Do you have just a devotion to Mary, or do you try to imitate her? - Daily Reflections September 12,2014

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

 

“And the Virgin’s name was Mary.” So begins the story of the Annunciation where we meet Mary for the first time in the pages of the Bible.

       When a child is born, the parents, relatives and their friends rejoice in the arrival of a new life. The question is soon asked, or has already been asked when the mother was pregnant: “What name shall we give to this child?” The expectant mother ponders: “Who will this child turn out to be?”

       When the daughter of Joachim and Anne was born, no doubt they asked themselves and pondered over these same questions. Being devout members of God’s Chosen People, we can be confident that they were led by the Holy Spirit when they gave their child the name “Mary.”

       In 1683, Muslim armies loyal to Mohammed IV in Constantinople advanced towards the West to conquer Europe and spread Islam. The Muslim armies had reached the outskirts of Vienna when John Sobieski, king of Poland, brought an army to stop the advance of Muslim armies. After King Sobieski entrusted himself to the Blessed Virgin Mary, he and his soldiers thoroughly defeated the Muslims. Pope Innocent XI extended the feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary in gratitude to the entire Church.

       When my parents named me Rudolf, they did not think so much of a saint, but of the priest who officiated their marriage. I visited this priest often, admired him, listened to him, and his example influenced me a lot on my way to the priesthood.

       Today, parents give their children strange names that when they grow up, they don’t like to be called by that name. It is still a rule to give a child the name of a saint, but often it appears only on the baptismal certificate. Naming a child after a saint gives him a model to look up to.

       If ever the Lord grants you the joy of having another child, don’t forget to give him or her the name of a saint. If the child is a girl, give her the name of Mary, the Mother of Jesus and our Mother, too. Fr. Rudy Horst, SVD

 

REFLECTION QUESTION: Do you have just a devotion to Mary, or do you try to imitate her?

 

Lord, thank You for giving us Your Mother Mary as our Mother, too. Make me humble and docile so that I may learn from her how to live a God-pleasing life in this difficult world.