"Who is she that comes forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in battle array?" - Song of Songs 6:10
9.2: MARY AND THE MYSTICAL BODY (pg. 54 – pg. 56) My dear brothers and sisters, while I am writing this allocutio, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has taken more countermeasures to stem a tide of coronavirus infections. He has closed bars, ordered restaurants to return to 50% capacity, shut river-rafting outfits and gave local officials more control over large gatherings ahead of the Fourth of the July holiday. Our bishop Edward Burns has also updated the phase 3 decree by asking individual pastors to determine for their parishes whether or not they should resume Sunday Masses at this time. I am therefore asking for your prayers and hoping that God will end this pandemic soon. And in the meanwhile, I pray that every one follows the guidelines set forth of wearing a face mask in public, maintain social distance from others, washing our hands with soap more often, and consciously not touch our faces. Now, let’s get back to the reading. Today’s reading is about Mary and the mystical body. In Ephesians 1:22-23 “He put all things beneath His feet and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.” As we know the mystical body means the church. Since we are the church, then we make up the mystical body. Without God, Mother Mary would not exist. Without Mary, Jesus would not exist. Without Jesus, the mystical body of Christ cannot exist because the Church would not be able to reproduce the life of Christ and all the phases of his life as indicated in our handbook. Thanks be to God, Mary did exist in human history, and her "yes" allowed Jesus, her one and only son, to be born setting forth the establishment of the Church. I was inspired by the Holy Spirit in prayer and recognized that we are all pilgrims journeying together with our mother Mary. Because of her, our ordinary daily life is filled with abundant wonders and extraordinary things. This recognition makes me understand the true nature of our common journey. It is a journey to love and be loved, a journey to climb up the mountain peak of faith, hope, and love. The closer we get to the summit, the steeper the mountain becomes. But at this moment the view becomes wider and more breathtaking. With Mary standing tirelessly beside us, everything is meaningful and blessed. The paragraph in this chapter states, “no one can even attempt the service of his neighbor other than in the company of Mary, and no one can discharge this duty worthily except by entering to some degree into the intentions of Mary.” Therefore, “the more we close the union with Mary, the more perfectly is fulfilled the divine precept of loving God and serving our neighbors.” My dear brothers and sisters, it is my honor to serve the Queen of Peace comitium and to serve you all. Living under a pandemic let us use this wider and more breathtaking view to meditate on Mary and the mystical body a little deeper. If possible, find yourself a timeslot, whatever is convenient, to slowly read chapter 9, section 2 titled : Mary and mystical body and do a silent meditation afterward.