The Face of Mercy / Daniel Conway

May the courage and care of Mary and women unite us

(En Espanol)

The Church, when she is faithful to her Lord, cries out for an end to the horrors of war.

As Pope Francis reminded us during his homily for the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary the Mother of God on Jan. 1, 2024, Mary speaks of peace. She urges us, her children, to recognize that we are all members of one family, and to build communities “where there is room for all” and “where justice and peace are resplendent.”

In his encyclical “Fratelli Tutti: On Fraternity and Social Friendship,” Pope Francis writes:

For many Christians, this journey of fraternity also has a Mother, whose name is Mary. Having received this universal motherhood at the foot of the cross (Jn 19:26), she cares not only for Jesus but also for “the rest of her children” (Rev 12:17). In the power of the risen Lord, she wants to give birth to a new world, where all of us are brothers and sisters, where there is room for all those whom our societies discard, where justice and peace are resplendent. (#278)

Building communities that promote the common good of all requires us to listen to one another and to engage in respectful dialogue. As the Holy Father says, “Mary’s practice of contemplative prayer combined with faithful action should encourage us to speak the truth with love while, at the same time, refusing to dismiss out of hand the beliefs and practices of those who think and act differently than us.”

In his homily, Pope Francis says:

Authentic social dialogue involves the ability to respect the other’s point of view and to admit that it may include legitimate convictions and concerns. Based on their identity and experience, others have a contribution to make, and it is desirable that they should articulate their positions for the sake of a more fruitful public debate. When individuals or groups are consistent in their thinking, defend their values and convictions, and develop their arguments, this surely benefits society. Yet, this can only occur to the extent that there is genuine dialogue and openness to others.(“Fratelli Tutti,” #203)

Pope Francis believes that Church needs Mary “in order to recover her own feminine face, to resemble more fully the woman, Virgin and Mother, who is her model and perfect image [“Lumen Gentium,” #63], to make space for women and to be ‘generative’ through a pastoral ministry marked by concern and care, patience and maternal courage.”

He also believes that world needs “to look to mothers and to women in order to find peace, to emerge from the spiral of violence and hatred, and once more see things with genuinely human eyes and hearts.”

Finally, he says, “Every society needs to accept the gift that is woman, every woman: to respect, defend and esteem women, in the knowledge that whosoever harms a single woman profanes God, who was born of a woman.”

As the Holy Father teaches in his homily:

Mary knows our needs; she intercedes to make grace overflow in our lives and to guide them to authentic fulfillment. Brothers and sisters, all of us have our shortcomings, our times of loneliness, our inner emptiness that cries out to be filled.  Each of us knows this well. Who can fill our emptiness if not Mary, the Mother of fullness? Whenever we are tempted to retreat into ourselves, let us run to her; whenever we are no longer able to untie the knots in our lives, let us seek refuge in her.

The temptation to turn inward and remain callously indifferent to the needs of others, makes peace seem hopelessly remote and impossible to achieve. “Our times, bereft of peace,” the pope says, “need a Mother who can reunite the human family. Let us look to Mary. For she unites us and consoles us; she listens to our troubles, and she dries our tears.”

Mary speaks of peace. She urges us to find in Jesus the unity that brings us together in spite of our differences. In his truth, we discover that what unites us is far more significant than the things that divide us.

Today, as war rages in Ukraine, the Holy Land, Haiti and other regions of the world, and as communities everywhere are divided into factions based on conflicting religious beliefs and contradictory views on social, economic and political issues, we need Mary’s intercession more than ever.

Mary draws us together and inspires us to listen respectfully to each other, especially when we agree to disagree passionately.
 

(Daniel Conway is a member of The Criterion’s editorial committee.) †