Mary: Luminary of theMissio

ad Gentes
“Hail Mary, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”

The words of the Archangel Gabriel to a young woman from Nazareth

changed the world and transformed man’s journey of salvation for ever. It was in
such an experience that a simple maidservant from Nazareth was able to
transform the journey of God’s people as she is going to become Theotokus, the
Mother of God.

However, it must be remembered that this identity of Mary as the Mother of

God transcends beyond that moment in the New Testament as Mary is the new
Eve and therefore, like Eve, is, henceforth, the “mother of all the living (Gn. 1: 20).
As such, we must all see Mary as our heavenly mother who, as mediatrix of all
graces, acts as a fountain of blessings for those who “wish to ask for them (Our
Lady of the Miraculous Medal).”

“… Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb,
Jesus.”

Beheld to the grace and purity of the Blessed Virgin whose womb carried
the messiah, we, as the renewed Christian community of disciples are challenged
to become new witnesses of the evangelization of the Church’s teaching to the
whole world.

We are challenged to emulate the virtues and ways of Mary who

wholeheartedly gave herself to the mission of salvation when she responded to
the Archangel Gabriel during the annunciation: “Fiat.”

Like Mary, we are called to say our “Yes” to the evangelical mission of the
Church – all while encapsulating the virtues of faith, charity, humility, obedience,
purity, and simplicity – virtues befitting of the Mother of God.

As fundamentally individual beings of the earth, we are called to renew our

faith through spiritual conversion. That is why we must take a pause from the urban
idiosyncrasies that have consumed us as beings who are made in the image and
likeness of God. As how scripture says it, we are “Imago Dei.”
 In our family, we are challenged to dispose ourselves into a family dynamic
centered in the teachings of Christ – remaining obedient to the will of the Gospel
so that we may become vessels for the mission just like Mary who became a vessel
for the fulfillment of the new promise of God – Jesus, our Savior. Perhaps, we can
do this by remaining fervent in prayer, attending masses as a family regularly, and
making prayer a part of family life rather than just being a routine for compliance.

In our local communities, we are called to respond to the social issues of

our time ranging from poverty, homelessness, hunger, and even corruption
through seeing the realities through a multi-framed lens of realization, judging
based on the teachings of the Church, and acting on these social issues in the
simple yet impactful ways that we can just like Mary who transformed the mission
through her simple “Yes” and her words of persuasion to Jesus when she implied
by saying: “They have no wine (Jn. 2:3).”

In the global community of the united Church – the mystical body of Christ
here on Earth, we, as new Christian disciples in the 21st century, are moved to
stand as victors over sin in the same way that Mary, as the new Eve, crushed the
serpent with her foot.

In a world which has cultivated a fast throw-away culture bound and

traversed by sin, I am, likewise, also challenged to win over sin by emulating the
way of life and virtues of our Mother, Mary, for it is in a simplistic disposition of life
that one can win over transgressive decadence. It is in a humble orientation of
work that one can win over prideful hard work. It is in charity that one can stomp
upon the impulse of hate and anger. And, it is in the renewal of faith that one can
truly be welcomed in the hearts and arms of God’ Kingdom of Heaven with Mary,
the young maidservant from Nazareth who simply responded Fiat, as Queen of
Heaven and Earth.

“Now and at the hour of death. Amen.”

And as we await for the moment of our judgement, perhaps, the best thing
to do is to remain fervent in our devotion and emulation of Mary who was
undoubtedly full of grace and was, hence, a luminary – an ever-guiding light for
all Christians today in our missio ad gentes.