good stories and reflections. However, I was amazed to be immersed into a hymn to Our Lady, the Theotokos, that can be compared to an extended version of the Angelus. This was an Akathist to the Theotokos, a 20 minute long (when you chant it with a choir and a deacon leading extra prayers) recounting of the joy of the incarnation received by a humble virgin. We sung veneration of the humility of the Mother of God, and with St. Gabriel we rejoiced to see her virtue. Through it all, however, we trusted that in this prayer, Mary could see our yearning for the same spotless joy that she has, and she promises the distribution of this grace to all who cry out to her.
The Queen of Heaven, in joyful humility, will show us the blessed fruit of her womb, Jesus, and will lead us little children to rejoice and worship with her. Do not fear this prayer- enter into it with trust that the by the "tender compassion of our God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us." (Luke 1:78).
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