In the Swahili version of the Hail Mary, the word
"Holy," as in "Holy Mary," is mtakatifu. Here, the Swahili
language offers us an interesting and valid insight into the concept of Mary's
holiness. Taka means "desire," while tifu refers to "obedience."
As a whole, the word mtakatifu means "one
who desires to be obedient." Mary
is holy because she is fully obedient to the will of God. She freely unites her will with God's so that
it not only affirms her own good, but the good of all God's children as well.
Mary, therefore, is truly a universal mother.
While the secular mind has difficulty with the concept of
obedience, it has no difficulty in regarding loyalty as an important virtue. Yet loyalty and obedience are very close to
each other. Loyalty requires a strong
allegiance, if not obedience, to a group. The loyal person must often make sacrifices on
an individual level for the good of the group to which they belong.[1]
The central theme of the passage from Deuteronomy which is part of
Moses’ first address to the Israelites about to enter the promised land, is
obedience. Obedience is the key to
Israel’s maintaining right relationship with God. Obedience is also the
condition upon which the people will eventually receive the gift of land
promised to them through the patriarchs.
Moses in his exhortation tells the people: Hear and observe
the statutes and decrees which I am teaching you … teach them to you children
and your children’s children. (cf. Dt 4:5-9) Someone counted the laws in the
Book of Leviticus that the people must follow, 613 precepts. Passing them on, much less keeping them, can
be burdensome.
In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says: “Do not think that I
have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to
fulfill.” (Mt 5:17) Jesus holds the law and the
prophets together. The question then
becomes: What law is Jesus embracing and upholding? Is it all of the ordinances
of the OT? The answer lies in the
understanding the primary commandment to love of God with one’s whole being. (Dt
6:1–4) and focusing on loving one’s neighbors as one’s self. (Lv 19:18) The
living out of these two commandments is meant to establish and maintain right
relationship with God and support the well-being for all
peoples.[2]
The Coronavirus has led to the decision to close Disney! WOW,
you don’t see that often. The virus has also been the cause for canceling all ministerial
activities and the suspension of all liturgical celebrations (Mass) for an undetermined
time period, all in an attempt to slow its spread. No Mass is a significant sacrifice for the
faithful. We have a couple ways to
obediently embrace these decisions: First complain about being denied the
source and summit of our faith. The
other is “obedience”, in embracing this sacrifice, we can find ourselves in
solidarity with the many places in the world and the United States that do not
have the priests to celebrate Mass with any regularity. This is very Lenten desert experience of obedience
fully supports the well-being of all God’s people. This sojourn away from the
community celebration can be viewed as an opportunity to return to the basics
of family unity and prayer, a call to utilize the many other spiritual
practices our faith has to offer (praying the Liturgy of the Hours, reading sacred
scriptures using Lectio Divina; other spiritual readings, etc…) all in an
effort to maintain our right relationship with God.
We have been called to a Global Retreat in a sense. Given an opportunity to withdraw from the
many distractions of this world to refocus on the most important of
commandments; love of God with all your being and loving your neighbor as yourself.
Like Mary we are called to mtakatifu (one who desires to be obedient).
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