Homily of His Excellency Msgr. Selim Sfeir Maronite Archbishop of Cyprus
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
“He said to them in reply, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.”
The Maronite Church has always felt the maternal protection and tenderness of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Every member of the Maronite faithful learns from his earliest moments of life, that the Mother of God is also his mother. On this eighth of September, we want to be very good children of Mary and through the Maronite Liturgy, celebrate her birthday. We want to give her our best, with all our love and affection. Far from distracting us from the Lord’s Day (Sunday), we picture ourselves doing what Christ himself would have done on her birthday; bestowing every mark of affection upon His most pure Mother …
Yet the gospel is mischievous in that never speaks about our Lord publicly bestowing his praise and love upon His Mother. In fact, it seems like the exact opposite. In every Gospel encounter between the Mother and the Son, there is always something of a hardness in the way Our Lord treats His Mother. Remember how He spoke to her in Jerusalem when she found Him in the Temple? Think of how he addressed her at the wedding feast of Cana! To the unenlightened, to the poorly instructed, it would seem like Our Lord is demoting His Mother.
Yet this is how Our Lord treats those He loves the most! He tests them! He tries them! What a splendid discovery for each of us who maybe going through a tough period in our life. It is so easy to think that Our Lord doesn’t love us when He seems to be silent, or He seems to give us the exact opposite of what we ask for.
No, my dear friends, let us learn from the Blessed Virgin. When we experience a test from our Lord, it is precisely then He shows His special love for us. This is a great mystery. God treats those He loves the most with difficulties and crosses, persecutions and misunderstandings.
God’s ways are not our ways, and He sees the big picture: the blessings He will give us in eternity if we are faithful like His Mother.
Prayer
O Blessed Virgin Mary, you are the Mother of the tested, and Queen of the sorely tried. Never allow me to doubt the love of God for me, especially when things don’t go my way. This is why we love you so much Holy Mary, you show us the hidden mysteries of God that we could never understand on our own.
† Selim Sfeir
Maronite Archbishop of Cyprus