Sunday In The Octave Of Our Lady's Nativity: The Holy Name Of Mary
First Point
Today the Church celebrates the feast of the holy name of the Most Blessed Virgin to teach us how useful and advantageous it is for us to invoke her holy name in our needs. The name Mary, by which we honor the Most Blessed Virgin, means star of the sea. It is, says Saint Bernard, very well given to her, because she is indeed a star that enlightens, guides, and leads us to a harbor in the stormy sea of this world. This holy Virgin, says the same saint, is for us the star that rose out of Jacob,1 whose ray, which is Jesus Christ, enlightens the whole world,2 for she conceived him in her virginal womb like a star that sends forth its rays without any corruption and enlightens all the world, as Saint Bernard expresses it, following Saint John’s Gospel. She is this clear and brilliant star, says Saint Bernard, rising above this great and spacious sea, shining by her merits, and enlightening by her example. You have, without doubt, a need for light in this life, where you are always as if upon a stormy sea at the risk of your salvation. Have recourse to Mary. She will enlighten you and help you know God’s will for you, because she shares in the light of Jesus Christ, her Son, who came into this world to enlighten everyone (even though many did not recognize him).3 She is a light shining in the darkness.4 Askher often, then, to enlighten your mind and to make it docile to the truth. Because she knows the truth perfectly, it is easy for her to instruct you in the truth and to make you understand what you, whoare only in darkness, cannot understand.
Second Point
The road you must follow through this life being so dangerous, you need a guide to walk safely. You cannot have a better guide than the Most Blessed Virgin, because she is most pure within and without, because the saints call her the treasurer of the graces that God has given to her to share them with you, and because she knows all the paths and means to keep you safe amid the dangers you will encounter. This is why it is most advantageous to allow yourselves to be guided by her, because, says Saint Bernard, when we follow her, we cannot go astray; when we think of her, we cannot wander from the right path; when we pray to her, we can never despair of reaching the place where we intend to go; when she helps and upholds us, we cannot fall; when she protects us, we can fear nothing, and when she guides us, we cannot grow weary. In dangers and in narrow, perilous paths, think of Mary. Invoke her sacred name, and at once you will find comfort and deliverance from all your troubles. Oh, how happy you are, if you are devoted to the Most Blessed Virgin, to have easy recourse to her holy name and by this invocation alone to be safe in the midst of all the problems of so difficult a journey!
Third Point
It is not enough to sail securely. You must reach the harbor; otherwise, all the distance you have covered will be of no avail, because it will not be the goal you set out to attain. This star of the sea, the Most Blessed Virgin, will guide you there without difficulty, because she knows very well where you are going and is familiar with the way you must follow to arrive there. She knew for herself the road to reach the goal, and she has arrived there. Because she had a perfect understanding of the ways of God and was so abundantly prepared by his grace, this set her on the path and made her understand how happy a person is when carried by the grace of God, as the author of the Imitation of Jesus Christ says very well.We are in this world only to save ourselves, and we will find all the means we need for this in the womb of the Most Blessed Virgin, where Jesus Christ lived and which he sanctified by the dwelling he made there. He also left there an abundance of grace able not only to fill totally the soul of the Most Blessed Virgin but also to enlighten, enliven, and inflame the hearts of those who have recourse to her by invoking her holy name. Adopt this devotion; ask God for it on this holy day. Remember her name, and invoke it often with all the respect and veneration it deserves.
Historical Context
For a time this feast was celebrated on the Sunday after the feast of the Nativity of Mary. It was inserted into the liturgy by Pope Innocent XI in thanksgiving for the Christian victory over the Turks at Vienna on September 13, 1683. The date of September 12 was fixed during the reform of the liturgy under Pope Pius X (1903–1914). This feast is not in the current liturgical calendar.
Scripture Citation
- Nm 24:17
- Jn 1:9
- Jn 1:9–11
- Jn 1:5