Our Lady of the Rosary, 10/7/14

Today is the great feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, and I had the opportunity to go to Mass on my lunch hour.  The readings felt out of place at first, but the Holy Spirit had some remarkable subtlety when those passages were chosen.

The first reading, from Galatians 1, had me confused.  Paul speaks of his "former way of life" as a Pharisee who persecuted the earliest Christians.  That's fine, but for a feast day of Our Lady?  Then came:

"But when he, who from my mother’s womb had set me apart
and called me through his grace,
was pleased to reveal his Son to me..."

The Immaculate Conception hit me right in the face.  Mary, too, was set apart from her mother's womb, destined to be the mother of the Redeemer.  The Lord accomplished it through His grace; in Mary's case, being full of grace.  Although their vocations differed, Paul, like Mary, was the bearer of Christ to the world.  

The Psalm for today was a selection from Psalm 139.  I could hear the Blessed Mother praying these words, with the tender heart of a handmaiden of the Lord.  Here again, I heard the Immaculate Conception: 

"Truly you have formed my inmost being;
you knit me in my mother’s womb.
I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made;
wonderful are your works."

An important theological point that non-Catholics often miss is that the veneration we hold/display for Our Lady is dependent entirely upon Christ.  Her role is there because of Him; she was preserved from original sin because of Him; we call her Our Mother rather than His Mother because of His gesture on the cross.  This point could not have been lost on her, either.  These lines don't offer thanks to God for this or that thing.  The Psalmist prays a beautifully humble prayer: thanks to God goes back to the beginning, for our very being was sculpted by His hands.  If the Psalmist hadn't written this, I could picture Mary writing it.

Finally, the Gospel reading: the well-known story of Martha & Mary in Luke 10.  Just like its predecessors, this reading seems an unusual pick.  However, praying the rosary brings us into an encounter with Jesus.  After all, Mary knows it's not all about her; everything she does, every heavenly effort she makes on our behalf is to lead souls to Her Son.  (see John 2:5)  The lesson that the Gospel reading is trying to teach us is clear: sit at the feet of Christ, as Mary did; recognize the "one thing" that should be our first priority.  In the rosary, we have such a wonderful avenue to contemplate Christ.  

Mary, beloved Mother, pray for us who have recourse to Thee!