1.1 MARY, MOTHER AND TEACHER

1.2 1. INTRODUCTION

1.3 In the conclusion of the Pontifical Instruction, Starting Afresh from Christ, the Church invites us to “look upon Mary, Mother and Teacher of all. She, the first consecrated person, lived the fullness of charity. Fervent in the Spirit, she served the Lord, joyful in hope, strong in trial, persevering in prayer; she intercedes for us (cf. Rom 12:11-13). She reflects all the aspects of the Gospel; all the charisms of consecrated life are mirrored and renewed in her” (n. 46).

1.4 We shall use this text to organize our reflection. Obviously, we have no intention of turning Mary Most Holy into the “first religious” – that would be something totally anachronistic. But, we do want to discover in her “all the charisms of consecrated life”, not quantitatively (“all”), but in their “originating nucleus”, viz. her living the fullness of charity or love. There is a parallel example in St. Thomas Aquinas who shows how all the perfections of creation are found in an absolutely simple way in God (cf. S.Th., I, q. 4, a. 2, Utrum in Deo sint perfectiones omnium rerum).

1.5 Yet another example is found in St. Therese de Lisieux who reflects on the diversity of vocations she discovers in herself:

1.6 I sense other vocations in myself. I sense the vocation of the soldier, the priest, the apostle, the doctor, the martyr; in short, I feel the need, the desire to accomplish for you, Jesus, all the most heroic deeds… I feel in my soul the courage of a crusader, of a papal knight: I would like to die on the battlefield in defence of the Church (…) How can I recognize these contrasts? How can I realize the desires of my poor little soul? (…) During prayer, my desires made me suffer a true and proper martyrdom. I opened the Letter of St. Paul to find some answers (…) I read… that not everyone can be an apostle, prophet, doctor, etc.; that the Church is made up of different members, and that the eye cannot be the hand at one and the same time… The answer was clear, but it did not assuage my desires, it did not give me peace (…) Without becoming discouraged I kept reading and this sentence struck me: “You zealously seek the most perfect gifts, but I will show you one more excellent still.” And the apostle explains how all the most perfect gifts are nothing compared with LOVE (…) Finally I had found the answer! (…) Charity gave me the key to my vocation (…) I understood that only LOVE made the members of the Church do what they do: that if Love should die out, the apostles would no longer announce the Gospel, the martyrs would refuse to spill their blood… I understood that LOVE embraces all vocations, that Love was everything, that love embraced all times and every place...In brief, that love is eternal! Well then, in the fullness of my delirious joy I cried out: Oh Jesus, my Love! I have finally found my vocation! ... My vocation is LOVE!”

1.7 In this our final meditation, let me to invite you to “contemplate” Mary, the Immaculate Help of Christians, our Mother and Teacher. In particular, let us fix our filial gaze on a transcendental moment of our Salesian tradition: Don Bosco praying together with Bartholomew Garelli. Borrowing a well-known example from modern physics, we could say that that “Hail Mary” was the “heavy and complex atom” which, in the big bang of 8 December 1841 caused a “charismatic explosion” which even today continues to expand throughout the world, making God’s love present for the young, especially the poor and abandoned.

1.8 Let us therefore meditate on what we say every day in the Hail Mary to the Mother of God and our Mother…

1.9 2. “…FULL OF GRACE”

1.10 The archangel Gabriel’s greeting to Mary is extraordinarily loaded with meaning: no translation can exhaust the richness of the original word: . To get a glimpse of the depth of theological significance of this expression, we need to emphasize in the first place its gratuitous character. “Full of grace”, in this first sense, is the highest expression of gratuitous giving. It manifests in an incomparable manner the gratuitous nature of God’s love which precedes every human action, which itself is always a response to God’s initiative. “10In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us first” (1 Jn 4, 10). This applies to each one of us, but it holds true of Mary in the very first place.

1.11 Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit down the centuries, the unanimous tradition of the Church and its interpretation reached a culmination in the dogmatic declaration of Blessed Pius IX in 1854 when he proclaimed Mary’s Immaculate Conception. At times, however, we run the risk of forgetting that this dogma of faith does not speak in the first place of what Mary did, but of what God did in her for our sake. It is also possible to misunderstand our Constitutions, if we fail to pay attention to God’s initiative in Mary from the first moment of her existence. “Mary Immaculate, Help of Christians, leads us to the fullness of our offering to the Lord and gives us courage for the service of our brethren” (C 92). We must not forget that consecration is always God’s work, not ours; and so, when we contemplate Mary Immaculate, we contemplate the most perfect fruit of God’s “preventive system”.

1.12 In this sense, we can understand theology’s insistence, reflected in the liturgy, on having recourse to the allegorical meaning of OT readings such as Prov. 8, 22-36 and Sir 24, 3-22 in order to place in relief the “pre-destination” of the Mother of God. But this must not separate her from the rest of humanity because the fact is that all of us have been predestined by God “*before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. 5He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ” (Eph 1, 4-5). Mary was the predestined one par excellence, but not exclusively so.

1.13 3. “THE LORD IS WITH YOU…”

1.14 This simple phrase, which forms part of the angel’s greeting, is the most compact summary of the Covenant that we can find. It is a statement of what the Lord guarantees to those whom he calls to his service. (Let us call to mind, in a particular way, the case of Jeremiah.) In the deepest sense of the word, “full of grace” means “full of GOD”. Grace, in fact, is not “something” but “Someone” – the One and Triune God, the God who, being love, donates it to us freely in Christ in a total and irreversible (eschatological) manner. It is well to point out that, in various texts of the Old Testament, this presence of God in the midst of His people elicits joy in the very first place. Unfortunately, in almost all languages, this nuance of St. Luke’s text, , Rejoice! has been lost. Let us recall one text among many others, viz. that of Zephaniah:

1.15 4. “LET IT BE DONE TO ME ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD…”

1.16 The emphasis on God’s free and gratuitous initiative, and on consecration as a divine action ought not to make us forget that He wanted a human response. This can be seen in the biblical models of the OT and NT, and it could not be otherwise in the supreme example of human collaboration with God, viz. Mary’s divine motherhood. As St. Augustine says, she “conceived the Son of God first in her heart through her free obedience before conceiving him in her virginal womb.”

1.17 Nonetheless, a doubt could arise at this point: can we really speak of Mary’s freedom prior to all these events? What sense would it make to speak of the Immaculate Conception, of the fullness of grace, etc. if everything depended on a human yes after it had all taken place? On the other hand, if we were to deny the freedom of acceptance on the part of the young girl of Nazareth, we would not only separate her completely from the rest of humanity, but we would end up with an absurdity: we would be maintaining that the human collaboration with God at its peak moment was not really human, i.e., it lacked awareness and freedom.

1.18 I think we can find a marvellous answer to this question if we care to go deeper into a typical aspect of our charism. When Don Bosco spoke of placing his boys “in the moral impossibility of committing sin”, he did not mean to restrict their freedom - which, after all, would have been impossible - but he sought to strengthen their faith-motivations and their love for the Lord by appealing not only to their rational and logical intelligence (which the repressive system did as well), but above all to their heart. For him, education at the human level and also at the level of education to and in the faith “is a matter of the heart”.

1.19 In other words, Don Bosco was convinced - and it is a conviction that touches the very core of Christian anthropology and morality - that the more we experience God’s love as the greatest (and only) source of our authentic happiness, the more difficult (“morally impossible”) will it be for us, without sacrificing our freedom, to want to go away from Him. For Don Bosco, this reinforcement called for personal contact, the creation of a wholesome environment abounding in human and Christian values, and an authentic Salesian assistance, which, far from being that of a policeman who guarantees “order” is instead a visible mediation of God’s love. This “formative ecology”, as the Rector Major calls it, is one of the fundamental elements of the Oratory as a Salesian criterion: “As we carry out our mission today, the Valdocco experience is still the lasting criterion for discernment and renewal in all our activities and works” (C 40).

1.20 All this stems from the nature of love, at the human level itself. With all the more reason, therefore, God’s love does not take freedom away from us or leave us “neutral”; on the contrary, it reinvigorates us, making us capable of reciprocating the love we receive with our own free response of love. Only in this way can we understand the deep meaning of our obedience, which “leads to maturity by extending the freedom of the sons of God” (C 67).

1.21 Seen from this angle, Mary’s question, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”* (Lk 1,34), does not express a doubt or place any conditions; rather, it is a question on the part of someone who, because of her unconditional faith, wants to collaborate in the freest and most conscious way possible. That is why the angel’s reply is not a response: in actual fact, what Gabriel says is: “I am talking of God and his plan… are you willing to trust Him?” Also the “proof” that the angel gives Mary, viz. Elizabeth’s pregnancy, which is something that Mary cannot “verify” at the moment, is more of a motivation to visit and help her, as we are immediately told in the Gospel. It is not a “theoretical” proof, therefore, to satisfy Mary’s curiosity or simply to inform her, but a “proof leading to action”, impelling her to set out to keep company with and serve her cousin Elizabeth.

1.22 And so, Mary’s faith becomes translated into unconditional obedience. She accepts, paradoxically, with full freedom, to become the slave of the Lord: “Let it be done to me according to your word.”

1.23 5. “BLESSED ARE YOU AMONG WOMEN…”

1.24 This fullness of consecration in Mary leads to her mission: in the first place, that of being the Mother of the Son of God made man; but then, inseparably too, that of giving him up for the salvation of the world, thus imitating in a human way, so to say, what the Father did: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son…” (Jn 3, 16); and all this, “through the work of the Holy Spirit”. By leading to God those to whom He sends us is the way we give concrete expression to our consecration, following Mary’s example. She “leads us to the fullness of our offering to the Lord and gives us courage for the service of our brethren” (C 92).

1.25 For this reason, we cannot separate the Visitation from the Annunciation: “Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country” (Lk 1, 39). The presence of Mary, who brings the Saviour with her, is the source of overwhelming joy, the same joy with which the angel greeted her, and which she now bestows on the baby John the Baptist, while he is still in the womb of his mother! Elizabeth reiterates the promise of joy to Mary, attributing it to her faith. “Blessed is she who believed that there would be* a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord” (Lk 1,45).

1.26 It is interesting to note that here we have the first “beatitude” of the Gospel; the last beatitude, which will marvellously dovetail with this one, will also revolve around the same theme of faith: “…Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe!” (Jn 20,29). Without the perspective of faith, we shall not be able to understand or accept the “other” beatitudes presented by Jesus (Mt 5,3-12; Lk 6,20-23). However, there is still something I would like to say on this point: prior to the proclamation of the resurrection of her Son, Jesus, Mary was among those who “without seeing, believed”. There is no Gospel text that narrates an “apparition” of the risen Jesus to his most holy Mother; and I think that, instead of inventing apparitions or having recourse to apocryphal texts of the past or the present (which are also there), it is far more inspiring for us to take note of this consoling absence as it places Mary by our side and invites us too to be “happy because we have believed”.

1.27 Finally, Elizabeth “exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb’!” (Lk 1,42). How are we to understand this double benediction, if not as proceeding from faith? We have to recognize that, humanly speaking, neither Mary’s election, vocation and mission nor the realization of her plans made life any easier for her. Quite the opposite… To accept God’s will in our life does not mean that things automatically become easier or more tolerable. As we see in the lives of Abraham, Moses, Jeremiah and Mary, the Lord guarantees us only one thing: “I shall be with you”. “Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 8,39).

1.28 The marvellous scene of the Visitation reaches its climax in the Magnificat: Mary praises God for what he has done in her life, “because he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant” (Lk 1,48). She sets God’s choice of her within the context of his fidelity, and therefore, as the fulfilment of his promises (cf. Lk 1,54-55): he is a holy God, who receives the humble, the poor and the hungry, but can do nothing when confronted with the self-sufficiency of the rich, the powerful and the proud! In the end, what we find here, in a beautiful synthesis, is the core of the evangelical counsels: the primacy of God and the desire for union with Him by fully carrying out his Will (obedience) as an expression of love (chastity) in a total emptying of oneself (poverty). Mary is truly the first consecrated person!

1.29 6. MARY IMMACULATE, HELP OF CHRISTIANS IN OUR SALESIAN CHARISM

1.30 Undoubtedly, this is a central theme of our charism, but one that is impossible to deal with in all its aspects. I shall therefore limit myself to underlining those texts of our Constitutions which make explicit mention of Mary and our charism.

1.31 We are aware that there are two articles in our Constitutions that are totally dedicated to Mary: article 8 (introduced for the first time in the definitive text of 1984) and article 92. The articles appear in very different contexts: the first, within a description of our basic Salesian identity, and this makes its content even more significant; the second, in the section concerning our life of prayer, which is presented as a “dialogue with the Lord”.

1.32 In art. 8 Mary’s intervention in the life of our Father and Founder is highlighted with the help of three verbs: “(she) showed Don Bosco his field of labour among the young – guided him constantly – supported his work, especially in the foundation of our Society”. All this, evidently, was part of God’s plan, as the first article of our Rule of Life says: “Through the motherly intervention of Mary, the Holy Spirit raised up St. John Bosco” (C 1).

1.33 In much the same way, “we believe that Mary is present among us and continues her ‘mission as Mother of the Church and Help of Christians’.” If we are fully convinced of this, we have perhaps to ask our eyes and our heart whether we too allow Mary Most Holy to show us our field of labour, to guide and support us.

1.34 Within the context of our Salesian mission, Mary educates us through the three theological virtues. Clearly referring to the Magnificat, “we entrust ourselves to her, the humble servant in whom the Lord has done great things, that we may become witnesses to the young of her Son’s boundless love” (C 8); “we make her known and loved as the one who believed, who helps and who infuses hope” (C 34).

1.35 Art. 92, instead, within the context of prayer, presents Mary to us in the first place as a model to contemplate and imitate, particularly in the offering of ourselves inseparably to God and to the young: “Mary Immaculate, Help of Christians, leads us to fullness of our offering to the Lord and gives us courage for the service of our brethren”.

1.36 Finally, in the context of the Salesian’s entire life understood as a permanent formation experience and therefore as an unending process, we come across a simple title bearing within itself a tremendous depth of meaning: Mary, Mother and Teacher (C 98). In the context of this article we are invited to act like “sons in the Son”, allowing Mary to give each of us a body and a heart like that of Christ, so that, as we said before, she might teach us to love, as she taught Don Bosco (cf. C 84), or better still, as she taught and educated Jesus.

1.37 I would like to conclude by spelling out in concrete terms the presence of Our Lady in our charism, starting from an observation that has been implicit in all that has been said above.

1.38 No doubt, the Mother of the Lord has a particular importance in our charism; it is enough to recall Don Bosco’s assertion: “She did everything.” But, does this importance – I would almost make bold to say: does this central position [of Mary] - belong only to Don Bosco’s personal experience, and therefore bound up with his time and situation, or is it an integral part of our Salesian identity?

1.39 I think that all of us are convinced that it is not just a fortuitous element or a simple vestige of our Father’s personal devotion. Among the many possible elements of a response, I would like to pick one which stems precisely from the very source of our charism. Let us consider, first of all, those to whom our mission is primarily directed, viz. to boys and young men who are poor, abandoned and in danger. In other words, it is aimed at those youngsters who, humanly speaking, are of little or no “value”, and precisely for this reason God has a predilection for them because – as we have seen these days – his love is unconditional and always takes the initiative. God does not love us so that we may become lovable, but because we are lovable, that is, we are worthy of being loved because He loves us. As St. Augustine put it in his own genial way, “Quia amasti me, Domine, fecisti me amabilem.”

1.40 Well, isn’t it the typically feminine-maternal characteristic of love to be unconditional in much the same way as the corresponding male-fatherly characteristic is to be demanding (properly understood)? If so, it would be obvious that one has not grasped anything or is not able to share in the situation of those for whom we work as a priority, when he does not begin by loving them unconditionally, or better, maternally. His failure to take this matter seriously would be a sign that he has lost sight of our charismatic predilection. Certainly, in our love and in our educative and pastoral work, there are some young people with whom we do not need to begin with an unconditional love. But that is just the point: are these the ones for whom we ought to work as a priority? Because it is especially with these that we are to be “padres maternales” (maternal fathers).

1.41 I think that it is at this juncture that we can situate the theological significance of Mary Immaculate, Help of Christians in our charism, viz. as “the maternal countenance of God’s love”.

1.42 In the conclusion of his letter, “You are my God, my happiness lies in you alone”, the Rector Major issues this invitation: “Let us ask her [Mary] to teach us to be open to the transforming and sanctifying action of the Spirit. Let us entrust to her our Salesian vocation so that she may make of us ‘signs and bearers of God’s love for the young’.” (AGC 382, p. 28)

1.43 In this very special moment for our Congregation, we entrust our General Chapter to her so that she may obtain from God our Father for all of us and all our brothers in the Congregation spread throughout the world, the grace of a profound renewal in our Salesian identity and our apostolic passion, for the salvation of all our dear young people!