By Father Matthew R. Mauriello
Many of us have heard about a pacemaker. It is a medical device implanted near one’s heart to regulate heartbeats. However, there is also a “place-maker.” And her name is Mary.
When Almighty God, our heavenly Father, according to his divine plan, decided to send his Son into the world, he needed a place for Jesus to arrive. That place was in the womb of Mary. At the Annunciation, when the Archangel Gabriel brought to Mary the invitation of God, she responded that she was the handmaiden of the Lord and would cooperate with God’s plan. She made a place in her body and conceived the Son of God by the power of the Holy Spirit.
However, this brought upheaval in her life. St. Joseph wanted to quietly divorce her. Most likely, Mary thought that she would have the typical life of a Jewish woman of her day by being a support to her husband. She would go to the well to get the water, cook, clean and do the household chores. So Mary made a place in her life for Jesus, and she became his first and best follower, supporting her son throughout both his private and public life. Mary was there for Christ, along with St. Joseph, in the Holy Family of Nazareth: protecting, nurturing and teaching him.
Our Lady was instrumental in the first miracle of her son at the wedding of Cana. She accompanied him in Galilee and was there to support his ministry. Jesus elevated her to discipleship when he stated, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice” (Lk: 8:21; Mt. 12:48-50).
Our Lady was there for her son, Jesus Christ and suffered with him on the Via Dolorosa and at Golgotha. There, the prophecy of Simeon at the Presentation in the Temple, “a sword will pierce your soul” (Lk. 2:35) would be fulfilled. After his triumph, she was there for the apostles and disciples in the Upper Room on Pentecost, becoming the Mother of the Church.
Mary also made a place in her heart for Christ. Twice in the second chapter of the Gospel of St. Luke, we hear that “Mary treasured these memories and remembered them in her heart” (Lk. 2:19; 2:51). In fact, according to the ancient tradition of the Church, it was Mary who recounted to St. Luke the early events in the life of her son from the Annunciation to the Visitation to the Nativity and Flight into Egypt and Finding in the Temple.
We are invited to follow the holy example of Mary. We have the privilege to receive Jesus in Holy Communion at Mass. Let us make a place in our body and soul to receive him worthily. May we prepare ourselves spiritually and arrive at Mass with happy anticipation to encounter the Lord. Like Mary, we also make a place in our lives for the Lord Jesus by making him our best friend and the center of our lives. St. Paul tells us, “In him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).
Following the example of Mary, we also make a place in our hearts for the Lord. Like her, we are invited to treasure in our hearts the memories of the Lord’s goodness and mercies upon us. Especially through the mysteries of the Holy Rosary, we have the opportunity to ponder the early events in the life of Christ, his ministry, suffering, death and triumph.
All of us are invited to be like Mary and have an important place in our bodies, lives and hearts for the Lord so that we can have abundant life in him. And after a fruitful life with Jesus and Mary as our models, and one day, at the end of our earthly pilgrimage, may Christ prepare a place for each of us to join him forever in the kingdom of heaven.
