1 Mary Mother of the Eucharist and the Church AVE verum Corpus natum De Maria Virgine: Vere passum, immolatum In cruce pro homine: Cuius latus perforatum Fluxit aqua et sanguine: Esto nobis praegustatum Mortis in examine. O Iesu dulcis! O Iesu pie! O Iesu Fili Mariae. Amen. HAIL, true Body, truly born Of the Virgin Mary mild Truly offered, wracked and torn, On the Cross for all defiled, From Whose love pierced, sacred side Flowed Thy true Blood's saving tide: Be a foretaste sweet to me In my death's great agony. O my loving, Gentle One, Sweetest Jesus, Mary's Son. Amen. Set out talk- When Catholics think of the Most Holy Eucharist, they often do not turn their minds and heart immediately to the holy Mother of God, she who gave the Lord the precious body and sacred blood that we feast upon in the Mass. Since Mary desires only to direct our gaze to Jesus Christ, it makes sense that she does not desire to be the focal point of our Eucharistic faith but instead disappear and point us to her Son. But this morning she cannot hide, Mary will be the start of our day as she directs us to consider the wonder of the Eucharist. Countless theologians and spiritual writers have shown the relationship that Jesus and Mary have within the Holy Eucharist, but the Lord allows speaks most eloquently through Peter, and so this talk will drawn from the insights of VCII, Blessed Paul VI, St John Paul II and Benedict XVI as to why Mary is the Woman of the Eucharist. And once Peter has spoken, I would offer some insights in from Fr. James T O Conner, an esteemed sacramental theologian and offer a few reflections from the lives of the saints on the connection between Mary and the Eucharist. LG: No intention to have a specifically Marian document at VCII, as there was not anything to define that had not already been clarified in other ecumenical councils or dogmatic statements, but it seems they could not resist saying something about the Mother of God (COUNCIL OPENS on the feast of the motherhood of Mary) and so very appropriately the last chapter (Ch 8) of the document Lumen Gentium which explores the massive question of WHAT IS THE CHURCH is dedicated to Mary. Here is what it has to say about the relationship between Mary and the Church because this will give us a helpful starting point of how we can talk about Mary and the Eucharist and the Church because without Mary we have no Eucharist and without the Eucharist we have no Church! 3 points from LG:! Start with the Mystery of Incarnation, As St Paul declares to the Galatians God sent his son, born of a woman is a reality revealed to us and continued in the Church. We see that Mary has an incarnational faith in God, this is why she is called the mother of the church, because by giving flesh to the Word of God she is forever united to those who have been saved by her faith, obedience and charity towards God, she helps bring about the birth of believers. VCII echoes the words of St. Ambrose who said Mary is then a type or model of
the church in the order of faith and charity, one that each of us are called to imitate in our own walk of life.! Images from OT- Gen 3:15, seed of the woman is devil s demise, the mother of the messiah, she is the fulfillment of the daughter of Zion who longs for redemption. MARY AS NEW ARK, 3 items in the Ark! IN all these images we have a glimpse of Mary as being what the Church is meant to be!! Finally, Mary as a disciple of Jesus, she advances in her pilgrimage of faith and faithful preserved in her union with her son unto the cross, where she stood, in keeping with the divine plan, her whole life here on earth and glorious appearance in the book of revelation clothed in the sun, with the moon under her feet and 12 stars in her crown shows what the Church is always to be, faithful, obedient and open to forever transformed and perfected by God s grace.! LG so wonderfully reveals Mary as a follower/disciple of Jesus, something often overlooked in Marian piety and essential to understanding her as a Eucharistic woman.! More could be said but based on these few teachings from VCII, there was a renewed sense of how intimately connected Mary was to the Church and the Eucharist. Paul VI picks up on this in his encyclical Marialis Cultus which should to rearrange Marian feasts in the church liturgical year A reaction to anti- Marian sentiment in post VCII era which was never intended by the Council, a loss in the appreciation of Mary s necessary place at the Mass and in her role in the Church (despite LG saying the complete opposite)!, leadings to the principle of normal simplicity in Church architecture being misinterpreted to mean removing images of Mary from the sanctuary, relegating her to storage closets, being buried in gardens, smashed or thrown in ponds (none of these are made up), loss of the sense how a Marian statue or image near the altar was to be a symbolic reminder of her presence at every Mass, standing by the altar of sacrifice to offer herself and her son to the Father! MC- Marialis Cultus! Why are they important? Marian feasts of the liturgy to reflect the mystery of the life of Christ and help to establish a yearly rhythm for our liturgical year! First in Advent we will have feast of IC and birth of Christ, then the Holy Family/Magi, mysteries of the infancy and life of Christ up to the presentation, in all these feasts will Christ be exalted and worshipped and Mary will be honoured for her role in being close to her son, to giving him flesh and allowing for him to become the Eucharist! March 25 th for incarnation in midst of lent, 9 months to go, then walk with Mary through Holy Week and Easter season, and then Aug 15 th in post resurrection time to point us to what is to come, what the Eucharist is leading us towards, eternal life and communion with God.! Other Marian feasts throughout the year to remind us of her life, every Saturday as the one who believed he would rise again, ancient tradition of being first to witness the resurrection! ALL pointing to encountering Mary in the liturgy as an intercessor to be drawn closer to her son.! WHY is this worth talking about? To show different qualities of Mary s Eucharistic piety:! Mary as model of worship- she is attentive, receives the word of God in faith.! Virgin in prayer- her song of praise to Elizabeth, the Church s prayer of thanksgiving.! Virgin Mother- one who believed and obeyed, that as Mary carried Life in her womb, the Church can now bear new life in the waters of baptism. 2
! Virgin presenting offerings- present Christ in the Temple, her firstborn, her very best, and her willingness to stand at the altar of sacrifice and offer herself to God, in a sense offering her son to the Father- St. Bernard Offer your Son, holy virgin, and present to the Lord the blessed fruit of your womb. Offer for the reconciliation of us all the holy Victim which is pleasing to God.! Paul VI prayer may the Most Blessed Virgin Mary from whom Christ the Lord assumed that flesh that in this sacrament is contained, offered and received, under the appearance of bread and wine, intercede before the Father of mercies for us, Amen! Building then on the work of LG and Paul VI, JPII, himself an expert in Mariology and sensitive to the need to emphasize the intimate connection between Mary, the Eucharist and the Church, he offers us a beautiful reflection on Mary as the woman of the Eucharist in his encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia. Ecclesia de Eucharistia: Ch.6- At the school of Mary Woman of the Eucharist! The profound relationship between the Church and Eucharist as communion is revealed beautifully in Mary, type of the Church and mother of the Eucharist. Mary is our teacher in contemplating the Face of Christ (this is what Eucharistic prayer resides in), she guides us to the Eucharist because of her profound relationship with her son.! YET the silence of the gospels in this regard, no mention of Mary at Last Supper (appears very exclusive to the 12), she is present at the Cross (the altar) and also Pentecost (who is always present at the Mass), and would certainly have been present at first Eucharistic celebrations breaking of the bread as mentioned in Acts though herself never offering the Mass as an ordained priest. So in the midst of this silence how can JPII called her a Eucharistic woman from what we know about her elsewhere in scripture?! First and foremost, Mary s inner disposition and her ability to act on these stirrings of the heart and soul is what makes her a woman of the Eucharist in her whole life, and so the church then is to imitate her example for she embodies what the church should be.! JP II explores this attitude of Mary from the incarnation to her assumption into heaven.! Incarnation (back to LG) as 1 st Eucharist- Mary lived out Eucharistic faith before the institution of the sacrament at the Last Supper, by the fact that she offered her virginal womb for the incarnation- The Eucharist then is forever a continuation of the incarnation where Mary received the physical reality of the Lord s body and blood and gives it flesh, bone of thine bone, flesh of thy flesh, blood of thine blood, she anticipates then what we will sacramentally receive, from that moment the Eucharist would never cease, without Mary=no Eucharist! The body of Christ is the immaculate flesh of Mary and virginal blood of she who is free of sin! HER FIRST HOLY COMMUNION (she was made pure to receive him on account of her Immaculate Conception).! Mary s fiat and our amen just before we receive are related, she says yes to conceive the Word of God, we say yes we believe this is the same Jesus she conceived, we both receive through faith the Lord, a moment to reflect has that Amen become a bit too casual in our lives!! Blessed is she who believes! Mary again anticipates the Church s Eucharistic faith as the first tabernacle, through her Elizabeth is the first to adore the Eucharist in a tabernacle, his light shining through the eyes of his mother!! The Magnificat reveals how Jesus comes to us in his poverty (under bread and wine), so too must we be humble of heart! 3
! The birth of Jesus- And is not the enraptured gaze of Mary as she cradled her newborn son a model of the love we should have in both adoring and receiving the Eucharist?! Cana as the Mysterium fidei- the Eucharist transcends our understanding as a call to abandon ourselves to the Word of God- Do whatever he tells you of Cana=echoed at Mass in do this in memory of me! JPII puts words in her mouth at Cana Do not waver, trust the words of my Son. If he is able to change water into wine, he can also turn bread and wine into his body and blood, and through this mystery bestow on believers the living memorial of his Passover, thus becoming the bread of life. I have no doubt she would utter such words!! The Cross- The sacrificial dimension of the Eucharist, Stabat Mater who willingly allowed a sword to pierce her own soul. In her daily life as disciple and mother of Jesus, she is being prepared for cavalry, to be pierced (have you not noticed how she is treated in the Gospels?), she had a kind of anticipated Eucharist in these moments, a spiritual communion of sorts, culminated in her union with the Cross, the Holy Sacrifice of her son which we forever celebrate in the Holy Mass.! Resurrection- Do this in remembrance of me- the paschal mystery being made present once again, part of that mystery is being given Mary as a mother, so too is every Mass being given over to her care again and again, hence she is always mentioned in the Eucharistic prayer as an intercessor.! After Pentecost Mary as a disciple, what would Mary have thought when she heard the apostles say this is my body, this is my blood, to once again receive the same Lord she once conceived! Must have been a welcoming once more into her life the heart which once beat within hers, and was pierced on the cross as was hers!! In Magnificat as Song of the assumption - Mary also recalls the story of salvation, the eschatological Eucharist, that the Eucharist is our food for the journey, not only to our individual ends, but also what we receive to prepare us for the new heaven and new earth at the end of all things when we will be like Mary, body and soul once again united to be with the Lord!! Finally, the story does not end with her assumption, now it falls upon the Church to continue to imitate her pilgrimage of faith, to burn brightly with her Eucharistic faith in all aspects of her life and for each and every Catholic to do the same!! Pope Benedict XVI in Sacramentum Caritatis: The Eucharist has a profound eschatological significance, as we are continually called to offer God the sacrifice of ourselves as we have not yet come to the fulfillment of our journey of faith, but Mary has! In her assumption is a sign of splendor of God s glory surpasses all worldly beauty and gives us a glimpse of eternal glory. The consummation of the Eucharist is then what Mary knows in her assumption, that the Eucharist is not just leading us to heaven, but a promise of resurrection at the end of all things, when we rise again and reunited to the body that God said was God!! Dante in his paradiso spoke of the saints in heaven longing for resurrection: when, blessed and glorified, the flesh is robed abut us once again; we shall be lovelier for being whole, whence the gift of illuminating grace granted us by the highest God shall grow, light that disposes us to see His face, and in that light then must our vision grow, grow then the ardent love it sets aflame, wherein the radiance of the flesh shall grow. - Mary reveals in her assumed body the fullness of Eucharistic life, to also have a body like the Lord! 4
! As a conclusion, some thoughts from a prominent theologian that shows how this relationship between Mary, the Church and the Eucharist as found in the writings of VCII From the lives of the saints: Mary and the Eucharist! St. Peter Damian, St. Bernard of Clairvaux, St Bonaventure and St. Bernadine of Siena all suggested that Jesus instituted the Eucharist first for Mary (dwelling in her womb, saving her in anticipation of the Cross, knowing Communion with him, etc) and then through Mary, who is mediatrix of all graces, for all of us. It is through Mary that day after day Jesus is given to us in the Eucharist, greater than she is none but God!! Mary as Provider of Heavenly Bread! St Augustine: The Word is the food of the angels. Men have not the strength to nourish themselves with this heavenly food; yet they have need for it. What is needed is a mother who may eat this super- substantial bread, transform it into her milk, and in this way feed her poor children. This mother is Mary. She nourishes herself with the Word and transforms Him into the Sacred humanity. She transforms Him into Flesh and Blood, into this most sweet milk which is called the Eucharist.! St. Gregory of Tours- Mary s womb as the heavenly mixing bowl and bread box, well stocked with the bread of life- a fulfillment of what the woman once said blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you. To receive Holy Communion, we recall it was Mary who made the Bread of Life from the pure flour of her immaculate flesh and kneaded with her virginal milk, to partake of the fragrant bread of our Mother.! St. Albert the Great: the Eucharist produces impulses of angelic love and has the singular capacity of effecting in souls a holy, instinctive tenderness for the Queen of Angels. She has given us Flesh of Her flesh and Bone of her bone, and in the Eucharist she continues to give us this sweet, virginal, Heavenly Food.! Visit to the Blessed Sacrament and Mary! St. Peter Julian Eymard: Mary lived her life in and of the Blessed Sacrament. Padre Pio: Do you not see Our Lady always besides the tabernacle? St. Alphonsus Ligouri would whenever he visited the Lord in the tabernacle also make a visit to Mary. St. John Bosco: I beg you to recommend to everyone, first, adoration of Jesus in the Blessed sacrament and then reverence for the most holy Mary.! St. Bernadette: what would please you more, to receive Holy Communion or to se our Lady again in the grotto? What a strange question! The two cannot be separated. Jesus and Mary always go together.! Helping us prepare to Make a proper Communion! St. John Bosco: Imagine that it is no longer the priest but the most holy Madonna Herself who comes to give you the Holy Host.! St. Julian Eymard- Immaculate Conception is what prepared Mary for her first holy communion, the incarnation, so too does she help us to prepare him well, admonishing us to turn away from sin and go to confession if we commit mortal sin and would be unthinkable to receive him.! Mary as the Monstrance of God! St. Hilary of Portier: The greatest joy that we can give Mary is that of bearing Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament within our breast.! Eternal monstrance: Mary is the tabernacle of God, the holy and immaculate, example of monstrances of middle ages where within Mary s breast would be the lunette to see the sacred host. One had the following inscription: O Christian, who come full of faith to receive the Bread of Life, eat It worthily, and remember that It was fashioned out of Mary s 5
pure blood. Echoes proverbs 9:5- Come and eat my bread, drink the wine I have prepared for you. 6 Fr. James T O Conner- The Hidden Manna- A Theology of the Eucharist- 4 Points to show how theology is still pondering the mystery of the Eucharist, forever and ever!! Mary is the great defender of Eucharistic truth- all sole symbolism and false spiritualism, both of which have sadly entered into Catholic theology in our modern times, are excluded when one recognizes in the Eucharistic species the very flesh that God has taken from her. What has risen from the tomb and what is in truth now our food is ave verum corpus natum de maria virgine.. the very body born of Mary.! The Ave verum also helps us see how Mary is a model of devotion for all who are called by imitating her to receive the enfleshed Word. Important in a time when frequent communion is present in the church, more now then ever is the need to remember the worthy requirements of reception: these conditions have never changed substantially- in state of grace (that is no mortal sin on our souls, go to confession first), that we approach with right and devout intention, never out of routine, pride or vain glory or human respect but with desire to please God, and be more united to him in charity..! Mary as the go- between, the mystical marriage of the incarnation, a marriage between God and humanity in Mary, but Christ is married to the Church, not his mother, she is the bridal chamber of this union, she is the one through her intercession who allows the Church to be joined to Christ through grace as is seen at Cana. She is the conciliatrix, she allows the progressive spiritual union of Christ to those who are being united to him, her role then in the Mass is not just to provide flesh to Christ so we can receive, nor be our of model of faith and devotion but it also to recognize that she is present at the celebration, as one who is offered with her son and forever offers him to the Father through the Spirit.! MY OWN THOUGHT, just one as I m no great theologian also believe that she is the bridge that will draw Protestants back to the Eucharist, to help them move beyond merely symbolic interpretations of the Eucharist based on a misreading of Holy Scripture and come to believe what this conference is all about, that the Eucharist is the miracle of miracles, where we gaze on the face of Jesus, made beautiful by the gift of his mother s yes to the Word of God. May I encourage you whenever you pray at Mass or before the Blessed Sacrament to petition Mary to draw Protestants to the Eucharist through her example from scripture and her powerful intercession.! Final prayer: Mother of mercy and love, I turn to you in confidence and love. You stood by your most dear son as he hung dying upon the cross, stand by me, poor sinner that I am, and by the all priests who offer this holy sacrifice here and throughout the entire Church. Help us to offer a perfect and acceptable sacrifice in the sight of the most holy and undivided Trinity, our God most high, Amen.