On the Immaculate Conception
"Theotokos," or the God Bearer, is the Mother of us all. She who was wrapped in Light is said to be like no other. Mary Immaculate embodies the purity of the archetypal Feminine and so legend portrays her as having been without sin and her innocence became the vessel of the Son of God among us .... Immanuel.
This is one of the greatest mysteries of the Church and tradition adorns the Queen of All Hearts in garlands of roses as the sweet and distinctive scent recalls in our sense memory portents of grace and elegance, softness and a strength that comes from tenderness. We recite the Rosary as we celebrate all of the Mysteries of the Church as a perfect form of prayer because it is through the symbol of Mary that we find so compelling a Path to the Heart of the Christos. With reflection on the ubiquitous manifestation of archetypes, the mystical feminine must be balanced with the masculine and the history of the Church has largely and unfortunately been an exercise in hyper-masculinization. Mary Immaculate is emblematic of openness to transcendence and the discovery of higher purposes in our call to be servant leaders.
As we have been taught by our brothers and sisters of Eastern Orthodoxy, recalling the "Way of the Pilgrim," and the "Philokalia," there is a deep ocean of love that is revealed as the mind is tamed by the use of a repetitive cycle of prayers that cause us to slow down the mental chatter and deeply listen, with vastly heightened acuity, to a voice whispered from out of the quiet spaces between thoughts and words. The "Hesychast" tradition gave us the "Jesus Prayer," a simple affirmation repeated endlessly: "Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner." The mind bathes in the prayer and sinks deeply into the unconscious. Approached in the same way, but with a focus on Joy, we recite the Magnificat: "My soul doth magnify the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my savior."
As a result, all facets of mind are brought over time into alignment with the power of this "subvoce" recitation where the goal is to "pray without ceasing." The Rosary in the West operates in like fashion. The mind is invited to reflect on the Christic mysteries of Joy, Sorrow, Glory and Luminosity awaiting the uprising of tacit knowledge and revelations of meaning encoded in the mysteries framed by the stories surrounding each one. This is a discipline offering a peaceful heart, a humble spirit, and the gifts of illumination.
However, we live in a time of cultivated cynicism and scientism. We live in an age of conceit and radical individualism which has at its center dread, worry and doubt. Especially in America, it is, more often than not, that such words as those with which I opened this Homily are relegated off to the margins of interest as curious, laughable, and anachronistic mythology unworthy of an age of true reason, scientific advance, intellectual sophistication, and progress.
It is right now, in just such times, that we will be tested most. The seductions are all around us to believe first the wisdom of men that we have encoded in our thinking and continuous self-deception, while we place God's wisdom on the backburner for a time when we are in the mood to play around, seemingly, with things of the past, from a time before we "came to our senses," and realized the truth of our real strength and capacity to KNOW, to really SEE, and fully FEEL the great gift of our lives and our breath. This is an age of cynicism and materialism that imprison the soul in attachments of all kinds, and in a spirit of hopelessness and helplessness.
If we are so smart, why is it that consumerism and materialism have failed to fulfill us? Why is it that Xanax and Prozac and Lexapro and a host of other designer medications are so very popular? Why are we such a prescription-oriented culture? Where is the joy in life as we hear each day of acts of cruelty and inhumanity along with circumstances of pervasive depression, and a profound sense of loneliness and confusion.
Along with hubris and intellectual arrogance, we see all manner of justifications to cheapen life and act in utilitarian ways when it comes to our relationships with other people. We see sophistries built up to excuse unconscionable behaviors as people are treated as merely economic entities wherein their worth is measured by their assets and their productivity. Most painfully, we see self-delusions whereby people by into so many lies that become a daily litany of self-deprecation and inner personal struggle and suffering.
It is time for us to recover our good sense and embrace wonder and mystery, and be again as little children and know JOY! Christ Has Risen and it is time to ask ourselves how we will manifest this Mystery in our own lives.
For further reflections on Marian Theology, please visit the link below.
Brother Thomas
Order of the Christos
Copyright 2005
