12 September 2018
Wednesday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time
In the first reading today, we hear St. Paul offering his personal advice to unmarried women (virgins) that they must remain single. Though being married is not a sin, Paul is clearly advocating for singleness. Why does Paul have a strong passion for being single? Paul believes that the second coming of Christ is near. Under the new age of Christ, “for the world in its present form” with all its institutions, like marriage, “is passing away.” Thus, Paul sees marriage as a distraction from total devotion to the Lord. Married people, male or female, devote their attention towards their spouse. As Christ approaches, all human relationships will become secondary. Two millennia later, we all know that the Parousia(the second coming of Christ) has not invaded our time. Nevertheless, there is something that we could learn from Paul’s ill advice, that we must have total devotion to the Lord. The question is how we can have total devotion to the Lord in the era of the iphone, icloud, and ipad?
Today is the optional memorial of the Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It used to be a universal feast since 1684, when Pope Innocent XI included it in the General Roman Calendar to commemorate the victory at the Battle of Vienna in 1683. But, it was removed from the Church calendar after Vatican II and it was restored by Pope Saint John Paul II in 2002. One way to build our total devotion to the Lord is to have zeal for the Most Holy Name of Mary. By honoring the name of Mary we celebrate the glory that Our Lady has in heaven, earth, and the entire universe. She is our mediator with God, Our Lord. The glory she has is derived from her status as Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ. So if we venerate the name of Our Lady, we will have total devotion to her Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ.
If you have a chance to listen to the first reading again, you might want to focus less on Paul’s advice for you to remain single, Rather, focus more on his underlying message to have total devotion to Christ. In your prayer today, ask for Our Lady’s help to have total devotion to her Son.