This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.
You have to love this proverb: “Whoever makes a fortune by a lying tongue is chasing a bubble over deadly snares.”
In other news, the readings of today subtly but powerfully point to Our Lady as the model creature, she who, among those without divine nature, provides us with the best example in the universe of what it means to walk by faith.
Mary is the model par excellence of one “who hears the word of God and acts on it.”
But what does this mean in Mary’s life?
We get a hint from the first reading. This passage from Proverbs mirrors the Magnificat. It decries haughtiness and arrogance and predicts their punishment, prefiguring Mary’s statement: “He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly.” Even the format of the first reading reminds one of the format of Mary’s joyful proclamation to Elizabeth. We may well imagine that it was through meditation on passages like this one that the Holy Spirit cultivated Mary’s beautifully fertile heart throughout her youth. When you meditate on Proverbs, Wisdom, Sirach, Samuel, and Kings, you may well be meditating on the very same passages that Mary prayed on as the Holy Spirit crafted the heart of a mother for the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity.
And therein lies the hint for us. In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus does not simply say “My mother and my brothers are those who do God’s will.” He says, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.”
So often we jump right to the acting, and neglect the hearing. When Jesus later praises Mary of Bethany for choosing “the better part” in contrast to Martha’s laudable acts of service, it is to this “hearing” that He is referring.
Even though the passages referencing Our Lady are relatively few, they are full of allusions to this “hearing.” For example, “And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.” (Lk. 2:19)
As often happens, today’s psalm puts a cherry on top of the message of readings of the day. “Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.” The attitude is one of listening to discern where the Holy Spirit is leading. An attitude of “hearing.”
Maybe, just maybe, the entire secret to the Christian life is laid bare subtly but openly in today’s readings, for anyone who should wish to discover it: To have a desire for God’s guidance as our sole priority in life, and to listen attentively to the Holy Spirit, through time dedicated to prayer and throughout our activity, trusting in the marvelous promise of Christ in Lk. 11:11-13:
“What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the holy Spirit to those who ask him?”
Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Ask Jesus to give you the trust in His promises that you need to listen for and hear the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Ask Him to overcome your doubt, by which perhaps you fear that you will hear only your selfishness and be deceived. Contemplate the example of Our Lady, who, through her trust and attitude of listening, seemed effortlessly to discern the voice of the Holy Spirit. Speak with her, and ask her to intercede before her Son, to overcome the less worthy voices within you with the quiet, breeze-like, but all-powerful voice of His Spirit.
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