Reflection on the feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary - September 12

1. Reflection
September 12 — Most Holy Name of Mary (Patronal Feast of the Society of Mary)
Today we celebrate our patronal feast, the Most Holy Name of Mary. The selections of
readings that the church recommends for our personal prayer and reflection, takes us
back to the beginning of the story, or at least the beginning of the recorded scriptural
history of Mary’s role in our salvation.
These last couple of weeks we celebrated several of Our Lady’s feasts — her Assump-
tion, her Queenship, her title as Queen of Apostles and her Nativity. But from today’s
readings, we are presented with a very different Mary, yet very much the same person
as she always was and continues to be. We are presented with a Mary just as she was at
the encounter with the angel — a young, faithful Jewish girl, with no titles of nobility,
or record of accomplishments, just plain, beautiful Mary. Our God found favor with a
simple, poor, humble girl.
It was through her faith that she was able to open herself totally ‘to the mission the Fa-
ther gave her in his plan of salvation’ and becoming the first to believe in Jesus Christ.
Article 65 of our Rule of Life invites us to grow into the virtues of Mary, the same vir-
tues that won for her God’s favor, the same virtues of faith, hope and love which all are
called to live.
It was at the Annunciation that she became God’s precious gift, and it was at the foot of
the cross on Calvary that she became our Mother, God’s precious gift shared with us.
And so today, we who call ourselves Marianists, sons of Mary, honor her and all that
her name represents — her holiness, her faithfulness, her witness, her courage but
most especially her love. Our Rule also reminds us that it is in union with her and in
her name that we bear witness to the Word of God. So it is with great joy that we daily
renew our dedication to her. And as we gather around this table of life and feast on the
body of her son, may she smile down on us and our feeble attempts to continue her
humble yet noble mission of bringing her son, Jesus, into our world.
Expressions of Hawaiian-Marianist Spirituality — Malianika • www.malianika.com