VIEWS FROM THE BELFRY

By: Brod Romeo Delima

THE VISITATION

Last October 8, a remarkable event happened, the Lady of Fatima from Portugal came to our town, making us one of the few privileged churches that she visited. She was the one making the pilgrimage to us instead of us to her in Fatima. I was one of the thousands who were eagerly waiting of her arrival. I was expecting to see her with lots of adornments, but she was simply so beautiful with nothing embellishing her image.

My wife and I were so happy to see her, and so was everybody who waited long hours to meet her. Many walks of life were there, the well off, the destitute, pious people, bystanders, vendors, kibitzers, religious and priests. All are equal in the eyes of God and all are children of the Lady. I can hear the words of our Lord Jesus to Mary “Woman behold your son”, and to humanity “Son behold your mother”. He knew that the world will always need a motherly care and affection. He knew that the world cannot continue to live without the grace of God through her intercession. Without her Fiat there will be no other way of salvation, for God in His all knowing power has known that a woman will fulfill His will.

Man needs a mother. And so is a God, a mystery beyond our humanly comprehension. God gave Mary, a woman, the highest due of acknowledgement by the privileged of becoming the mother of His Son, a God. Mary bore in her immaculate womb a God then at the foot of the cross, Our Lord gave Mary the responsibility of being the mother of mankind for her to bear. Like the role of Mary, every mother has that privileged to bear life in her womb, to nourish that life from its beginning to its end, never to interfere to nature, for it is God’s way of governing His creation. Every mother should bear humanity in the womb like Mary did to her son Jesus.

Man only received life, and he has no right to take that away. But man wanted to become equal to God that he intensely explored many unnatural ways of preventing the creation of life, and eventually he found and on his way of perfecting it. He cannot create life and so he invented ways to destroy that life he cannot create, even if it is still in the sacred womb of a mother. And that is where man strays, and that is where man ought to hear his mother’s voice to direct us to the right path. “God gives, God takes away” the Psalmist quoted. We must be open to the will of God in our lives.

As the mother of a God, just like at the Calvary, Mary is ever present in the altar in every sacrifice of the mass for her son Jesus. For the holy sacrifice of the mass is the continuation of the sacrifice of Calvary, for the mass is Calvary made present.

And as our God given mother, Mary visited Elizabeth to care for her. Likewise, I like to think that Mary visited every mother to give strength and comfort in the bearing and rearing of humanity. She is always here for us. “Though she was the mother of the Lord, yet she desired to learn the precepts of the Lord, and she who brought forth God, yet desired to know God.” - (St. Ambrose)

And she tells us “Do whatever He tells you”.