All of us are called to Holiness. Irrespective of whether we are priests, religious or laypeople; Married or unmarried, poor or rich; man or woman; children or elder; fabrikar or a member; officers or servants; agrigan or fish merchants. All are called to holiness. The Holy Bible says that God has called us to holiness (2 Tim. 1:9), so be holy in all you do; (Peter 1:1:15), the author of Hebrews says, “Without holiness, no one will see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14). Holiness is the criteria to reach heaven.
Attaining holiness is not a simple task. It is a difficult task. We need someone to guide us. We need a teacher. A teacher is the one who walks the talk. A teacher accompanies the students. Mary, our mother does the job of a teacher in holiness. What a teacher we have who gives us a witness by her life and message?
I want to share with you how Mother Mary accompanies us and plays an important role in our lives. This is a witness given by Fr. Babolin, an exorcist of the Diocese of Rome. He says the Devil can’t stand the one word “Mary”. He asked one devil why he is scared of Mary. He said, “She is a human being and yet overcame the world. This annoys the devil.”
The witness will tell us how Mary plays an important role in our lives. Many saints realized the role of Mary. St. Maximilan Kolbe said, “Jesus honoured Mary before all ages. He will honour her before all ages. No one can come to him or near him if they do not honour her.”
This is the place of Mary in our catholic faith. She teaches how to attain holiness. Mary is the perfect disciple of Jesus attained the greatest reward of assumption and coronation in heaven. She becomes the hope for us. I want to highlight five things from Mary’s life of holiness.
- Give first place to God/Jesus:
Mary gave first place to God. She didn’t bargain with God. She said yes to him to be a mother. She remained with Jesus till His last moments at the foot of cross. Her whole life revolves around Jesus.
- Accept suffering as God’s will:
Being a mother of Jesus, was it a life of luxury? Mary had to suffer from the conception to the crucifixion. She didn’t hesitate in accepting suffering in her life.
- Other centred life:
Mary lived for others. She lived for Jesus (Son). She lived for Elizabeth. She lived for the couple at Cana. She lived for the dispirited disciples. Mary didn’t live for herself. Till today she appears to save us.
- Humility:
Mary had a humble upbringing. Mary didn’t take pride in exhibiting that she was the mother of Jesus. She showed humility in serving Elizabeth. She showed her humility at the cross when Jesus was crucified as a criminal.
- Shared joy and happiness:
Mother shared all her joy with people. Who was her joy? Jesus. She shared it with people in the temple. Simeon and Anna. She shared it with Elizabeth. She shared with everyone. She had a mission of sharing joy to the World.
Mary gives us five great lessons of holiness. Pope Francis concludes his exhortation with the example of Mary. Let us imitate Mary our Mother at home in small gestures
