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May 8thMaternal Love
In the month of May, we give special recognition and honor to the Blessed Virgin Mary. She is the mother of our Lord, chosen from among all people to humbly carry out her important role in the salvation story, which is God's love story with humanity. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, all the apostles, and virtually all the earliest disciples of the Lord were Jewish. In the Jewish Old Testament/Hebrew scriptures we find foreshadowings of the great plan God had for the salvation of all humankind. These foreshadowings are called Old Testament types of the New Testament fulfillment of God's promise in Jesus. Here is one type that clearly demonstrates from Hebrew tradition the central role the mother of a king of Israel played in the king's rule. From 1 Kings 2:16-20: "Then Bathsheba went to King Solomon…and the king stood up to meet her, bowed down to her and sat down upon his throne. He had a throne brought for the king's mother, and she sat down at his right hand. 'There is one small favor I would ask of you,' she said. 'Do not refuse me.' (her request was on behalf of another.) 'Ask it, my mother,' the king said to her, 'for I will not refuse you.'" The tradition of seeking intercession of the king's mother is one we take right out of Holy Scripture and the tradition of Jesus' own people. If the very human mother of an earthly king, both of whom experienced their share of sins and mistakes, was listened to and revered, how much more should we be mindful of the "prayer power" and love that Mary, the mother of the Redeemer of all humankind has for the children of her Son, the King of kings. |