Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
June 8th Readings Reflection: Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary
In the liturgical reforms after the Second Vatican Council, the Church saw fit to move the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary to occur the day after the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This is because, as St. Margaret Mary Alacoque said, “The most efficacious way to have devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is through the Immaculate Heart of Mary.”
The Gospel for today’s feast recounts how Mary and St. Joseph found the Child Jesus in the Temple. Jesus told them that He “must be in [His] Father’s house,” and Mary, we read, “kept all these things in her heart.” The great English theologian St. Bede wrote the following about this Scripture passage:
Mary the wisest of mothers, Mary the mother of true wisdom, becomes the scholar or disciple of the Child. For she yielded to Him not as to a boy, nor as to a man, but as unto God. Further, she pondered upon both His divine words and works, so that nothing that was said or done by Him was lost upon her, but as the Word itself was before in her womb, so now she conceived the ways and words of the same, and in a manner nursed them in her heart.
As today’s Gospel tells us, Mary pondered (and indeed continues to ponder eternally in Heaven) on the mystery of the Incarnation, giving us an example of how we ourselves should meditate. Since God ordained that Mary be spared from Original Sin and its effects, Mary’s heart is therefore immaculate, free from the slightest attachment to sin that would separate her from God. Unlike fallen human intellects that struggle to remember and understand theological truths, Mary understood more deeply the mysteries present before her in the Person of her divine Son.
Because Mary’s heart is so closely united with her Son’s Sacred Heart, God bestows His graces upon mankind through His Mother’s Immaculate Heart. Since the Immaculate and Sacred Hearts are so perfectly united, our sins not only pierce Christ’s Sacred Heart but also the Immaculate Heart of His Mother. The thorns surrounding Mary’s Immaculate Heart in the Fatima apparitions and in many sacred art depictions point to the effects of our sins upon her pure heart.
Knowing that our sins offend not only our infinitely loving God but also our Blessed Mother can help us avoid sin. Just as we do not want to cause our earthly mothers suffering, so too should we strive to avoid causing our heavenly Mother any pain or sorrow over our sins. May this knowledge also inspire us to perform acts of reparation to console our Blessed Mother and atone for the sins and offenses committed daily against her.
Sweet Heart of Mary, be our salvation!
Yes, indeed!