May is known as a Marian month, one that is dedicated to the Blessed Mother.
This week, a relatively new feast day that honors Mary was celebrated: the solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church. Established in 2018 by Pope Francis, it is celebrated on the Monday after Pentecost, which was May 24 this year.
In conjunction with the feast, Theology on the Rocks West invited Father Dan Schlegel to address the group’s virtual meeting on May 10 to discuss the Blessed Mother, matriarch of the Holy Family and of the Church.
Father Schlegel, vicar for clergy and religious in the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland, told the group that he grew up in a duplex in Bay Village with his parents and five siblings. His grandmother lived in the other suite, where he and his brothers shared a bedroom.
“She sprinkled us with holy water every night,” he said, sharing how connected she was with the Church. “My grandma had a special devotion to Mary. She had statues of her all over the house.”
Father Schlegel displayed a statue of a pregnant Mary, saying it’s one of his favorites. “It’s beautiful to think of her as a mother,” he said, noting she often is pictured as a woman, but likely was a teenager when Jesus was born. He showed another image in which she holds a church in her hand. “She was asked to share the good news, and through her body she did that,” he said, referring to the Nativity.
Mary also bore unspeakable pain as she saw her son unjustly tortured and executed. She lost her husband and her son while still young, Father Schlegel said, noting she “was given to the disciples” and put into the care of the Church by Jesus.
“This shows that family is more than biological,” he said. “Jesus was creating family from the cross before his death with Mary and John.”
Reflecting on why Pope Francis established the new feast, he said St. Ambrose referred to the Blessed Mother as the Mother of the Church in the 4th century. It also encourages the maternal sense of the Church as well as increasing Marian devotion.
In 431, Father Schlegel said the Council of Ephesus, Turkey decreed that Mary should be called Theotokos, God-bearer.
She was an early advocate for women, he said, noting she visited her cousin Elizabeth while both were pregnant.
“Jesus had great respect for her,” he said, pointing out he performed his first miracle at her request. Also, she was present in the Upper Room at Pentecost, “a room filled with men, creating an appearance of equals, of discipleship. She is a role model for women’s place in the Church. May is a model of love.”
Love is not a feeling, it’s a decision, Father Schlegel said, adding that Mary’s love is summed up by her saying “yes” to God. “She practiced being able to let go; the cross taught her to let go.”
Father Schlegel told the group that Mary was the first disciple, the first to believe in the Messiah. She also is the mother of the poor, holding them close to her. “She’ll never neglect her children,” he said.
In some Pietas – artwork showing Mary supporting the body of the dead Jesus – she has an anguished face. But in the famous Pieta carved by a young Michelangelo and on display in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, she has a serene, peaceful face and appears to be holding Jesus out to us. The sculpture originally was behind the altar, Father Schlegel said, so it’s almost as if Mary is ready to deposit Jesus on the altar, telling us that’s where we will find him.
He also talked about another Pieta in Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral. After the devastating April 15, 2019 fire in the historic church, that sculpture and the gleaming gold cross behind it were untouched amid the debris from the fire.
“Jesus is crumpled on her lap and her hands are raised. It’s as if she gave us this gift – Jesus – and now is giving him back to God,” he said. “In the ruins of Notre Dame, she shows us hope. It’s not an end but a beginning.”
Father Schlegel also talked about the rosary, noting it originated as a prayer for those unable to read the psalms along with priests and monks. The mysteries of the rosary focus on the life of Jesus.
“The rosary is a Gospel-centered prayer, a tool for contemplation, a devotional prayer that leads us back to the Scriptures,” he added.
Father Schlegel also shared some thoughts on the Blessed Mother’s apparitions, noting there have been many reported but only a handful have received official recognition by the Church. These include the apparitions in 1531 in Guadalupe, Mexico to St. Juan Diego; 1830 Paris, when St. Catherine Laboure received instructions for the miraculous medal; 1846 in LaSalette, France, to two children; 1858 in Lourdes, France, to St. Bernadette Soubirous; 1917 in Fatima, Portugal, when the Blessed Mother appeared to Servant of God Lucia dos Santos and her cousins St. Francisco and St. Jacinto Marto; 1932-1933 in Beauraing, Belgium to several children and 1933 in Banneaux, Belgium to Mariette Beco.
Father Schlegel ended his presentation with a prayer to Mary, Mother of the Church, from the Roman Missal.
Deacon Dan Galla will discuss prayer at the next Theology on the Rocks West program at 7 p.m. June 14. Click here for information and registration.