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Pondicherry Archdiocese

  PUBLISHED ARTICLES  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAREST MOTHER MARY

 Every year on 8th September we rejoice in a very special way, celebrating the feast of the birth of Mary, Our beloved mother. The birth of a child brings joy and hope to a family. The mother, the father, and the close relatives of the child are filled with special joy as a new life has come to the family. The birth of Mary brought joy and hope not only to her parents, St. Anne and St. Joachim, but also to the whole of humanity, because of her was to be born Jesus, the only Saviour of humankind. On this day let us show our deep filial love and devotion to Mary in a special way.

 

True devotion calls for imitation. The best way to honour Mary, our Mother is to imitate her in her great faith and deep humility, in her total surrender to God and her utter availability to God’s plan and purposes, in her loving care and concern and dedicated services to human persons. Mary was always conscious of her identity, her vocation and her mission. She had an important and indispensible role in the economy of salvation.

 

Mary is the Mother and Model of the Church. The vocation and the mission of Mary continue in the Church. Every baptized Christian is called to be what Mary was and to do what she did. Mary received Jesus and gave her to humanity. Mary took Jesus to the heart of human persons and brought them to the feet of Christ. The old maxim goes thus: “Ad Jesum per Mariam” To Jesus through Mary. True, genuine and orthodox veneration of Mary is always Christological. Mary leads us to Christ and instructs us to be Disciples of Christ: “Do whatever he tells you” (Jn.2:5). These are the last recorded words of Mary in the gospel.

 

St. Antony of Padua was eminently a ‘Marian Saint’. In his biography we read this: Nulla dies sine Maria – No day without Mary. He had in himself the attitudes and dispositions of Mary. Every day he invoked the name of Mary and prayed to Mary. Every day he grew in his love for Mary and showed his filial devotion to her. Like Mary and with Mary, through his prayers and preaching, he took Jesus to the hearts of the people and brought the people to the feet of Christ. He loved Mary very much and inspired many to love Mary. By being what Mary was and by doing what Mary did, he honoured Mary in a special way.

 

A child grows joyfully in the presence and by the presence of its mother. A child feels safe and secure at the arms of its mother. Next to God, Mary is our joy and hope, our life and everything for us. Let us love Mary, our beloved mother, tenderly and show our filial devotion to her. Let us continue the mission of Mary by carrying the Lord Jesus to the hearts of the people and by bringing the people to the feet of Christ. Let us give joy and hope to the people, by serving them, especially the poor, the needy and the marginalized.

 

·         Mary, our mother, help us become deeply aware of our identity as human persons, as Christians and as priests and religious.

·         O Mary, Our Mother, help us be faithful in our vocation.

O Mary, Our Mother, help us be committed to our mission.

THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH - MOST REV. DR. A. ANANDARAYAR

“The pilgrim church is missionary by her very nature”. (A.G. No.2), the four gospels end with the command of the Lord Jesus to the apostles to go to the whole world and to proclaim the gospel. “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation” (Mk. 15:16), On the day of the Pentecost the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit and they proclaimed the gospel to all the people and bore witness to Christ.


The Church, through her ministries and services, continues the mission of Christ. The Church exists in order to evangelize. Evangelization is the proper vocation of the church (E.N. 14). The Church in India has the important mission of proclaiming the gospel to all the Indians. Through presence, dialogue and witness, through services in the field of education, health care and development, the church proclaims the gospel of Christ to all the people in India.

On 22nd October 2017 we celebrate the Mission Sunday. “Rediscovering Mission at the Heart of Christian Faith” is the special theme of this World Mission Sunday. The celebration of the World Mission Sunday should be a grace-filled occasion for us to grow in our faith and to become deeply aware of our missionary vocation.


It is quite significant that on 1st October we celebrate the feast of St. Therese of Lisieux, the patroness of the missions. She realized that the cry of Christ on the Cross, “I thirst” (Jn.19:28) was a cry of thirst for souls and that Christ shed his blood on the cross for the salvation of souls. She came to the Carmel to save souls and to pray for priests who dedicate their whole lives for the salvation of the souls. Through silence and solitude, prayer and contemplation, sufferings and sacrifices she was saving many souls.


On the World Mission Sunday let us all pray in a special way for the most holy work of evangelization in the world and especially in our country India. Let us contribute generously for the spread of the gospel. The Mission Sunday collections for the year 2016 from our Archdiocese are: Rs.41, 63,199/-. We greatly appreciate and thank our faithful for this generous contribution. We greatly exhort our faithful to continue to contribute generously for the noble cause of the spread of the message of salvation.


With Mary and like Mary, let us carry the Lord Jesus to the hearts of the people and bring the people to the feet of Christ, the unique Savior of humankind.

O, St. Therese of Lisieux, pray for us and for the success of our missionary efforts.