Word to the Wise
Saturday, June 4, 2016 - Sat. after 2nd Sunday after Pentecost - The Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary
[Is 61:9-11 and Luke 2:41-51]"Son, why have you one this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety." [Luke]
Who can argue with the power of a mother's heart? It didn't take too long for Mary's heart to follow Jesus' heart in popular piety. This feast always follows the day after the feast of the Sacred Heart, which falls on a particular Friday and not a particular date. So, a prominent Dominican saint, Peter of Verona, bows gracefully to the sidelines today.
The image of Mary that appears in today's gospel passage is different from the ones we usually experience in Catholic devotion. Usually Mary is calm and maybe smiling, and never elderly. An exception might be at the foot of the cross and in the image known as the "Pieta." Today's image shows an exasperated and relieved mom finding the kid who disappeared during the organized chaos of getting a caravan together, the presumption being that he was with this or that relative. There's no canticle to be sung, just a mother's frustration and relief!
I wish we could find a way to include a more human iconography of Mary in our pantheon of images. A visit to Nazareth and the massive basilica there with all its images of Mary from various nations, will overwhelm with all the costumes and names and apparitions. I recommend reading OUR LADY OF THE LOST AND FOUND by Diane Schoemperlen. The title is all the more appropriate, given the gospel for today. The heart in that book may be theologically immaculate but definitely easier to understand humanly. AMEN