ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

The Blessed Virgin Mary: Image and Mother of the Church

Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,

            It is a great joy for me to be together with you on this Pilgrimage as we honor the Immaculate Mother of God. It is truly fitting that we come to this magnificent basilica to celebrate the 150^th anniversary of the proclamation of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception. Because the Archdiocese of Philadelphia is under the patronage of the Immaculate Conception, it is most appropriate that we, pilgrims from Philadelphia, come together in Mary’s shrine to give thanks to God and to seek Our Lady’s protection and intercession.

            On December 8, 1854, Blessed Pius IX, solemnly defined as a dogma the truth that Mary, the Mother of God, was conceived without stain of original sin. During the liturgy, Pope Pius IX proclaimed: “To the glory of the holy and undivided Trinity, to the honor and renown of the Virgin Mother of God, the exaltation of the Catholic faith and the increase of the Christian religion; by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the blessed apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own authority, we declare, pronounce and define: the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by the singular grace and privilege of almighty God and in view of the merits of Christ Jesus the Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin, is revealed by God and, therefore, firmly and constantly to be believed by all the faithful” (Ineffabilis Deus).

            It is of special interest for us on our pilgrimage from Philadelphia to know that, as Blessed Pius IX proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, the Fourth Bishop of Philadelphia, Saint John Neumann, held the book from which the Pontiff read the solemn text. (James J. Galvin, C.SS.R., Saint John Neumann, p. 210)

            The Immaculate Conception is a stirring mystery which causes us to realize how deeply God loves the human race. The account of the sin of Adam and Eve as related in the Book of Genesis clearly proves that God would not turn away from sinful humanity. While the punishment was justifiable, the remedy of the sin would be far greater than anything that could be imagined. In tenderness, compassion and strength, God promised to make things right. The Creator of Man would become the Son of Man, born of a woman, and He would crush the head of the serpent.

            In order to become one of us, God needed a human mother, a woman who would willingly cooperate in the plan of salvation. In His infinite and perfect knowledge and power, God foresaw and fashioned Mary, that one woman who would so uniquely and fully place herself at the service of the divine will. Because this woman had to be a pure and spotless vessel, Almighty God preserved Mary from the stain of original sin from the very first instant of her life. This singular privilege, as Archbishop Fulton Sheen described, “in no way implies that [Mary] needed no redemption. She did! Mary is the first effect of redemption, in the sense that it was applied to her at the moment of her conception and to us in another and diminished fashion only after our birth. She had this privilege, not for her sake, but for His sake” (Fulton J. Sheen, The World’s First Love, p. 15). We also know that, thanks to the redemptive act of Mary’s Son, even we who are conceived and born in original sin come into a world where the power of God’s redeeming love can conquer our sins and all the sins of the world.

            Mary is not only preserved from sin, but she is “full of grace.” As the Mother of God and the Queen of Heaven, Mary is exalted above all humanity. Because she is Mother of the Church, her grace-filled and maternal role places Mary in the midst of her children, bearing their burdens, offering them encouragement, and leading them to Jesus. Pope John Paul II, in his 1984 encyclical, Mother of the Redeemer, wrote: “Mary, Mother of the Incarnate Word, is placed at the center of ... that struggle which accompanies the history of humanity on earth and the history of salvation itself. In this central place, she who belongs to the ‘weak and the poor of the Lord’ bears in herself, like no other member of the human race, that ‘glory of grace’ which the Father ‘has bestowed on us in his beloved Son,’ and this grace determines the extraordinary greatness and beauty of her whole being.... In this history Mary remains a sign of sure hope” (no. 11).

            For this reason, our liturgy today places us with Mary at the foot of the cross of Jesus. There, we see that Jesus, from the very depths of His bitter suffering for our redemption, gives to the human race still another gift: the gift of His Mother. Those moving words, “Woman, behold your son... Behold your mother,” intimately link Mary to every human being in a maternal relationship which cannot be broken. Mary’s Divine Son was sacrificed to offer to all humanity the freedom of the children of God. Witnessing the Death of Jesus, Mary, whose heart was pierced with a sword of sorrow, is ever mindful of the price that was paid for us to enjoy that great privilege. Mary now dedicates herself wholeheartedly in her role as our Mother to encourage all of her children to recognize the glorious dignity which is theirs through the Paschal Mystery.

            In our times—an age which has so much violence, suffering, poverty and pain— we look to Christ Crucified for strength and fortitude. Because our God has suffered for us, He knows the burden of pain, the weight of loneliness. Through His Passion and from His wounded Heart, Jesus offers to the human family consolation and peace in our trials and sufferings. In His glorious Resurrection, Jesus offers to humanity hope and a vision of the new life for which we have been created. Sustained by this vision, we are able to endure our tribulations with serenity and even gratitude.

            In this, Mary is our model. She who stood at the foot of the Cross, who wept as she held in her arms her dead Son, waited for Christ’s Resurrection. Mary prays always for her struggling children. She bolsters confidence within their minds and hearts and she guides her children to look to Jesus in both His Death and Resurrection.

            In this Year of the Eucharist, that wondrous Sacrament through which we participate in the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, we look to Mary whom our Holy Father has called “the Woman of the Eucharist.” In his encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia, Pope John Paul II writes: “Experiencing the memorial of Christ’s death in the Eucharist also means continually receiving this gift. It means accepting—like John—the one who is given us anew as our Mother. It also means taking on a commitment to be conformed to Christ, putting ourselves at the school of his Mother and allowing her to accompany us. Mary is present, with the Church and as Mother of the Church, at each of our celebrations of the Eucharist. If the Church and the Eucharist are inseparably united, the same ought to be said of Mary and the Eucharist” (no. 57).

            Mary, who carried within her immaculate womb the Word Made Flesh, enkindles within us a deep longing for union with Jesus. Mary hastens to aid her children in their prayer, devotion and love. She stands by us in our trials and holds us close to her Immaculate Heart. She beckons us to come to the Altar of her Son where the proof of His love is given in the Eucharist, the Sacrament of His Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity. If we want greater devotion to our Eucharistic Lord, let us, imitating Jesus, show our love for Mary, His Mother and the Mother of His Church.

            We pilgrims from Philadelphia come to Mary’s shrine to give honor to our Blessed Mother and to seek her intercession. With the assurance of trusting children, let us look today and everyday to Mary as our Mother, our guide and our hope. Let us strive to foster devotion to her and let us call upon her daily with hope, confidence and love.

            Les us ask Mary to assist our nation, its leaders and all its people, especially those in need and under the burden of sin. Let us ask her to lead the Church in Philadelphia to greater holiness of life. And let us all—freely, joyfully and prayerfully—entrust ourselves to her Immaculate Heart. 

            O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you!