"... a happier thing to be His disciple than His Mother" -- St. Augustine

[MariaChristi]

Tuesday of the Third week in Ordinary Time

Commentary of the day
Saint Augustine (354-430), Bishop of Hippo (North Africa) and Doctor of the Church

“Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother”

I beg you to listen to what the Lord had to say when he stretched out his hand towards his disciples: “Here are my mother and my brethren”; and, “whoever does the will of Father in heaven is my brother and my sister and my mother”. Are we to take it from this that the Virgin Mary did not do the will of the Father, she who by faith believed, by faith conceived; she who was chosen to bring forth salvation on our behalf and who was by Christ created that Christ in her might be created ? Indeed and indeed she did the Father’s will and it is a greater thing for Mary that she was Christ’s disciple than that she was his mother. It is a happier thing to be his disciple than to be his mother. Blessed then is Mary who bore her Lord in her body before she gave him birth…

Mary is holy. Mary is blessed. Yet the Church is greater than she is. What reason do I bring? Mary is part of the Church. She is a holy member of the Church; she is the holy member; she is the member above all members; hut she is still one member of the whole body… Brothers, listen very closely: you are members of Christ’s body and you are the body of Christ (1Cor 12,27). And this is how you are what he said: “Here are my mother and my brothers.” But how does this prove you are Christ’s mother? He goes on: “Whoever hears and whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother and sister and mother.”

Reading today’s Gospel commentary by St. Augustine is an encouragement to hear and to do the will of the Father as Mary did! Mary embodies our call to holiness, as each of us is called to be a holy member of the Body of Christ by following Him! Disciples are learners who hear the Truth and do the Truth they hear, lovingly.

 

[wild_thing]

Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mary most Holy!

 

[MariaChristi]

Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mary most Holy!

Yes, dear wild thing! Thanks for praising our Mother. With Mary, I hope all of us can hear our own call to “blessedness” also! St. Augustine assures us :

… she did the Father’s will and it is a greater thing for Mary that she was Christ’s disciple than that she was his mother. It is a happier thing to be his disciple than to be his mother. Blessed then is Mary who bore her Lord in her body before she gave him birth…

I believe St. Augustine experienced this happiness of being a disciple of Jesus and realized Mary was the first and best disciple of her Son. True joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. Just as the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary, and Mary conceived Jesus, so in a similar way were we baptized by water and the Spirit so that we too carry the Life of Jesus to others.

Our Baptism likewise gave us the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit in potency. As we grow in grace, God enables us to bear fruit. Pope Francis has spoken much about the joy of the Gospel, and Mary is our Model, showing us how to bring Jesus to the world so much in need of Him.

How? Listen to Jesus: “Blessed are the …” (Matthew 5: 3-12). Jesus calls us to be His disciples – to be blessed as Mary and all the saints have been blessed.

By His Grace, let us answer His call and become happier as His disciples! ( “Blessed” can also be translated “Happy”). Let us, always by His Grace, be willing to hear His Word more deeply in our hearts and to do the truth we hear lovingly. Let us ponder the Beatitudes and all the Words of Jesus.

Today’s Gospel is the parable of the sower and the seed. (Matthew 13)